Essex2024 Website : Skeet
South East Region Intercounties Skeet Team 2024
The Essex Skeet team for the South East intercounties at the National Clay Shooting Centre on Saturday 14th September is:-
Seniors
Alejandro Garcia
David Billington
Graham Turner
Dominic Lewis
Nigel Cullinane
Lady - Katie Durrant
Colt - Arthur Cutter
Junior - George Billington
Veteran - Glen Defreitas
British Open Skeet Championship
Nottingham & District Gun Club - Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August 2024
Congratulations to David Billington who came 2nd in Veterans at this event as well as coming 2nd in the parent and child trophy with son George Billington.
The South East Veteran team won the regional team event and this consisted of 3 Essex shooters, David Billington, Gary Bridger and Peter Stanton-Hope.
The event was well attended by many Essex shooters who all performed admirably so well done to all.
South East Region CPSA English Skeet Team 2024
The below Team has been selected for the British Open Skeet 2024 which is being held at Nottingham & District Gun Club on the 3rd and 4th of August 2024, which includes multiple Essex members. Congratulations and Good Luck to all of those who have been selected!
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - Saturday 27th July 2024
The Skeet County Championship was held at Clacton Gun Club on a glorious day. Graham Turner and Glen Defreitas started the day strong both shooting a 97 on the first squads of the day. Nigel Cullinane and Dominic Lewis then came in with a 98. The both shot off with Dominic taking the overall Champion title.
Champion - Dominic Lewis
Veteran - Glen Defreitas
Lady - Katie Durrant
Junior - Eddie Lockwood
Colt - Arthur Cutter
Arthur Cutter Dominic Lewis Eddie Lockwood
Katie Durrant Glen Defeitas
Skeet South East Intercounties
NCSC - Sunday 9th July 2023
Essex came 3rd in the Seniors with Gary Bridger also taking the overall Veteran title
Essex took the below team to the intercounties
Seniors
Dave Billington
Dave Hendon
Nigel Cullinane
Alex Garcia
Ian Lockwood
Lady
Gill Billington
Junior
Eddie Lockwood
Colt
Emily Chumbley
Veteran
Gary Bridger
Please click here to see the South East's report.
Skeet County Championship
Clacton - Saturday 24th June 2023
The Essex Skeet Championship was held at Clacton Gun Club on Saturday 24th June 2023. There were some great scores put in and it was a scorcher of a day.
Overall Champ - David Billington - 100
Veteran Champ - Gary Bridger - 99
Lady Champ - Gill Billington - 94
Junior Champ - Eddie Lockwood - 87
Colt Champ - Emily Chumbley - 92
Essex Skeet Team For South East Intercounties
The National Clay Shooting Centre (Bisley) - 25th June
Seniors
Glen Defreitas
Ray Simmons
Nigel Cullinane
John Lowrie
Dominic Lewis
Lady
Tracy Lowrie
Veteran
Gary Bridger
Colt
George Billington
Junior
Eddie Lockwood
Essex Team Runners up at South East Skeet Tournament
The South East Inter Counties Skeet Tournament was held on a slightly damp day on the 22nd September at Bisley.
Sadly we had a bad start as Alex Garcia's gun broke the day before so he had to use an ill fitting gun. Our senior team totalled 482 for second place behind Oxford on 488. Scores Glen Defreitas 99, Dave Hendon 97, Nigel Cullinane 97, Alex Garcia 95, and David Billington 94. Glen Defreitas won A class and came 2nd overall after a 4 way shoot off. Our junior, Harry Willis, won juniors with 92. Our lady Katie Durrant was runner up on 90 after a shoot off. Well done to all squad members for their efforts. We now look forward to the National Inter County championship at Dartford gun club.
Essex Skeet County Championship
Clacton - Saturday 22nd June 2019
Saturday, 22nd June finally showed what June weather should be: very warm with a slight breeze - ideal conditions to hold the 2019 Essex Skeet Championship. The new champion is Dave Hendon who shot 97 ex 100. Ladies champion was Katie Durrant with a 96, the same score as Colts champion Harry Willis and Steve Todd memorial shield winner Mark Burrows. Gary Bridger won the Veterans title on 93. Congratulations to you all and many thanks to everyone who turned up for their participation. Thanks too, to Andy Riva and his team at Clacton Gun Club for making everyone so welcome.
Left to right: Katie Durrant, Mark Burrows, Harry Willis, Dave Hendon, Tom McCluskey, Gary Bridger
Tom McCluskey Crowned National Colts Skeet Champion
Huge congratulations to Tom McCluskey who won the overall National Inter-Counties Colts championship with a 94.
Following on from the earlier seniors success at the South-Eastern Inter-Counties Championship, the team travelled to Nottingham for the National Inter-Counties on the 20th October with high expectations. In the end, the senior team achieved a very respectable 4th place with a notable contribution from Nigel Cullinane with a 99 in his debut shoot for the county.
Other team results were: Vets – joint seventh, Ladies – sixth, Juniors – third.
Success for Essex Skeet Team
Essex had a really good day at the Browning Masters Skeet tournament on the 2nd July at the Darford Gun Club. Alex Garcia was high gun on 99 and Tracy Lowrie won in the Ladies. Nigel Cullinane and Dave Pummel were class winners.
South East Intercounties - NCSC 2018
It was a very wet and cold day that greeted the Essex skeet team for the South east inter counties skeet at the NCSC. Fortunately the rain started to die off as our teams began shooting. And what a day it was for Essex! Results are as follows:
New South East inter-counties skeet champions 2018: Essex with a team total of 483; runners-up Kent on 477.
Peter Stanton-Hope 100 straight and South East Champion
Alex Garcia 97
David Pummell 97
Glen defreitas 95
Dave Hendon 94
Veterans champion Ray Simmons 97
Junior runners up Katie Durrant 91
Colt runners up Tom McCluskey 91.
Other scores of note
Nigel Cullinane 96
Amanda Foster 84, including her first 25 straight.
All in all an incredible day. But this squad will get stronger and stronger. Well done to all who took part. And the parents who supported our younger shots. Thank you all very much. Next stop the national inter counties at Nottingham gun club on Saturday October 20th.
County Skeet Team Announced 2018
The final skeet selection shoot took place at the Southend Gun Club on a very hot day. Hopefully we will be able to use this lovely ground, well maintained by the committee, as a regular fixture in the future. Sadly, the targets were a bit on the tricky side.
Top shot of the day was Dave Hendon with a 94. Other top scores as follows.
Glen Defreitas 93
Vic Bradley 92
Alex Garcia 91
Peter Stanton-Hope 90
Katie Durrant 89
Following this last selection shoot, the teams for the up-coming inter-county tournaments were announced as follows:
South-Eastern Inter Counties
Seniors
Alex Garcia Peter Stanton-Hope Glen Defreitas Dave Hendon David Pummell
Vet: Ray Simmons
Lady: Tracy Lowrie
Colt: Mason Terry
Junior: Katie Durrant
National Inter-Counties
Seniors
Alex Garcia Peter Stanton-Hope Glen Defreitas Dave Hendon David Pummell Nigel Cullinane
Vets
Ray Simmons Vic Bradley Richard Boutcher
Ladies
Tracy Lowrie Amanda Foster Diane Boutcher
Juniors
Katie Durrant Mason Terry Tom McCluskey
Congratulations to all of you on performing so well. Now the hard work begins.
County Skeet Team Announced
The Essex team for the South East Regional inter-counties tournament has been announced as follows:
Seniors
Alex Garcia
Dave Hendon
David Billington
Nigel Cullinane
Peter Stanton hope
Lady
Katie Durrant
Junior
Harry Willis
Colt
Tom McCluskey
Veteran
Ray Simmons
Essex Skeet County Championship
Clacton - Saturday 23rd June 2018
On a beautiful but breezy day on the 23rd June at Clacton Gun Club, Alex Garcia shot the only 100-straght of the day to win the Essex Skeet Championship. The other classifications also saw some fantastic scores: Peter Stanton-Hope's 98 won him the veteran's title, Tracy Lowrie shot a 96 to win the Ladies championship, Katie Durrant's 91 took the Junior title and both Mason Terry and Tom McCluskey shot 91 in the colts category, with Mason winning the title after a shoot-off.
Thanks to Andy Riva and all at Clacton Gun Club for making us welcome!
Left to right above, Glen Defreitas presenting trophies and badges to: Alex Garcia (Essex Champion), Tracy Lowrie (Ladies Champion) and Peter Stanton-Hope (Veterans Champion).
Below, left to right: Katie Durrant (Junior Champion), Mason Terry (Colts Champion), and Mason Terry with Tom McCluskey before their shoot-off for the Colts title.
