Northern Ireland proves size doesn’t matter at WFTC 2025

The Northern Ireland Field Target Association (NIFTA) has received international praise after hosting the 2025 World Field Target Championships (WFTC) at Palace Stables, Armagh. The event attracted competitors from 27 countries, including Uruguay, Colombia, and Australia.

NIFTA secretary and World Field Target Federation President Dave O’Hara said the association aimed to provide competitors with a high-quality experience. “Some of these competitors pay out of their own pocket,” O’Hara said. “We set out to make sure they had the best experience possible.”

Volunteers prepared 75 lanes across three courses, while NIFTA members trained and served as marshals, stepping aside from competing to support international participants.

On the field, Spain’s José Redondo Martín-Benito led the main PCP class with a score of 136 out of 150, while Germany’s Jan Homann won the spring-powered division with 125 points. In team events, Spain narrowly defeated England by three points in the PCP category, and the USA topped the spring-powered division with a seven-point margin over England. Additional categories included Ladies’ and Junior competitions.

Competitors widely praised the organisation. England’s John Chopping called it “exemplary”, and others described the event as “one of the best ever WFTCs”.

Mr O’Hara said he hopes NIFTA’s success encourages smaller nations to consider hosting major competitions. “We want smaller nations to realise it can be done,” he explained. NIFTA is already collaborating with Canada’s organising committee for WFTC 2027.

Full results and information are available at WFTC2025.com.

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