PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR DTL SHOOTERS

Team Nottinghamshire

It’s been a busy month for counties, with three weeks of Intercounties shooting around the region, and this week it was the turn of the DTL shooters.

The venue as has become traditional was Nottingham & District GC, the weather perfect in every way, light cloud, warm sunshine and virtually no breeze, and as they say, the targets were running on rails in neatly manicured surroundings.

As I swung into the ground at 8-30am the first guns rang out, as home team Nottinghamshire got things underway, and Andy Brown was already recording the first of the straights that were to litter the scoreboard throughout the day, many including Andy’s first being the perfect 25/75 score.

From the onset it looked like Notts were not going to take any prisoners and a message was being sent for those waiting to shoot. Joe Booth shooting for Notts Juniors recorded the first ton of the day, and did it in style dispatching all 100 targets with the first barrel to give him his first ever perfect 100/300, a feat that was going to cost him a new cap later in the day.

The shooting of Joe's cap, the four on the right shooting the clays, the hats bottom left lads !.

The next squad out saw Notts shooters Jody Clarke100/299, Ken Rimington 100/299 shooting for Notts Vets and Curtis Woolley 100/298 all recording tons, laying down a firm marker for the other counties to aim at. Their team score of 1761/1800 reinforced by Chris Twigger 98/291, Andy Brown 99/294, Lee Clements 98/288, Pete Armett 98/291, Granville Hodgkinson 97/288 and L Wilcoxson 97/287.

Lincolnshire were next out and although recording some good scores especially from Andy Leak 100/297 and Nigel Lovatt 100/298 for Lincs Vets, those vital points were slowly getting away and at the final reckoning fell 20 points short of the Notts total to finish on 1741/1800, an anxious wait was now the only thing left to do to see if any of the four remaining counties could sneak past the leaders.

Leicestershire were next on the layouts with a fairly inexperienced team, but they did their county proud finishing on 1676/1800, and I hope they are back next year after gaining this Intercounties experience, J Linnell 98/292 and S Palfreman 98/290 top scoring.

Cambridgeshire were next up and were suffering the same fate as Lincolnshire, although good scores were going in, most notably David Christensen 98/291 and Tim Jones 99/291, on a day with ideal conditions, it was those second barrel kills costing the points and the team ended ten points away from dislodging Lincs from the Runners Up berth.

Norfolk with a reduced team again scored well but the drip factor of points again stepped in, and their effort slipped away to finish on 1730, David Reynolds top scoring on 99/293.

Long travelling Suffolk still smarting over the loss of last year’s Directors Trophy to Notts were obviously there to make amends, with three overall wins already this year they were not only after some glassware, but those vital points to get back the trophy they affectionately call “theirs”.

As the rounds progressed many a nervous look was aimed at the scoreboard as Suffolk crept closer and closer, Paul Neal shooting first scored a 99/293 to give Suffolk a firm foothold, then Frank Welham and Nick Havard in the next squad  recorded two more 99/293’s, I was almost beginning to think the whole day had been scripted. Inevitably the whole thing was decided in the final squad and it appears looking at the scores the damage was done on the first layout, with six targets escaping the Suffolk guns. A late rally of nine straights including three perfect 25/75’s in the last round  was just that bit too late to take the title away from Nottinghamshire, but it had successfully propelled them into the Runners Up spot, nine points in front of Lincs and eleven points behind the winners. Robbie Manning 96/286, Barry Lock 92/267, B Randall 97/281, G Howlett 98/293 and Darren Parsons 99/292 completed the Suffolk team.

Senior Team Runners Up - Suffolk

Winning Ladies Team - Lincolnshire.

In Ladies for many a year the dominant force has been Lincolnshire, always renowned for their trap shooting ability they have never really been tested until today. The Lincs quartet shooting mid-morning recorded a respectable 552/600, Tracey Bridge leading from the front with 94/277, backed up by Alison Dupree 93/275, Jackie Houghton 95/271 and Janet Stennett 90/259. But the Cambridgeshire trio of Hazel Whiten, Janet Maguire and most notably Sarah Christensen, who was on top form recording the highest ladies score of the day with a superb 97/284, ran them to the narrowest of margins of just two points to finish on 550/600.

In Juniors it was a straight battle between Notts and Leicestershire, as mentioned Joe Booth’s superb score earlier in the day setting up Notts well and George Hurst’s 89/261 was enough to secure victory on 561/600, although an honourable mention for England Junior Alex Harris from Leicestershire who scored a superb 100/295.

Winning Veterans Team -Lincolnshire

In veterans we had a six way team battle with Ken Rimingtons ton earlier setting the pace for Notts, Mick Feather supporting on 98/290, but Lincolnshire just edged passed Notts by three points. Nigel Lovatt top scored for Lincs joining the day’s ton club with a 100/298, Dave Shepherd admirably backing up Nigel with a 99/294, Mike Burton 97/287 and Malc Craven 94/273 completed the winning score of 592/600. Leicestershire Vets put in a concerted effort later in the day and finished agonisingly close to upsetting things finishing five points behind the leaders.

Finally a big thank you to Carl and his team for keeping us fed and watered, the wonderful Julia who efficient beyond comprehension, and not forgetting the smartly turned out refs, and for getting us finished ahead of schedule.

So the Directors Trophy is all barring a miracle of biblical proportions heading back to Suffolk, but we still have to draw a line under proceedings, so it’s back to Nottingham later in October for the Intercounties ABT.

Suffolk Chairman Dick Hails negoiating the safe return of the Directors Trophy.