England Skeet Team Selection Shoot
A number of Essex shots competed in the first round of the England Skeet Team Selection shoots at Dartford Gun Club over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April. Glen Defreitas, Alex Garcia, Nigel Cullinane, John Lowrie, Tracy Lowrie, Dave Hendon and Amanda Foster all competed. Alex hit 195 ex 200 for 8th place, and both Glen and Nigel shot 193 ex 200 for a share of tenth place. We wish them all well in the coming rounds
2018 Skeet Team Selection Shoot Dates Announced
The Essex county skeet team selection dates are as follows:
Sunday, 15th April at Dartford Gun Club
Saturday, 28th April at Clacton Gun Club
Saturday, 23rd June at the Essex Skeet Championships at Clacton Gun Club
Sunday, 24th June at Southend Gun Club
Selection will be on a points system with reference to current form.
Further information from Glen DeFreitas on 07905 740 552
Bookings at Dartford and Southend - contact Glen Defreitas (details above); entry on the day at Clacton.
2017 National Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament
The 2017 National Skeet Inter-Counties Championship was held at the NCSC Bisley in blustery conditions following the arrival of the tail-end of Hurricane Brian. Despite this, the targets were as good as could be expected. We suffered a major setback in the morning. Poor Mason Terry had damaged his hand playing football so could not take part. Fortunately we had Tom McCluskey to fight for something. And boy did he do that. His 85 in tough conditions made him the 2017 national inter counties skeet colt champion. Our veterans were just out of the reckoning. Keith Williamson 90, A J Goodchild 89, and G. Gooday 85.
Now onto our ladies who were runners up in the team event: Judy Lock 88, Diane Boutcher 85, and Pam Dorrington 77. Katie Durrant shot 78 in the juniors which was great for her first year. Our senior team needs plenty of work by myself to improve next year. We ended up about 8th. Scores were Glen Defreitas 95, David Billington 93, Dave Hendon 89, Chris Theobald 87, Dave pummell 83, and Paul McCluskey shot birds only in place of Mason and hit 72. Thank you all for attending. We now have a platform to build on for next year. There will be Allen Warren masterclasses. And lots of news throughout the winter. Watch this space...
Judy Lock - Diane Boutcher - Pam Dorrington
Further Skeet Successes
For the second time in 2017, and Essex Colt has won a major trophy. This time it was the turn of Tom McCluskey to take the title of National Inter-Counties Skeet Champion. He is pictured below with his trophy and badge - I'm sure he will treasure them for many years to come.
Additionally, the Essex Ladies came close to defending their title from 2016, coming in as runners-up in the same tournament.
2017 S.E Region Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament
The 2017 South East Region Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament was held this year on the 24th September at the National Clay Shooting Centre, Bisley on a fine and warm early autumn day. The Essex team went out on two squads starting at 13:30, with the Senior Team of Glen Defreitas, Dave Billington, Dave Hendon, Paul Terry, and Dave Pummell in one squad and Richard Boutcher (veteran), Pam Dorrington (lady), Mason Terry (colt) and Katie Durrant (junior) in the other.
Mixed fortunes followed for the seniors, with Glen hitting 97 and Dave Billington returning a 96 but overall the team came sixth. However, in the other squad, Pam Dorrington managed to shoot 93 which eventually took the Ladies' title and Mason Terry shot an excellent 24, 25, 24, 23 for a 96 and a clear victory in the Colt's classification. That score actually put him in joint 11th place overall which is a fantastic result in his first competition of this nature.
Katie was also competing in her first such tournament and improved as the competition progressed and she overcame her initial nerves. Her 81 was the second best Junior score of the day and promises much for the future. In Mason and Katie the county has some great young talent coming through.
Richard Boutcher's 93 ranked him in the upper half of the veterans' category, only three shots behind the vets winner.
Many thanks to Glen Defreitas for organising the team and to the NCSC for running the event.
Pictured left is the full Essex squad (left to right) Mason Terry, Paul Terry, Katie Durrant, Pam Dorrington, Glen Defreitas, Dave Pummell, Dave Hendon, Dave Billington (plus friend) and Richard Boutcher
Essex Success at South Eastern Regional Inter-Counties Skeet 2017
Two individual performances put Essex amongst the winners at the South Eastern Regional Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament held on the 24th September at the NCSC, Bisley. A fantastic 96 won Mason Terry the Colt's title, beating his father and others in the Seniors squad in the process, and Pam Dorrington's 93 secured her the Ladies' title. Both are pictured below receiving their commerorative badges from Johnny Johnson of the CPSA.
Skeet Team Selection 2017
Subject to availability, the following people have been selected to represent the county at the up-coming South Eastern and National Inter-Counties Skeet Championships:
Seniors: Glen Defreitas, David Hendon, Chris Rose, David Pummell, Paul Terry, Dave Billington (Nationals only)
Ladies: Pam Dorrington, Diane Boutcher (Nationals only), Judy Lock (Nationals only)
Vets: Richard Boutcher, G Gooday (Nationals only), Bill Goodchild (Nationals only)
Juniors: Katie Durrant
Colts: Mason Terry, Tom McLuskey (Nationals only)
Essex Skeet County Championship
Clacton - Saturday 24th June 2017
Blustery but dry conditions met the forty-odd competitiors for the 2017 Essex English Skeet Chempionship held at Clacton Gun Club on the 24th June 2017 making good scores difficult to come by. In one of the first squads out, Glen Defreitas set the early pace with a 98, matched a little later in the day by Trevor Hearn.
Very late in the day in the last squad out, Chris Rose and Richard Boutcher both threatened to join them but late dropped birds put them out of the running in their final rounds so the shoot-off between Glen and Trevor could get under way. Both shot 24s during the full round and then they went head-to-head for over a dozen pairs on the middle stands before Glen finally came out on top to take the Championship. Trevor, of course, came second with Chris Rose's 97 giving him thrid place overall.
Tia Ayres' return to competition after having her baby (congratutaltions Tia) saw her win the ladies' championship despite strong opposition, particularly from Judy Lock who was runner-up. Richard Boutcher's 96 sealed a victory in the vets category as Bill Goodchild, also on 96, was unavailable for the shoot-off.
It was particularly pleasing to see competitors in the Juniors and Colts categories, won by Katie Durrant and Mason Terry respectively, Mason scoring a very creditable 91 in the conditions.
This event also hosts the Steve Todd Memorial trophy competition for the highest score in classes B and C. Richard Boutcher's 96 from B class won him this coveted trophy.
Pictured above, left to right: Glen Defreitas, Mason Terry, Tia Ayres, and Richard Boutcher all show off their trophies.
Essex Ladies Take Skeet Inter-Counties Title
The ladies team of Judy Lock, Diane Boutcher, and Pam Dorrington (pictured below) won the National Inter-Counties Skeet Ladies' title at Doveridge over the weekend of 15th & 16th October 2016. Their best two scores from Pam and Diane, both 92, counted to give them the win by one shot from Gloucester.
The men's senior team (pictured below) of Dave Pummell (who kindly stepped in following a last minute cancellation by a team member unable to make it), Chris Theobald, Ian Matthews, Keith Williamson, Dave Billington, and Glen Defreitas, shot reasonably well for a respectable 11th place overall, with Dave Billington shooting a very good 98 the best result from the team.
Sadly, the county was unable to enter veterans, colts, or junior teams in this event.
2016 South-Eastern Region Inter-Counties Skeet Championship
Fine weather greeted the competitors at the NCSC (Bisley) on Sunday the 25th September 2016 for the S. E. Regional Inter-Counties Skeet Championship, although the blustery wind led to some tricky targets reflected in the lack of straights during the course of the entire day's competition.
The Essex senior team of Shaun Pipe, Glen Defreitas, Dave Billington, Keith Williamson, and Paul Burrows shot in one of the last squads of the day. Dave Billington was the team's high gun on 98 helping the team to an overall total of (tba) and a good third place behind Kent (1st) and Oxfordshire (2nd). Dave's 98 was joint leading high gun in the competition but unfortunately he lost out in the resultant shoot-out to a 25 straight, leaving him in joint second place overall.
Earlier in the day, the Essex vet and junior competitors - Richard Boutcher and Olly Pipe - watched Diane Boutcher shoot very well, including a 50 straight on the middle two layouts, to win the Lady's title on 96.
Thanks to the whole team for making the effort to turn out and represet the county, but a special mention to Paul Burrows who shot not only this tournament but also the National Inter-Counties Sporting competition at Highwaymans in Suffolk on the same morning!
Above, the Essex Inter-Counties team for the SE Regional tournament.
From left to right: Richard Boutcher (vet), Keith Williamson, Glen Defreitas, Olly Pipe (junior), Diane Boutcher (lady),
Dave Billington, Paul Burrows, and Shaun Pipe.
