SUPER SUFFOLK DOMINATE SKEET - By Colin Butler

Nottingham & District Gun Club once again hosted this year’s Inter Counties Skeet Championships and a cloudy day with a fairly stiff breeze with the occasional gusts  welcomed shooters to the ground and it was just enough to keep even the most experienced skeet shooter on their toes.

The Winning Suffolk Senior Skeet Team

As usual this event is hotly contested as over the last few years most of the Counties in the south and middle of the region have claimed the bragging rights by taking the senior title. This year one county stood alone and dominated proceedings, shooting last in the day Suffolk racked up a massive team score of 586 ex 600 a huge eleven clays in front of runners up Lincolnshire once again proving its consistency that takes the titles. The Suffolk boys made light work of the testing conditions with Pete Bloomfield, Roger Grosser, Darren Parsons and Mike Bradley all scoring 98 ably backed up by Robbie Manning and Barry Lock on 97 and John Goddard 95 and Richard Hunter 85 completing the line up. The Lincolnshire seniors shooting early on  sat and watched the challengers come and go all day long only to have the title taken away from them in the fading light but at least gained the reward of taking the runners up trophies over former winners Northants back in third, the Lincs team of Mel Hunns 97, Andy Harvey 97, Pete Blackbourn 97,Pete Shaw 96, Mike Burton 95, Paul Zaitschenko 93 and Dale Houghton 91 just hanging on by four clays.

The Ladies title was once again a nail biter with the Camb’s Ladies just overhauling the Northants girls of Mo Sentance 91, Rose Palmer 91 and Bex Lee 83 by just a single clay. Michele Conway was the deciding factor in all this by recording a great score of 96, Liz Green 87 just doing enough to secure the victory on 183 ex 200, Hazel Whiten and Sarah Christensen completed the winning Cambridgeshire foursome.

Cambridgeshire Ladies - Where's Hazel ?

The veteran’s team event was no less exciting with Norfolk finishing all square with home team Nottinghamshire on 190ex 200, Mike Jennings 96 top scoring for Norfolk and John Miller 97 doing the same for Notts. The shoot off on the middle peg quickly saw Nott’s run out the winners, Paul Brown, John Townroe and Dave Sayer completed the line up of the winning Nott’s team.

Vets Winners Nott's - Paul Brown Finally caught on camera !!!

The Junior trophy went to Nott’s juniors who are fast becoming leading lights in the region although it was oh so close as there score of 187 ex 200 only just held on with Norfolk falling just one clay short and Leicestershire two. Ross Islip led the way for the home team with 96 which was also enough for him to take the trophy for the highest scoring junior team member, Tim Hobbs 90, Luke Bartle 91 and Joe Booth 83 completed the winning team.

Ross Islip ( Notts) - Junior High Gun

Finally I hope you can spare me 5 minutes of fame, as I have already said it was a testing day in the gusting conditions and it is rare that in an event of this calibre that a ton is not taking the honours. Well although I did not record that heady height I did manage to top score on the day with 99, my very first High Gun score in 10 years of shooting, I couldn’t believe it and I don’t think anybody else could either.

And very finally a great big thank you to Carl, Jonathan, Julia and Linda and indeed all the staff at Nottingham & District for running the event that ran like clockwork all day long.