The following is a brief overview of the extraordinary 2024 World Long-Range Championships Palma Team Match, which was held at the Genl De Wet Shooting Range located west of Bloemfontein, South Africa, on March 16-23.
The intensity of the competition was evident from the start with multiple world records smashed.
PALMA TEAM MATCH
Palma matches are shot at distances of 800, 900 and 1,000 yards (or 700, 800 and 900 meters). Competitors fire 15 shots for record at each distance with an iron-sighted rifle chambered in either .223 Rem. or .308 Win. (7.62x51 mm NATO) calibers. A Palma rifle is always shot with a sling and iron sights.
Any country can shoot in the match, provided they have a 16-person team. A full Palma team has a total of 25 members—16 firing members and two alternates, plus coaches and administrative staff.
2024 SOUTH AFRICA
On day one at the 700-meter line, Australia was down one point across its 16 shooters, while Great Britain was down two points but had four more center bulls (Vs) than Australia. Meanwhile, South Africa and the United States were both down four points, while New Zealand was down nine points. All tiny margins across 240 shots and 1200 points per line.
Day one at the 800-meter line saw Australia and Great Britain both scoring 1194, with both teams breaking the previous world record (for that line) set by Great Britain in 2015 (note that this new record was broken on day two). In addition, the United States gained two points on South Africa.
On day one at the 900-meter line, three teams—Australia, Great Britain and South Africa—all broke the previous world record for that line previously set by the United States in 2003 (note that all four teams broke this new record on day two).
Day one’s aggregate scores were as follows: Australia with 3580.474, Great Britain with 3578.469, South Africa with 3562.405, the U.S. with 3548.412, New Zealand with 3491.305 and Canada with 3451.267.
On day two at 700 meters, the United States won this line without dropping a point.
As for day two at the 800-meter line—neither Australia nor Great Britain dropped a point, but Great Britain did set a new world record with a score of 1200.188.
On day two at 900 meters, the United States scored two points more than Great Britain, while Australia pulled ahead and defeated Great Britain by four points to win the Palma Team Championship.
The day two aggregate scores were as follows: Australia with 3592.522, the U.S. with 3592.464, South Africa with 3591.464, Great Britain with 3590.536, New Zealand with 3539.398 and Canada with 3495.325.
In the 2024 World Long-Range Palma Team Championship, all four leading teams smashed the old Palma record of 7106.825 that was set by Great Britain back in 2015. In addition, Australia set the new Palma record with a score of 7172.995. While Australia defended and retained its world championship title earned in 2019, the victory marked only the fourth time that Australia has been crowned the Palma winner since its inception in 1876. Something to note: the United States has won it 12 times, including the first Palma Team Match at Creedmoor Range on Long Island, New York, in 1876. The United States won its last Palma Team Championship crown in 1985.
The 2024 Palma Team Championship final scores are listed on the leaderboard below.
- Australia 7172.966
- Great Britain 7168.1005
- South Africa 7153.869
- United States 7140.876
- New Zealand 7030.703
- Canada 6946.592
- Germany 6683.465
Several individual records were broken and new ones were set at the competition as well. These achievements will be discussed in a future article.
You can see the full results of the 2024 World Long-Range Championships at this link.