Above - the Essex senior team in action:
Dave Billington, Paul Burrows
Keith Williamson
Shaun Pipe, Glen Defreitas
Above - Diane Boutcher, Ladies Champion
Essex Skeet County Championship
Clacton - Saturday 25th June 2016
Almost a full year's worth of different weather greeted this year's competitors at the English Skeet Championship held at Clacton Gun Club on the 25th June, with some rounds interrupted by thunder and lightening and the accompanying torrential rain, whilst others enjoyed bright sunshine for their rounds.
Ray Simmons and Glen Defreitas both shot 97 fairly early in the day and had a long wait before shooting off for the title late in the afternoon. Glen held his nerve to drop only one target in the round, whilst Ray had an unfortunate second stand which cost him in the end. He did, however, win the veteran's trophy.
Pam Dorrington took the Ladies' title with a score of 94.
Glen Defreitas with the overall trophy, and Pam Dorrington with the ladies' trophy.
Ray Simmons (left) receiving the veteran's shield from Richard Boutcher.
Glen Defreitas (left) and Ray Simmons shooting stand five of their shoot-off round.
Paul Brewster leads Skeet selection
Paul Brewster shot an excellent 98 to lead the field after the first of three Skeet Team Selection shoots held at Clacton GC on Saturday the 14th May 2016. The weather was dry but mostly overcast and with some blustery wind making people have to think carefully about each of their targets, probably the reason there were no straights on the day.
G DeFreitas is close on Paul's heels only one behind on 97, with A Goodchild, R Boutcher, and K Norfolk sharing 96 just behind. Judy Lock is the leading Lady at the moment having shot an 86.
The next two of the three selection shoots (with the best two to count) are at Parkford on the 11th June and Dartford on the 19th June. Everything is still to play for for anyone keen to get into the team for the regional events later this year.
Long Wait for Skeet Result
The Essex senior skeet team had a long wait on Sunday, 18th October at Northampton Shooting Ground. Their overall team score of 479 ex 500 led the field for much of the day at the National Inter-Counties Championship but, sadly, late in the afternoon an excellent 491 from Yorkshire and 485 from Northmaptonshire pushed them down to a still very respectable third place overall.
The weather was not very helpful, with a dull grey sky merging into the high banks at Northampton and making it hard to pick the clays up. Despite this, the team all produced respectable scores with team captain Darren Sweeney scoring 98 closely followed by Malcolm Clarke on 96 and the rest of the squad close behind. Huge thanks to Ray Rogers who stepped into the team at the last minute following a late cancellation from another squad member.
Diane Boutcher recovered from a relatively poor 21 in her first round to finish on 92 ex 100 to take the third place overall in the ladies section.
The team above (l to r): Ray Rogers, Malcolm Clarke, Robert Humphreys, Diane Boutcher, Darren Sweeney, Pam Clarke, Asif Mitha, Shaun Pipe, Ollie Pipe, and Richard Boutcher
Essex Junior Wins Skeet Junior Title
Olly Pipe won the Junior category at the South-East Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament held at Bisley on the 13th September. The Essex Seniors Team also achieved a creditable joint runners-up place in the same tournament. See skeet-results for more details and photos.
Olly Pipe, SE Inter-Counties Junior Skeet Champion 2015
South-East Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament 2015
This year's South East Region Skeet Championship was held at NCSC Bisley where 9 teams took part in somewhat variable weather conditions. Essex started strongly with 3 25 straights in the first round from team captain Darren Sweeney, Jack Greenleaf, and Robert Humphreys. After some continued consistent scoring from all team members, the team ended up with 481 ex 500 which was jointly leading the field with Kent for much of the afternoon until the last team of the day, Oxfordshire, came in with a total of 485 to take the title by 4 targets leaving Essex as joint runners-up. Essex high gun in the senior's team was Darren Sweeney with 98 followed closely by Shaun Pipe on 97.
Essex achieved even better success with Olly Pipe winning the juniors with a very decent 93. Judy Lock posted a respectable 88 and was enough for 4th in the Ladies division and Richard Boutcher also ended up with a 4th place finish in the veterns' category with a decent 93.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part because if it wasn't for yourselves taking part these events wouldn't be able to happen. Darren Sweeney.
The Essex Team (left to right): Malcolm Clarke, Jack Greenleaf, Richard Boutcher, Darren Sweeney, Robert Humphreys, Judy Lock, Olly Pipe, and Shaun Pipe.
2015 Essex Skeet Championship
On Saturday, 27th June 2015, the hottest day of the year so far, the start of the promised heatwave greeted the 44 shooters who made the trip to Clacton Gun Club for the 2015 Essex Skeet Championship.
A 'hot' pace was set by Graham Gooday in the first squad out when he returned a score of 99, dropping his only missed bird in his first round and finishing with 75 straight. In fact, this early score was never beaten throughout the rest of the day leaving him as Champion and the Vet's winner, although O Wilde and Chris Theobald both made good attempts finishing joint second on 97.
Amongst a number of competitors finishing on 96, only one was eligible for the Steve Todd Trophy for Class B and C shooters - that was Rob Nash on his first competitive skeet outing. He is pictured below receiving his trophy from Helen Todd. Judy Lock took the Ladies trophy. Sadly there were no junior or colts entries this year.
Above: Graham Gooday with his skeet trophies
Above: Rob Nash receives the Steve Todd trophy
2015 Skeet Teams Announced
Skeet Team Captain, Darren Sweeney has announced the teams to represent the county in the two inter-counties tournaments that we compete for. The South-East Regional Tournament is to be held at the NCSC, Bisley this year and the National Inter-Counties will be held at Northampton. The teams are:
Seniors
Darren Sweeney
Robert Humphreys
Jack Greenleaf
Shaun Pipe
Malcolm Clarke
Asif Mitha (Northampton)
Ladies
Judy Lock
Diane Boutcher (Northampton)
Pam Clarke (Northamton)
Veterans
Richard Boutcher
Bryan Farr (Northampton)
Bruce Cain (Northampton)
Juniors
Ollie Pipe
Skeet Selection Shoot 2015
The skeet selection shoot that had already been planned prior to changes to the process, took place on Saturday, 21st March at the Clacton Shooting Ground. As a result of this change of status, it was disappointingly attended by Essex shooters, but those that did take part had an enjoyable day despite some challenging weather conditions. The low early scores were a sure sign that the high and blustery winds would impact on most people’s returns. Although still difficult later on, P Brewster managed two straights in the middle of his round of 97 to finish as the highest Essex gun on the day, followed by Robert Humphreys in the seniors section. Ken Peirse was the highest placed vet and Judy Lock returned the best lady’s score. Thanks to Andy Riva and his team for looking after this event.
Judy lock on her way to the highest lady's score at the selection shooot
Robert Humphreys who shot the second-highest seniors score
2015 Essex Skeet Team Selection
The selection process for the skeet teams for the 2015 season will be different to recent years. It will now be based on the on-going returns of anyone who has registered an interest in shooting for the team with committee member Darren Sweeney. He can be contacted by e-mail at darrensweeney956@yahoo.co.uk. Please make sure you contact him if you would like to be considered for the team.
There will also be a single selection shoot at Clacton on the 21st March 2015 which is optional but can be used to count as one of your returns for consideration.
It is a stated objective of the committee that, wherever possible, the skeet tournament events should be shot as a team with everyone shooting together in their squads, and they ask for your co-operation in meeting this objective when putting yourself forward for selection.
National Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament 2014
Following some last minute changes to our squad times due to some clerical issues, half the Essex team had to make very early starts on Sunday the 12th October at the Dartford Clay Shooting Centre. Maybe the early hour didn’t suit the senior team as no-one returned any really good scores, although no-one disgraced themselves either resulting in a final return of 469 ex. 500 and a seventh place overall. The senior squad included a county skeet debutante in Paul Burrows who made a respectable 93.
Highlight for the team was the Essex Junior, Tia Ayres, whose total of 94 won the overall Lady’s title – congratulations to her.
The Essex Vets, Ladies, and Junior teams all finished third in their classifications.
nd the skeet team to shoot at Dartford on the 12th October is:
| Senior Team | Veterans | Ladies | Colts/Juniors |
| Alex Garcia | Bryan Farr | Pam Dorrington | Olly Pipe |
| Peter Stanton-Hope | Bob English | Judy Lock | Tia Ayres |
| Shaun Pipe | Bruce Cain | Lynda Leeder | Michael Clarke |
| Ian Matthews | |||
| Steve Burrow | |||
| Paul Burrows |
Essex Take Runners-Up Place in SE Inter-Counties Skeet Tournament
A select group of Essex Skeet shooters met up expectantly at the NCSC at Bisley on the 14th September 2014 ready to compete for the South Eastern Inter-Counties Tournament. A couple of hours later and back in the clubhouse the seniors had returned a creditable 475 out of 500 taking the lead at that time.
