Outstanding Rifle Shooter Ransford Goodluck has died

Aug 02, 2024 Sports

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Kaieteur Sports – Outstanding Guyanese Rifle Shooter Ransford Goodluck has died. Kaieteur Sport understands that he passed away after a battle with illness over a period of time.  Goodluck was a prolific marksman who has represented and who has held both Guyana and West Indies individual full-bore titles and represented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games and the West Indies at several international rifle shooting tournaments. This former member of the Guyana Police Force has contributed significantly to the development of Rifle Shooting in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Ransford Roxroy Goodluck was born 24^th January 1953 to parents Isaac and Elaine Goodluck in Queenstown, Georgetown, Guyana.

He Joined the Guyana Police Force on 10^th January 1972 where his skills for handgun and rifle shooting were developed. He became an outstanding member of both handgun and rifle teams representing the GPF in competitions involving the Joint Services during the time he served. In January of 1979 he became a member of the Guyana NRA through the urging of a good friend who was also a member. At that time, Guyana was in the process of rebuilding a representative rifle team and preparing to host the Caribbean championships in 1979. Suffice it to say that Mr. Goodluck was selected and Guyana for the first time won Caribbean championship with Mr. Goodluck emerging the Junior champion. This was the beginning of a most outstanding Full-bore shooting career internationally and in the Caribbean.

Having been elected Captain in 1994, Mr. Goodluck, along with other team members, proceeded to retool and rebuild the team in preparation for hosting the championships in 1995. Specifically, the team’s major weakness was Long range shooting (9-1000 yards) and well worn out equipment. Upon his instance, rigorous training was done over these two ranges, and along with proper retooling, Guyana for the first time, won all the team and individual competitions with Mr. Goodluck emerging the Caribbean individual and overall champion for the first time.

This individual success was followed up in 1996 when Guyana hosted the Great Britain rifle team on the first stop of its tour of the Caribbean.

Mr. Goodluck won the individual competition over three days beating the world renowned the late Andrew Tucker into second. This was followed up with the hosting of the Caribbean championship 1996 in Jamaica. The Guyana team was led to an unprecedented long range victory over GB, Canada and the Caribbean teams at Twittingham park, the first by any Caribbean team. To date, this still stands as our most outstanding team achievement.

Mr. Goodluck has represented Guyana as a competitor at several Commonwealth Games – 1994 Victoria Canada, 1998 Malaysia, 2002 London England, 2006 Melbourne Australia, 2010 Delhi India where Guyana placed 5^th in the team match – the highest placing of a Caribbean team to date. He managed the 2014 Full-bore team to Edinburg Scotland where they placed a creditable 6^th. He returned as a competitor in 2018 Gold Coast Australia where the team performed creditably as a team and individually.

Having won his first individual Caribbean Championship in 1995 in Guyana, Mr. Goodluck followed this performance up with championships – 1998 Barbados, 2000 Jamaica, 2004 Trinidad, 2008 Jamaica, 2010 Barbados, 2018 Barbados – seven (7) occasions, more than any other Full-bore shooter in the history of Caribbean to date.

Locally, Mr. Goodluck has won the Full-bore championships, Spoon shoots and Recorded shoots on more occasions than any of the current shooters.

Based on these performances throughout his career, he was awarded National Runner-up Sportsman of the year 1995, 1998, 2004 and outright National Sportsman of the year 2005.

Throughout, Mr. Goodluck has been the one who, on most occasions, singlehanded has been training and producing top quality Full-bore shooters both locally and making significant inputs with others in the Caribbean territories.

The Guyana rifle team initially rebuilt by Mr. Goodluck and company in 1995, continues to dominate full-bore shooting in the Caribbean, especially at the longer ranges having lost on only three occasions since 1995.

Based on his achievements, Mr. Ransford Goodluck is regarded in the Caribbean and internationally as a Caribbean Icon in the sport of Full-bore Rifle Shooting.

The entire shooting fraternity along with his many friends and the Kaieteur Sports Department extends heartfelt condolences to his family in this time of grief.

 

 

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• Elaine Goodluck in Queenstown, Georgetown, Goodluck, Guyana, Guyana Police Force

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