Olympic hopefuls awarded BASC Legacy Sponsorships

BASC sponsorship recipients

Two young competitive shooters, Courtney Palmer-Jones and Bethany Norton, have been selected as recipients of the BASC Legacy Sponsorship awards for 2024.

BASC’s Legacy Sponsorship programme provides support and funding to help young people pursue a competitive career in clay or target shooting. The programme is specifically directed towards those pursuing ambitions of representing their country as part of a national team.

Courtney air rifle

Olympic rifle shooter Courtney

Our first recipient is Courtney Palmer-Jones. Courtney, 23, trains and competes in ISSF Olympic Rifle Shooting, in both air rifle and .22. Following a lot of hard work over the last three years, she is the current Air Rifle Senior Women’s British Champion. 

This year Courtney achieved a gold and silver in the Surrey Championships and a mixed pairs bronze at the Welsh Championships. In 2023, she won the National Indoor Shooting Championships. More recently she has started competing internationally in both the Netherlands and RIAC in Luxembourg. 

Courtney is on the British Shooting Olympic Development Pathway, with aspirations to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. As well as showing dedication to her sport, she works full time in construction. She is also a Cub Scout leader, devoting a lot of her spare time to charity and volunteer work.

Courtney said: “I am thrilled to have been accepted for the legacy sponsorship funding, it’s such an honour. One of my first memories of shooting was actually at a BASC ‘have a go’ stall! The funding will help greatly with associated costs such as new equipment and accessing personal development tools.”

Bethany Norton

Olympic skeet shooter Bethany

Also receiving a BASC Legacy Sponsorship award this year is Bethany Norton. Bethany is a competitive Olympic Skeet shooter. 

In 2022, aged 15, she was selected to represent GB in the Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. She achieved gold in the junior women’s team event there. Now 17, Bethany has represented Great Britain several times as a junior and in 2024 was selected to shoot in the Cairo World Cup, the European Championships and Lonato World Cup. 

She holds three British records as well as a number of other shooting achievements. These include CPSA Young Shot of the Year, winner of The Green Cup and Emir Cup, and silver in the Shotgun Series Senior Ladies. Bethany also hopes to compete in the 2028 Olympics. She has just finished her first year of A Levels and has a passion for media and journalism.

Bethany said: “It was a very thorough interview, so I’m very grateful to BASC for this fantastic support and I’m proud they feel I’m worth investing in.”

Passionate and talented

BASC’s Chelsea Jones, who was on the scholarship interview panel, said: “It was fantastic to see both the number and quality of applications submitted for legacy sponsorship funding this year. We had several very strong candidates, all of whom would have been worthy recipients. However, both Courtney and Bethany really shone through. 

“As a female in this industry, it’s particularly exciting for me to see two young women receive our sponsorship, and even more so as Courtney is our first air rifle/target shooting athlete. 

“I look forward to seeing how both Bethany and Courtney progress over the next two years. I would like to thank all those who took the time to submit applications and attend interviews. It was fantastic to engage so many passionate and talented individuals who are forging the path for the future of shooting.”

You can find more information about the BASC Legacy Sponsorship Programme here.

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