Unfortunately, in the last squad of the day, Kent managed to beat that score pushing Essex into the runners-up slot, although this was the best result for the county for a number of years. Included in the squad was rookie Ian Matthews who returned an admirable 94 in his first ever representative shoot.
The team now looks forward to the 12th October when Dartford hosts the National Inter-Counties Tournament.
Back row, left to right: Ian Matthews, Olly Pipe, Michael Clarke, Alex Garcia, Peter Stanton-Hope
Front row, left to right: Bob English, Shaun Pipe, Bryan Farr, Pam Dorrington
Ian Matthews takes his opening shots on debut for the county.
2014 South-Eastern Inter-Counties Team
Based on the results from the table below, the following team has been selected to represnt the county at the South-Eastern Regional tournament on the 14th September 2014 at the NCSC, Bisley.
Seniors
Alex Garcia
Peter Stanton-Hope
Shaun Pipe
Bryan Farr
Ian Matthews
Vets
Bob English
Ladies
Pam Dorrington
Colts
Ollie Pipe
Juniors
Michael Clarke
We wish them every success.
England Skeet Team Place for Peter Stanton-Hope
After successfully shooting qualifiers at both Nottingham and Northampton with a four-round total of 389/400, Essex Skeet shot Peter Stanton-Hope gained a senior place in the England Team. Peter and the rest of the team will be travelling to Mulroy Shooting Ground in Ireland in August to represent their country in the Home International.
We wish them every success!
| NSSA Skeet 100 Straight for Ray |
|
On Saturday, 7th June at Oxney Willow Farm, Ray Rogers shot his first 100 NSSA Skeet straight. For anyone not familiar with this discipline, it involves shooting a round of 25 with each of four different gauges - 12g, 20g, 28g and 410, so shooting a straight is a rare feat worth celebrating. Ray had shot 99 earlier in the day and followed his 100 with another 99 so was obviously having the sort of day that most of us can only dream of. |
2014 Selection Shoot Results
The table below shows the final overall standings. Only those who shot at least two of the qualifying events are shown in this table.
The final squads will be based on these tables subject to individuals' availability for the two events. The organiser will be contacting people shortly to determine whether they are able to shoot or not.
|
Name |
Week 1 Score |
Week 2 Score |
Week 3 Score |
Points 1 |
Points 2 |
Points 3 |
Total Points |
Overall Position |
Classification |
Class Position |
|
Alex Garcia |
98 |
96 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
96 |
1 |
1 |
Senior |
1 |
|
Peter Stanton-Hope |
97 |
93 |
96 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Senior |
1 |
|
Shaun Pipe |
97 |
93 |
95 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Senior |
3 |
|
Bryan Farr |
95 |
97 |
91 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
Vet |
1 |
|
Bob English |
98 |
93 |
86 |
0 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
Vet |
2 |
|
Ray Rogers |
96 |
95 |
91 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
Senior |
4 |
|
Darren Sweeney |
93 |
94 |
95 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
Senior |
4 |
|
Ian Matthews |
90 |
96 |
90 |
8 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Senior |
6 |
|
Paul Burrows |
91 |
94 |
89 |
7 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
9 |
Senior |
7 |
|
Steve Burrow |
89 |
96 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
96 |
10 |
9 |
Senior |
7 |
|
Ollie Pipe |
83 |
96 |
87 |
15 |
1 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
Colt |
1 |
|
Ray Simmons |
94 |
0 |
90 |
4 |
97 |
6 |
10 |
9 |
Vet |
3 |
|
Ivor Clarke |
90 |
94 |
88 |
8 |
3 |
8 |
11 |
13 |
Senior |
9 |
|
Malcolm Clarke |
90 |
94 |
0 |
8 |
3 |
96 |
11 |
13 |
Vet |
4 |
|
Richard Boutcher |
89 |
83 |
94 |
9 |
14 |
2 |
11 |
13 |
Senior |
9 |
|
Stuart Clements |
93 |
89 |
98 |
4 |
7 |
11 |
13 |
Senior |
9 |
|
|
Asif Mitha |
92 |
89 |
6 |
97 |
7 |
13 |
17 |
Senior |
12 |
|
|
Wayne Rothon |
92 |
89 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
96 |
14 |
18 |
Senior |
13 |
|
Bruce Cain |
88 |
91 |
77 |
10 |
6 |
19 |
16 |
19 |
Vet |
5 |
|
Phil Clements |
88 |
89 |
98 |
9 |
7 |
16 |
19 |
Senior |
14 |
|
|
Pam Dorrington |
85 |
87 |
87 |
13 |
10 |
9 |
19 |
21 |
Lady |
1 |
|
Greg Dadd |
86 |
88 |
12 |
97 |
8 |
20 |
22 |
Senior |
15 |
|
|
Judy Lock |
86 |
80 |
85 |
12 |
17 |
11 |
23 |
23 |
Lady |
2 |
|
Hugh Walton |
84 |
87 |
82 |
14 |
10 |
14 |
24 |
24 |
Senior |
16 |
|
Diane Boutcher |
82 |
74 |
83 |
16 |
23 |
13 |
29 |
25 |
Lady |
3 |
|
Lynda Leeder |
76 |
80 |
75 |
22 |
17 |
21 |
38 |
26 |
Lady |
4 |
|
Michael Clarke |
80 |
70 |
72 |
18 |
27 |
24 |
42 |
27 |
Vet |
6 |
|
Pam Clarke |
69 |
74 |
0 |
29 |
23 |
96 |
52 |
28 |
Lady |
5 |
Essex Success North of the Border
A small group of Essex skeet shooters made the trip into Scotland over the weekend of the 19th/20th July to successfully participate in two competitions.
The Morton Classic was held in fog and heavy rain making the shooting conditions extremely hard for some of the Essex shooters who made the trip up to Scotland. Despite this, Malcolm Clarke was straight until his last round when he dropped a single target to finish with 99 which was enough to win A class. Closely following him was Ray Rogers with 98 in 2nd and 3rd went to Darren Sweeney with 97.
By contrast, the Scottish Open Skeet at Auchterhouse on the Sunday, saw fantastic weather and some good scores from the Scottish skeet shooters and England team members. Darren Sweeney missed a target on his first round but he straighted the remaining targets to finish on 99/100, just missing out on the final shoot off although his score was good enough to take 2nd in A class. Malcolm Clarke kept up his high standard of shooting but just missed out in the placings with a 97/100 which placed him 4th in A class. It's definitely great to see Essex skeet shooting doing so well around the UK.
Above (left to right): Ray Rogers, Malcolm Clarke, Darren Sweeney.
2014 Skeet County Championship
This year's Essex Skeet Championship saw just over 30 entries all trying to win the prestigious award of becoming Essex skeet champion. Early scores in squads 3 and 4 by Ray Rogers, Lee Thompson and Darren Sweeney (who dropped 2 of the 3 targets he missed altogether on his last round) saw all three shooters leading on the score board, all tying on 97.
The late afternoon saw the return of Dave Billington after a three year break from competitive skeet shooting, he showed his experience by shooting a 98 and putting him top of the leader board for a while. As skies darkened and with the threat of heavy rain the last few scores were returned to the club house revealing that we had a new skeet champion as Gary Bridger had shot a 99 knocking Dave from the top spot by just one target.
Ladies' honours went to Judy Lock with a score of 95 which was also enough to win her the Steve Todd trophy for the best class B or C shooter on the day. The veteran high gun went to Ken Peirse with a score of 96, the junior title went to Tia Ayres with a score of 77.
Sadly this year we didn't have any Colt entries and only one junior so we are appealing for more young shooters to take part - you don't have to be shooting high scores, you just need to be a member of the CPSA and have a good gun safety awareness.
Thanks to Andy and his team at Clacton for hosting this event. Thanks also to Darren sweeney for the report and pictures.
Championship title winners (L to R): Tia Ayers (Junior), Judy Lock (Lady's and Steve Todd Trophy, Gary Bridger (Champion), Ken Peirse (Vet)
Judy Lock on her way to 95 for the Lady's title and Steve Todd trophy for class B and C shooters.
2014 Selection Shoot Results
The third and final selection shoot took place on the 26th April at the Dartford shooting ground. The earlier squads had to contend with downpours of rain, whilst the later ones had hazy sunshine but increasing winds to contend with.
