THE NARROWEST OF VICTORIES FOR SUFFOLK

Puff Baker, Phil Moss & Neil Bedingfield (Suffolk Seniors)

Barrow Heath hosted round 5 of 6 of the East Midlands Intercounties shoots over the weekend, and what a weekend it was with the grounds bathed in sunshine over this two day event.

Directors Trophy leaders Northants got things underway on the Saturday, but after such dominance in the Intercounties Sporting they failed to really hammer home any sort of advantage to put the teams shooting on Sunday under pressure, Northants ended on 328/400 with Chris Sumner top scoring on 86/100.

Bedfordshire though did lay down a good marker; Andrew Clifton led the way with an excellent 92 and was backed up by David Ferriman 80, Glen Moore 85, Mark Stephenson 86, Steve Whinnett 85 and Adam Longstaff 70 to give them a finishing total 348/400.

Meanwhile John Bidwell of Suffolk making a rare appearance in Intercounties shooting was getting his county off to a cracking start with a superb score of 94, Phil Moss chipped in (no pun intended) with a solid 86, and it was certainly something for the Suffolk lads to build on the following day.

On the Sunday things got off to a prompt start in bright autumn sunshine, and I have to say at this point that although I didn’t take part in the competition, as I am still suffering from a prolonged shoulder injury, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, there is a real camaraderie between FITASC shooters I can’t recall witnessing before in any other discipline. So for those deliberating over having a go, I would thoroughly recommend it, it’s not elitist as some would have you believe, and I can guarantee you will come back for more.

I digress….going back to the competition; Suffolk continued to build on the good work done the day before and was added to by Suffolk team captain Neil Bedingfield 85 and Puff Baker 83, Steve Smith 81 and M Hayden completed the team to give them a team total of 348/400 to tie with Bedfordshire.

Leicestershire weren’t a stone’s throw away on 341, and Cambridgeshire almost made it a 3 way tie with Pietro Mastroeni needing a 90 to force a shoot off, sadly for Pietro and Cambs it was not to be with his 87 just falling short of the required score. So it was a tie between Suffolk and Beds, but unfortunately there were no Beds shooters available for the shoot off and as per the rules of the competition Suffolk were awarded the team title by default.

In Ladies it was a two team battle between Suffolk, winners of this on many occasions and Bedfordshire, and it was Bedfordshire who prevailed with the emerging talent of Becky Elmore top scoring for Beds on 78 and being ably backed by Jayne Maloney on 66 to give them a final total of 144/200, finishing just three clays in front of Suffolk, Pauline Chapman 81 and Pearl Butters 60.

Steve Brightwell & John Wells (Leicestershire Veterans)

In Veterans I guess it came as no surprise to see Leicestershire win yet again, and once again it was British Open Champion Steve Brightwell who did the damage with a magnificent score of 95 which was enough to also win him the sponsored High Gun money. Steve was as usual backed up by his sidekick John Wells, himself a former British Open winner, John’s score of 87 enough to give them a seven clay safety net over nearest rivals Suffolk who had Eric Chapman as top scorer on 91.

Steve Brightwell on his way to a High Gun score of 95.

Last but certainly not least Norfolk won the junior team title in a five way competition, Suffolk had set the early pace with Aaron Harvey top scoring with 88 to give them a score of 165/200, but Norfolk blasted past that finishing on 178/200, Jake Moore top scored on a superb 94 which also earnt him the Junior High Gun Trophy, building on George Townsend’s score from the day before of 84 and Josh Reynolds 76 sealed the victory.

Finally as always, many thanks to our hosting ground Barrow Heath and Phil & Marie and all the staff and refs who certainly made everyone feel very welcome, and provided two days of great competition, and they can feel proud that the attendance of 126 was the highest in over 10 years but fell just short of the all-time record set by Lakenheath in 2005 where 151 shooters took part.