MEET GEORGE

George Who? If you're not familiar with the world of clay pigeon shooting you may not have heard of George Digweed. If you are a clay pigeon shooter, you cannot fail to know of the man, such is his dominance of the scene. But whatever your prior knowledge of GD, very few people can say they truly know the real George Digweed.

To some the name conjures up a mythical beast, 9ft tall, blessed with magical powers, shooting clays at one mile with a gun that shoots around corners. To others, he's the result of a groundbreaking experiment by scientists to produce the perfect clay pigeon shooting machine.

All of this is true (nearly).

It would be easy here to regurgitate the thousands of clay pigeon shooting wins at club level and the sixteen world titles in order to reinforce the legend, but the impressive facts are detailed elsewhere on this site and his DVD Digging for Gold. There is so much more to George Digweed that it would be a crime not to look at the 'other side'.

George Digweed was born in Hastings, Sussex on 21st April 1964, his first word being "Pull". The shooting seed was sown early on by his grandfather, George Hickman, who shot in a game shooting syndicate at Rolvenden, Kent.

Young George accompanied George Snr from an early age, initially beating, and then at the age of eleven, GD was allowed to carry an unloaded gun for a year, after which time his arms grew tired and he put it down. Those who have been beaten in competition week in week out by GD have his grandfather to thank for introducing him to clay shoots at the age of 12.

Working in the family butchers alongside his father and grandfather, George earned enough money to fund regular clay pigeon shooting exploits and soon Sundays consisted of a trek around the South East taking in five or six shoots, picking up prize money on the way and thus enabling the one man exhibition to buy the essentials of fuel and cartridges. The shoot regulars were already getting used to coming second; the warning cry of "Look out, Digweed's here" meant that GD had already won the mental war.

The record books speak for themselves. George has been phenomenally successful throughout his career, and is still, notching up win after win to this day. Such is his reputation that it's easy to believe that George has never been beaten, that he is simply invincible. There were years, however, when others were able to pull something extra out of the bag, able to reach that extra level, but GD was rarely more than a point away from the win.

Such defeats have only driven him on. The man strives for perfection. His concentration is impeccable and, as a competitor, he is fierce and unforgiving - the genuine article. You would be unwise to bet against GD at anything; throw a challenge down and the 'race face' comes down, the Hastings Disco Boy puts on a show and you'll find it difficult to counter the 110% effort. GD wins by sheer determination and total, unerring self belief.

Friends and fellow competitors say that he is the most complete shot in the game; not the most natural, but the most complete. In other words, he has had to work for it, and this committed attitude sees GD succeed in his sporting life away from clay competition. Hands up who knows about GD the cricketer? GD's name went into Wisden, the cricket bible, for an extraordinary cricketing achievement when his bowling figures in a Sussex league cup match were five overs, five maidens, eight wickets, zero runs. Beat that, Freddie!

Shooting is a business and anyone as good as George is going to be involved in the business of shooting. As a clay pigeon shooting coach and game shooting coach GD is in demand the world over - if you want this man to teach you, like the A-Team, help is only a phone call away. Being a regular contributor to the shooting press goes with the territory - there is so much that can be learned from this gentleman that there is always an audience, always a reader hanging on his every word.

George sees himself as a game shot that shoots clay pigeons from time to time and the core business is The George Digweed Sporting Agency, which he runs with wife Kate. George shoots clays for six months of the year and from mid-August his attention turns exclusively to game. It should not be forgotten that he holds the record for the number of woodpigeon shot in a single day (661 in 1996) and also the unofficial record for dove in Argentina. Over the last six years he has transformed Owley into one of the finest shoots in the south of England.

They say behind every great man stands a great woman, and George is no different. No story about GD is complete without Kate, literally his other half, as the man is not complete without her. If it were not for Kate our man would have a mullet, drive an XR3i and be drinking vodka on Hastings pier.

Tall, intelligent and a bit of a fox, Mrs Digweed is George's manager, taking care of the behind-the-scenes running of the show and putting George in the position where he just has to get to the ground ready to shoot.

When George is away hosting at Owley or with his roving syndicate, Kate looks after other visiting teams and we wouldn't be surprised if some wangle it so that they visit on a day that hubby is away, such is the reputation of Kate as an excellent hostess.

When Kate's around, the over-riding feeling is that you are part of a private family shoot and this magical quality is key to the Digweeds' unique appeal.

If George Digweed had been born in the USA he would be a national icon, everybody would know his story, his truly remarkable achievements putting him beyond the reach of mere mortals. The next thing you know he'd be a Presidential candidate. President Digweed does have a certain ring to it, don't you think?

However, if the White House were to beckon, they'd find short shrift from George. The truth is that George is an Englishman, flesh and blood, through and through. Yes, the Digweed story is one of glory and success, but it is also one of a typically English pride, determination and inspiration. George is an example, and with hard work and dedication we can all learn from him.

Rather than settling for coming third or fourth with a bit of luck, you should start believing in yourself, work harder than the next man, concentrate on hitting every target, don't take the easy ones for granted and have the self-belief to win. Think like a winner and you will be a winner - that's the GD motto, the mantra that has guided him into the shooting history books.