Darren Sweeney took the early lead with a 95, while Pam Dorrington secured her top place in the ladies' section. Later in the day Peter Stanton-Hope just took the top spot of the day on 96, shooting in the same squad as Shaun Pipe who equalled Darren's 95. Bryan Farr continued to show his consistency in the vets classification on 91 whilst Ollie Pipe secured the colt's place with an 87.
Bryan Farr confirmed his vets place on the team.
Peter Stanton-Hope was high gun for the day.
The second of this year's selection shoots took place on a glorious early spring day on the 29th March at Parkford Shooting Ground. The early squads had almost perfect weather conditions with the sun behind and very little wind. The afternoon shooters had to contend with an increasing wind but still good lighting conditions.
Shooting in the first squad of the day, vet Bryan Farr continued to show his experience and consistency with a very fine 97 which led throughout the rest of the day and took him up to second place in the overall standings. Also out first, Ray Rogers recovered well from a poor first round by his standards to finish on 95 keeping his challenge on the table up.
Alex Garcia continued his impressive performance this season with 96, joint second on the day and, with only one point, leading the field. He has already secured his position on the team. Bob English's 93 drops him a couple of places down the table but he still holds third place overall jointly with Ray Rogers. Peter Stanton-Hope and Shaun Pipe are currently sharing fifth place in the table having both shot 93 today, rather below what they would expect of themselves but still well in contention.
Of those who have only shot one round so far, good rounds at the final shoot of the series at Darford in April would put Ray Simmons, Stuart Clements, and Chris Rose well in contention all sitting on four points at the moment. Ollie Pipe's 96 as a Colt deserve mention, joint second highest score of the day (and ahead of his father). The ladies section is very close with only five points separating the top five competitors. Certainly all to play for on the 26th April at Dartford.
The general consensus of those who attended was that it was a very enjoyable day. Thanks go to Amanda and Darren Sweeney and Richard Boutcher who all contributed to a smoothly run competition and to David Ford for looking after the ground.
Colt Ollie Pipe shot 96 for joint second place overall at the Parkford selection shoot
Vet Bryan Farr finishing off one of his straights on the way to a winning score of 97
The first of this year's selection shoots took place on Saturday, 22nd March at Clacton Gun Club. The weather on this early spring day was very variable, including sunshine, strong and gusty winds, torrential rain and even heavy sleet! Forty-one Essex shooters braved these conditions in their attempts to get into the county skeet team.
Early in the day and shooting in the first squad out, vet Bryan Farr returned a fine 95. Soon afterwards Alex Garcia scored a 98, excellent on the conditions, and leading in the clubhouse for a large part of the day. Peter Stanton-Hope and Ray Rogers both managed to overcome the hail storm in the early afternoon to shoot 97 and 96 respectively but late in the day and looking into the low spring sun for much of the time Bob English managed to shoot an excellent 98 to tie Alex's earlier score for the overall lead and pipping Bryan in the vets classification. In the final squad of the day after a long wait to shoot and in the worst of the lighting conditions with a low sun making the last few stands very awkward, Shaun Pipe's 97 keeps the top of the table interesting.
Judy Lock takes a narrow lead forward in the ladies, two shots ahead of Pam Dorrington and a further two ahead of Diane Boutcher. Ollie Pipe was the best colt and M Burrows the best Junior.
With only five shots covering the top ten competitors there is all to play for at next week's Parkford shoot with Dartford hosting the final selection shoot on the 26th April.
Bob English clears stand one at Clacton on his way to joint top of the table with a score of 98
Wayne Rothon in action on stand two at Clacton.
Skeet Team Selection Shoot Dates Set
Selection shoot dates for 2014 have now been set. The result of last year's vote on venues for these shoots was overwhelming in favour of spreading them over the three grounds offered. As a result, these shoots will take place as follows:
22 March 2014 - Clacton (no booking required)
29 March 2014 - Parkford (booking details below)
26 April 2014 - Dartford (please book through Kelly Hockey 01322 311001)
Bookings for the Parkford date will be taken by Richard Boutcher, preferably via e-mail (richard.boutcher@hotmail.co.uk) or on 07850 332764.
National Inter-Counties Skeet At Nottingham
The National Inter-Counties this year were held at Nottingham Gun and District Gun Club. The weather affected the scores somewhat due to high winds. Shaun Pipe led the Senior Team with a decent 96, shortly followed by Darren Sweeney who finished with a 94. The Senior Team came joint 8th place overall, tying with Cambridgeshire. The highest Essex Veteran was Malcolm Clarke with a 93, and Pam Dorrington was the highest Lady with an 87. Michael Clarke was the highest Essex Junior with an 84 and Ollie Pipe was the highest Colt and also took the overall title with a 91. The Essex Skeet Team would also like to thank London Iron who kindly sponsored the Team shirts.
South East Inter-Counties Skeet – NCBC Bisley – 8th September 2013
This year’s SE Inter-Counties saw a lot of different scores from Essex shooters as they had to tackle blustery winds and also stormy conditions at times. Shaun Pipe shot a 96 overall but with the help from his team, Robert Humphreys, Peter Stanton-Hope and Alex Garcia they ended up with a 479 which did lead for a long time until Oxford drew and Kent ended up with a 481. The Essex Colt Ollie Pipe came first after shooting a 90 and drawing with Kent’s Jack Goodhew but he held his nerve and he then went on to shoot a 25 straight in the shoot off. Essex Lady Diana Boutcher came second, Veteran Bryan Farr came fourth and Junior Tia Ayres was third. All of those who shot for Essex for the first time really enjoyed themselves and the experience.
South East Intercounties - Bisley 2013
The team that competed at the 2013 South Eastern Inter-Counties tournament at Bisley.
Ollie Pipe at the S.E. Inter-Counties starting his round in the shoot-off in the Colts championship. He held his nerve to straight this round and take the title.
Essex English Skeet Championship
Clacton Gun Club
29th June 2013
Summer seemed to finally arrive just in time for the Essex English Skeet Championship as the whole day was fine and warm throughout, giving pretty ideal conditions for the forty-odd guns that turned up to Clacton Gun Club hoping to take the title or, at least, a class win.
A Goodchild set an early pace with a 96 which ultimately gave him the Veterans title and a Class A win shared with Alex Garcia and G Spolding. In the same squad Peter Stanton-Hope finished with a 97 which led in the clubhouse until the ultimate winner, Robert Humphreys, shot an almost perfect 99 to take class AA and the title. In the next squad out Ray Rogers finished his round only one shot behind in runners-up spot. Shortly afterwards, Shaun Pipe returned with 97 to take the class B win and the Steve Todd trophy for class B & C competitors.
Shaun’s son, Ollie completed a round of 89 to take the colts win, and Tia Ayres shot a 90 to win Juniors. Pam Dorrington and Linda Leeder (pictured) completed their rounds tied on 92, including Linda’s first ever competitive straight in her final round. Pam won the shoot off late in the afternoon to take the Ladies title.
Thanks as always to Andy Riva and his team at Clacton for providing us with a friendly welcome, good targets and fine catering. A special thanks to the referees who worked all day in the hot conditions.
Richard Ford Memorial Shoot - 8th June
46 shooters attended the Richard Ford memorial shoot at Parkford on Saturday 8th June. The day stayed dry although it was cold and windy for June but this did nothing to diminish the atmosphere. There was a good selection of both Richard's family and friends and skeet shooters and the scores reflected this, but a good time was had by all.
There was a lovely free buffet provided by David and Trisha and a very well sponsored raffle which raised over £550 for the Macmillan nurses.
The overall winner, and the first recipient of the new Richard Ford memorial cup was Peter Stanton-Hope who scored an excellent 97 considering the weather conditions.
Thank you to everyone who's hard work made the day such a success and the generous raffle sponsors.
Essex Skeet Team Third Selection Shoot
Parkford Shooting Ground - 30th March 2013
On the final day before the clocks went forward for the start of British Summertime, 45 contestants experienced extremes of weather from heavy snow to brilliant sunshine, all combined with some fairly strong and blustery wind.
Despite this, the overall scoring was the highest of the series so far, including excellent 98’s from Alex Garcia and Robert Humphreys which secured their places in the top six places. Peter Stanton-Hope had already secured his position at the top of the pack but still kept up his consistent scoring with a 96 that he was able to discard. Shaun Pipe clinched third place overall with his 95 and Lee Thompson’s 94 also ensuring a place in the squad. Darren Sweeney took sixth place in the table with his 94.
In the ladies category, Diane Boutcher’s 90 took her into the overall leader’s spot but only on count-back from Pam Dorrington. Judy Lock took third place from Lynda Leeder. Vic Bradley once again took the honours in the vets category, followed by a very consistent Bryan Farr and then a tie for third place between Bob English and Ken Peirce.
Ollie Pipe won the Colts category and Tia Ayres once again takes the Junior’s team win. Huge thanks were extended to Darren Sweeney for his sponsorship of cartridges for these youth classes.
Thanks also to the referees without whom these selection shoots could not have taken place, to Parkford Shooting Ground for hosting the three events, and to Peter and Jo Stanton-Hope for their organisation of everything.
Skeet Selection Shoot Round 2
Parkford Shooting Centre, St Osyth - 16th March 2013
The weather was very unkind to the 42 hopefuls who turned up to Parkford Shooting Centre on the middle Saturday of March. The wind was very strong and blustery making the targets very unpredictable for everyone, and the rain came down at times and the wind chill factor made it very uncomfortable to be outside.
The scores tend to reflect the conditions, although Peter Stanton-Hope did the best of everyone to overcome them for a creditable 94 and the victory on the day leaving him in an unassailable position at the top of the table. Behind Peter, only ten points separate the following fifteen places so there is plenty to play for in the final selection shoot over the Easter weekend.
In the Ladies classification, Diane Boutcher closed the gap to leader Pam Dorrington to three points while in the Vets category Vic Bradley’s first entry score put him in second place despite the conditions. Tyler Mihill’s first entry has provided some competition to Ollie Pipe in the Colts category. Peter Humphreys continues to head up the Junior category ahead of Tia Ayres.
We look forward to the final challenge on two weeks’ time with everything hanging in the balance for all but the overall leader. Let’s hope that the weather is more conducive to high scores then.
Skeet Selection Shoot Round 1
Parkford Shooting Centre, St Osyth - 2nd March 2013
The 2013 skeet season got off to a great start on the 2nd March at its new Essex-based venue at the Parkford Shooting Centre in St. Osyth near Clacton. A total of 41 entrants, including a number for whom this was their first foray into competition shooting, competed over the two ranges throughout a very busy day. It was a cold day under a grey sky, but with hardly a breath of wind to disturb the flight of the clays. Maybe everyone was lulled into a false sense of security by this first benign shooting weather for many weeks as the returns throughout the day were lower than would have been expected from those conditions.
The higher scores were spread throughout the day with early 95’s from Darren Sweeney and Lee Thompson in the first couple of squads, and an 89 from Pam Dorrington which stood as the best lady’s score from the first squad out until the end of the day. Early in the afternoon, Peter Stanton-Hope recovered from a poor start to return a 96 which ended up as the overall top score alongside Shaun Pipe from the last squad of the day. Bob English shot a very consistent set of rounds for his 93 equalling Ken Pierse for the lead in the vets class and, late in the day, Ollie Pipe shot 87 to lead for the colts.
Certainly in the Seniors it’s very close with only four shots separating the top eleven – plenty to compete for in the remaining two selection shoots on the 16th and 30th March, also at the Parkford ground. There are still a few spots left for anyone wanting to join the event – please contact Peter Stanton-Hope on 07901 655493 to book your place.
Peter Stanton-Hope @ Parkford 2-3-13
ATTENTION ALL SKEET SHOOTERS - Selection Shoot Venue Vote
There was high attendance and some good scores put in at this years selection shoots which were all held at Parkford but there were some complaints about aspects of the ground and so the committee has decided to put next years venue to a vote. This will be subject to the grounds being in agreement but four options have been proposed.
| Option | Description | Your Preference in order 1 to 4 |
| 1 | 3 shoots at Parkford in St Osyth as in 2013 | |
| 2 | 3 shoots at Dartford as in 2012 and previous years | |
| 3 | 2 shoots at Parkford and 2 at Dartford | |
| 4 | 1 shoot at each of Parkford, Clacton and Dartford |
For all options, the top 2 scores would count towards selection.
If you have not received an email with regards to this already from Richard Boutcher and are an active skeet shooter within the county and have done as least 3 registered shoots in the last 12 months to the end of March 2013, please send him an email with your selection, along with your name and CPSA number. 1 being your first option and 4 being your last option.
Richard's email address is richard.boutcher@hotmail.co.uk
Voting will close for this on 12th May so make sure your vote counts.
ESK South East Championship – NCSC 28th October 2012
The South-East of England Skeet Championship took place at Bisley last Sunday.
The weather was cold, cloudy with the odd spot of rain and enough wind to make the targets interesting. Despite theses adverse conditions, there were some 40 entries.
Peter Stanton-Hope emerged as victor with a very solid 99 in view of the severity of the targets to become Champion of the South-east.
Skeet National Intercounties – Doveridge 2nd October 2012
Vic Bradley - National Intercounties 2012 Veteran Champion
Vic Bradley proved that being a veteran is no barrier to winning major championships. Late on the second day of competition and in difficult lighting conditions he returned the sixth 100 straight of the championship. He then held his nerve to win the shoot off with another straight round followed by an impeccable middle-stand final decider to take the overall individual title and, of course, the Vets trophy.
Vic’s 100 helped the Essex vets team to a second place, while the Senior team managed a reasonable sixth place and the Ladies sixth despite losing a team member to illness at the last minute. Special mention must go to Tom Dixon who managed a score of 93, including one straight round, in his first representative competition for the county.
Diane Boutcher & Eve Groom
Everyone in the team struggled with the strong late sunshine which badly affected their sight of the clays especially on stands six and seven, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed the superb facilities at Doveridge and a great day out was had by everyone who came along to shoot or support.
Essex National Intercounties Team 2012
The teams were – Seniors: Peter Stanton-Hope (97), Darren Sweeney (97), Alex Garcia (96), Tom Dixon (93), Steve Burrow (88), and Asif Mitha (87); Ladies: Diane Boutcher (89), and Eve Groom (74); Vets: Vic Bradley (100), Brian Farr (89), Bruce Cain (86).
Thanks to everyone for making the long trip - Richard Boutcher.
South East Inter-Counties Skeet Championship – NCSC 9th September 2012
Asif Mitha, Darren Sweeney, Steve Burrow, Diane Boutcher, Bryan Farr, Peter Stanton-Hope, Alex Garcia
September 9th was a glorious, sunny and warm early autumn day doing a good job of making up for the weather we suffered during the summer of 2012.
This championship takes the form of a five-man senior team, and one representative for Vets, Ladies, Juniors and Colts. Sadly this year Essex was unable to enter either of the younger categories but was strongly represented in the other groups by seniors Peter Stanton-Hope, Alex Garcia, Steve Burrow and debutants Darren Sweeney and Asif Mitha, Vet Bryan Farr and Lady Diane Boutcher.
Despite the apparently benign weather conditions almost everyone competing leaked some odd birds and actually only two straights were recorded on the day. For Essex Peter led by example with a fine 98, Alex returned a 95, Steve and Darren both scored 93 and Asif was close behind on 92 for a total of 471 ex 500. Peter’s score ultimately gave him joint third individual place overall.
Darren Sweeney watched by Asif Mitha
Essex then led in the clubhouse for a long time until the last two counties to compete, Oxfordshire and Kent, managed to overcome the rising windy conditions to return 478 and 474 respectively to deservedly fill the top 2 places.
Bryan’s 93 was in touch with the joint Veteran’s leaders on 96 and Diane, also on a 93, ended up as joint Lady leader but unfortunately narrowly missed out by only one in the shoot-off round.
All round, then, a respectable - if not ultimately winning – performance on the day. Everyone enjoyed themselves, especially the two new members of the team, but most came away feeling that they could have done better. They’ll have a chance to prove that when we do it all again in late October at the National Inter-Counties Championship.
Steve Todd Trophy - Clacton 30th June 2012
Bryan Farr
Congratulations to Bryan Farr for winning the Steve Todd trophy, for B and C class shots, at Clacton GC.
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Shooting Ground - 30th June 2012
Tia Ayres, Jack Greenleaf & Pam Dorrington
The 2012 Essex Skeet Championship took place in late June on a fine but very windy day. The early pace-setters shot in the second squad out with Iffy Boatrace, a relative newcomer to the sport, shooting 96 in C class, just pipped by Brian Farr with a 97 from class B. In fact, these early competitors in their relative classes were never beaten making Brian the winner of the Steve Todd Trophy for B and C guns. Brian also clinched the Veterans’ trophy with his 97.
Iffy Boatrace
Shooting shortly afterwards in squad 4, Mark Billington shot a fine 98 in the conditions to take the honours in A Class. The middle squads also provided the Junior winner, Tia Ayres. The final squads of the day provided the overall and AA class winner, Jack Greenleaf, with an almost perfect 99 and the Ladies winner, Pam Dorrington with a 90, just one ahead of Diane Boutcher.
At the end of the day, everyone joined in thanking Andy Riva and his team at the Clacton Shooting Ground for organising the competition and especially Denis and Tim who refereed all of the rounds of the day, overseeing a total of 50 competitors between 9:00 am and nearly 5:00 pm. - Richard Boutcher.
NCSC Winter Series
Peter Stanton-Hope has continued his run of good results by winning the Winter Series held at Bisley over the course of nearly five months to the end of March 2012.
With four out of the five results counting, Peter returned three straight 100’s and a 98 to take the trophy with 398 ex 400.
He was 7 shots ahead of Tim Connolly on 391 and Martin Brister was third-placed on 389.
ESK Selection 3/3 - Dartford 25th March 2012
The weather started pretty miserably for the final Skeet selection shoot of 2012, with overcast skies and a distinct chill to the air. Despite this, some good early scores were returned including Peter Stanton-Hope’s straight 100 to confirm his top spot in the table. Darren Sweeney’s 99 and Alex Garcia’s 98 moved them both up the table rankings. Vic Bradley returned a very consistent 96, matching the scores he achieved in both the previous selection rounds.
A little later in the day, as the sun tried to break through, Ray Simmons shot a 99 to seal his overall second spot behind Peter. By the time the final squads went out at 2 o’clock, the south-easterly wind was starting to get up and affecting the flight of some of the low-house birds. Despite this, Diane Boutcher again improved on her best registered score to return a 96 making her the clear winner of the Ladies class. In the same squad as Diane, Tom Dixon only made a 94 but his earlier scores had already secured him a place in the team.
A total of nineteen guns competed for places on this final day. Thanks very much to everyone who has made the effort over the three weekends of competition – it shows that the Skeet discipline is very healthy in the county of Essex.
ESK Selection 2/3 - Dartford 11th March 2012
Following a week of miserable weather, Sunday’s second Essex skeet selection shoot at Dartford saw everyone bathed in bright early spring sunshine and a noticeable increase in temperature, and tee-shirts under a skeet vest became the order of the day.
Most of the same competitors turned up as had been at the first shoot two weeks before, but a few had, understandably, chosen to take part in a Help for Heroes charity event instead. There were still 14 entrants across the classifications, including one new Lady entrant. Those that did take part generally showed real consistency in their scoring with most either equalling or slightly improving on their previous score by a clay or two.
Ray Simmons shared the Essex High Gun with T Dixon, both with a commendable 98 but Ray’s previous 98 keeps him in pole position for the overall High Gun slot. D. Sweeney matched his previous 96 to retain third place overall and Alex Garcia overtook Asif Mitha in the standings with a 95.
Vic Bradley continues to lead the vets section with another 96, although Bob English is by no means out of the running having matched his previous score of 94.
Diane Boutcher almost certainly clinched her place in the team with a fine 95, including her first fifty straight in competition. Pam Dorrington shot for the first time in these selections and produced an 89 to just pip Eve Groom for second place behind Diane.
With one more selection shoot to come, on the 25th March and again at Dartford, several senior team places are still up for grabs as well as the honour of being High Gun over the three shoots. Good luck to everyone concerned!
ESK Selection 1/3 - Dartford 26th February 2012
On a lovely early spring day in pretty much perfect conditions, nearly twenty shots took their first steps to selection for the Essex skeet team; sharing the Dartford venue with the Greater London team meant that shooting went on until mid-afternoon.
Unfortunately, none of the Essex members managed to straight their round but Peter Stanton-Hope was very close, just dropping a single bird, followed closely by Ray Simmons on 98. D Sweeney and T Dixon are sitting just two further behind followed closely by Steve Burrow.
Vic Bradley is leading the Vets with a fine 96, closely followed by Bob English and Brian Farr (94 and 93 respectively). Leading the Ladies was Diane Boutcher on 93.
The next selection shoot is scheduled for the 11th March with the final day set for the 25th March, both again at Dartford. Bookings are still being taken for these events – all welcome.
Essex Gun Wins National Trophy
Congratulations to Malcolm Clarke (below) who has won the 2009 Scottish Skeet National championship.
ESK National Intercounties – Northampton 16 October 2011
Malcolm Clarke, Pam Clarke, Ken Peirse, Alex Garcia, Bob English, Steve Burrow, Tia Ayres, Peter Stanton-Hope, Brian Farr, Diane Boutcher, Ray Simmons, Pam Dorrington
All four Essex representative squads returned reasonable if not winning scores. Many of the team travelled up from Essex in a shared minibus adding to the team spirit of the squad ahead of the challenges facing them. Unfortunately, our squad times placed us last out on the Sunday and we faced a glaring sun, particularly on stand one. A significant number of birds were lost as a result.
The senior team comprising Peter Stanton-Hope (99), Alex Garcia (96), Steve Burrow (89), Ray Simmons (93) and Malcolm Clarke who was a late substitute (91) scored a total of 468 which was upper mid-table. The Veterans squad comprised Bob English (91), Brian Farr (91), and Ken Peirse (86); the Ladies squad was Diane Boutcher (93), Pam Clarke (79), and Pam Dorrington (88); Tia Ayres (91) was the sole Junior competitor.
ESK Home International – Morton Clay Targets 3rd September
Peter Stanton-Hope deserves a special mention as, having just qualified for the full England Skeet team for the first time, he managed a total of 148 ex 150 over the two days of the Home International championships in Scotland to win the highest new cap trophy and overall joint second place.
Peter also recorded a fine win in the Scottish Open championship, recording one of only four 100 straights together with another Essex gun, Ray Simmons, and then going on to win the shoot off from Peter Collins of Scotland.
ESK BO – NCSC 14th August 2011
Congratulations to Ray Rogers winning B Class in the British Open after a shoot-off and also to Thomas Dixon who took C Class at Bisley.
South East Intercounties Individual Skeet – 10th July 2011
Alex Garcia-Mayol receives South-East of England trophy from Johnny Walker Near perfect conditions at Dartford saw 48 x 25 straights being hit but only 2 X 100 straights, those of Steve Roberts (Greater London) and Alex Garcia (Essex). Steve started the shoot off but saw his first target sail away past low house, he then dropped a low 4 and a low 6 leaving the door wide open for Alex who was still straight as he went to station 7. Alex cleared 7 and his option for another 25 straight to take the title
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - 25th June 2011
Peter Stanton-Hope Tia Ayres
Peter Stanton-Hope - ESK County Champion 2011 The day started overcast but turned sunny for the last few squads in defiance of the fact that it was held during the Glastonbury Festival weekend. Dave Mayes had set the early pace with an excellent 97 and later Vic Bradley posted a 98 to hold the lead in the clubhouse until Peter Stanton-Hope, fresh from his selection as an England Senior, held off allcomers to take the title with a faultless 100 straight. Vic Bradley did hang on to the Veteran’s title, though. A couple of people looked to be on target to match him, but the blustery, windy, conditions led to them falling back into the pack. Gill Billington, coming back from a lengthy break from the sport, shot an excellent 95 to take the Ladies’ and Tia Ayres shot well enough to retain her Junior title.
Class B and C shooters contested for the Steve Todd Ttrophy where Dave Mayes’ 97 in C was matched by Jim McSweeney in B, leading to a shoot off for the title. Both were clear until the middle stand where they both missed the second of their pairs. Unfortunately, Jim also missed his option bird so Dave took the title by a single shot.
Gill Billington, Dave Mayes, Peter Stanton-Hope, Vic Bradley and Tia Ayres
Andy Riva and the team at the Clacton Shooting Ground organised the event very well, as usual, and a fine total of 52 guns enjoyed a great day out in the Essex countryside.
ESK Selection Shoot 1/3 – Dartford
The first Skeet selection shoot took place at Dartford and the event was held in good conditions with little wind in the morning; by the afternoon a breeze had developed and we saw a few scores start to fall away. Congratulations go to Alex Garcia who shot his first ever 100 straight to take 1st place, second place went to Malcolm Clarke with a 98 score. In the Ladies Diana Boutcher took 1st place with 92; Juniors went to Tia Ayres with 90 scored.
Alex Garcia-Mayol (right) with Johnny Walker
ESK Selection Shoot 2/3 – Dartford
The second of the three Skeet selection shoots was contested at Dartford on 3rd April. Top shooters on the day with 97 were Ray Rogers and Pete StantonHope. This left the third selection shoot on 24th April wide open with 9 shooters all in contention for the 5 Senior places available. Once again Diana Boutcher was the top Lady shooter with 87 and Tia Ayres was top Junior with 85 scored.
ESK Selection Shoot 3/3 – Dartford
The third selection shoot took place in very hot weather when Steve Burrow scored his first ever magical 100 ex 100 after over 5 years of shooting, second was Pete Stanton-Hope with 99, 3rd was Alex Garcia with 98, 4th Ray Rogers with 97 and 5th was Ray Simmons with 96. Once again Diane Boutcher was in first place for the ladies with 93. Vets place was taken by Bob English with 96.
Skeet South-East Intercounties
Dartford GC - May 11th 2011
Commiserations must go to Diana Boutcher who narrowly missed a shoot off for the Ladies title by a single point.
Essex Team Results Peter Stanton-Hope 95 Champion Allen Warren Surrey Alex Garcia 95 Lady Champion Sarah Quinn Kent Steve Burrow 93 Junior Champion Stanley Baughan Bucks Ray Rogers 91 Colt Champion Jon Bath Sussex Ray Simmons 95 Vet Champion John Wright Oxon 469 Counties Kent 1 472
Lady: Diana Boucher 94 Surrey 2 472
Junior: Tia Ayres 84 Oxfordshire 3 471
Vet: Bob English 89 Essex 4 469
ESK Team Team as follows: Pete Stanton-Hope (Capt), Ray Rogers, Alex Garcia, Steve Burrow, Ray Simmons, Lee Thompson (Reserve). Ladies: Diane Boutcher, Pam Clarke, Diane Waterhouse. Vets: Bob English, Brian Farr, Ken Peirse. Junior: Tia Ayres.
Selection Table 2011
Results for English Skeet (ESK) Intercounties held at Dartford GC on Sunday 9th May 2010
500 targets shot
Position Name Score Targets
1st Essex 496 500
2nd Oxfordshire 496 500
3rd Greater London 482 500
4th Kent 482 500
5th Sussex 482 500
6th Buckinghamshire 474 500
7th Surrey 473 500
8th Hertfordshire 457 500
9th Berkshire 184 200
Champion Allen Warren (Surrey) 100 100
Junior Louis Mondesir (Greater London) 98 100
Colt Stanley Baugham (Buckinghamshire) 98 100
Lady Kety Poulsom (Surrey) 97 100
Veteran Alan Archer (Greater London) 97 100
Representatives from 10 counties assembled at Dartford gunclub on a cold, overcast and breezy morning in May to compete in the 2010 S/E Intercounties. Oxfordshire, the 2006 and 2008 winners set the bar early in the day with a 486 ex 500. The day continued with spots of rain in a cold northeasterly wind and at 11-30 the Essex Senior team stepped up to be counted. With a 96 from captain Vic Bradley, 98 from new cap Lee Thompson, 99s from Bob English and Peter Stanton-Hope and a courageous 94 from Malcolm Clarke, nursing two broken ribs from a recent boating accident, we had equalled Oxfordshire on 486. There were however still several good teams to go out, including last year´s winners Kent. But in the end, even with all of JohnnyWalker´s banter, no one equaled the two top tying scores. The competition was now left in the unusual situation for a team event of a shoot off for first place. Three members from each of Oxfordshire and Essex shot 2 alternate pairs from stand 4 giving a combined team score ex 12. Shooting for Essex was Peter Stanton-Hope, Lee Thompson and Bob English. Oxfordshire shot first letting two birds slip by, then Essex who shot all four. Oxfordshire let two more go followed by another solid four by Essex. Finally both teams dropped one in the last round, leaving Essex the overall winners scoring 11 ex 12 to Oxfordshire´s 7 ex 12.
Vic Bradley, Lee Thompson, Bob English, Peter Stanton-Hope and Malcolm Clarke
Tia Ayres, Ron Jones, Steve Burrow and Pam Dorrington
Peter Stanton-Hope, Lee Thompson & Bob English
Malcolm Clarke of Essex "reeling in" Johnny Walker of Kent
Skeet County Championship
Clacton GC - Saturday 12th June 2010
Champion Vic Bradley 98/100
Veteran Vic Bradley 98/100
Lady Gill Billington 90/100
Junior Tia Ayres 90/100
A blustery day with sunny intervals greeted the 49 contenders who arrived at Clacton Gun Club on Sat. 12th June. They were there to compete in the Essex County Skeet Championship. The targets were tricky, which reflected in the scores, with no one hitting the ton. In the end it was down to a shoot off for high gun between Vic Bradley and Stuart Lodge, both on 98. They both shot 24 out of the next 25 and went to pairs in the middle. Once again Vic Bradley emerged as both Senior and Veteran champion. Well done Vic. Retaining the ladies title was Gill Billington, and with a personal best of 90, Tia Ayres is the new Junior champion. Winning the Steve Todd memorial trophy for the highest score in B or C was John Willmott a B class shooter with 96. Well done to everyone taking part and a big thank you to Andy Riva and his team at Clacton for running the day.
Peter Stanton-Hope - July 2010.
Vic Bradley Gill Billington
Tia Ayres
Results for 1st ESK Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 7th March 2010
THOMPSON L 98 100
BRADLEY V 98 100
ENGLISH R 98 100
STANTON-HOPE PL 97 100
JONES RVF 96 100
SIMMONS R 95 100
BOATRACE L 95 100
BURROW S 94 100
CLARKE M 93 100
SWEENEY D 93 100
ATKINSON M 93 100
MCSWEENEY J 92 100
AYRES C 90 100
WATERHOUSE M 90 100
WILMOTT J 89 100
BOUTCHER D 87 100
CHAMBERS J 87 100
AYRES T 85 100
ROBINSON F 85 100
CLARKE P 84 100
DORRINGTON P 83 100
PEIRSE KW 82 100 B
WATERHOUSE RB 77 100 C
WATERHOUSE DK 76 100
Results for 2nd ESK Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 21st March 2010
CLARKE M 98 100
BRADLEY V 98 100
THOMPSON L 97 100
WILMOTT J 97 100
STANTON-HOPE PL 96 100
BOATRACE L 96 100
ENGLISH R 96 100
ATKINSON M 95 100
JONES RVF 94 100
BURROW S 94 100
DORRINGTON PM 93 100
WATERHOUSE M 91 100
WATERHOUSE DK 90 100
SIMMONS R 89 100
CHAMBERS J 88 100
BOUTCHER D 86 100
ROBINSON F 84 100
AYRES C 83 100
WATERHOUSE RB 81 100
CLARKE P 80 100
GARDNER D 80 100
AYRES T 79 100
Results for 3rd ESK Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 4th April 2010
BRADLEY V 99 100
GARCIA-MAYOL A 99 100
STANTON-HOPE PL 96 100
ENGLISH R 93 100
CLARKE M 93 100
BOUTCHER R 91 100
ROBINSON F 91 100
JONES RVF 89 100
WATERHOUSE DK 89 100
DORRINGTON PM 88 100
BOUTCHER D 86 100
WATERHOUSE M 86 100
WATERHOUSE RB 86 100
WILMOTT J 85 100
AYRES T 84 100
AYRES C 83 100
GARDNER D 83 100
CHAMBERS J 80 100
CLARKE P 74 100
Skeet Challenge held at Dartford GC on Sunday 18th October 2009
High Gun Martin Brister (Sussex) 100 100
Veteran Gordon Lee (Kent) 99 100
Lady Gill Billington (Essex) 98 100
The Essex v Kent Skeet match results were as follows:
Top 5 Essex scores
Vic Bradley 99
Dave Billington 99
Gill Billington 98
Mick Atkinson 98
Chris Rose 97 491/500
Top 5 Kent Scores
Gordon Lee 99
Johnnie Walker 98
Hector Dallas 98
Geoff Evans 98
Dave Andes 98 491/500
A shoot off was called to decide the match with Dave Billington & Vic Bradley representing Essex and Johnnie Walker & Daren Wood representing Kent. The Essex duo won with 48/50 to Kent´s 46/50. The winner of the Tim Convoy memorial cup was Gordon Lee, being the highest placed Essex/Kent shooter ON the DAY.
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - Saturday 13th June 2009
Champion V Bradley 99 100
Lady G Billington 99 100
Veteran V Bradley 99 100
Junior J Greenleaf 96 100
Colt N Smith 87 100
Skeet South-East Intercounties
Dartford Gun Club - Sunday 31st May 2009
Champion John Watson (Sussex) 100 100
Junior Jack Greenleaf (Essex) 100 100
Colt Tom Corbin (Kent) 98 100
Lady Trudi Johnston (Greater London) 93 100
Essex 4th place overall 480/500
Chris Rose 97
David Billington 96
Gill Billington 96
Malcolm Clarke 96
Peter Stanton-Hope 95
Lady Pam Clarke 85
Jnr Jack Greenleaf 100
Vet Bob English 94
Results for 3rd English Skeet Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 5th April 2009
Rose C 98 0 100
Billington G 97 1 100
Greenleaf J 97 1 100
Stanton-Hope P 97 1 100
Clarke M 97 1 100
Billington D 96 2 100
Byatt D 95 3 100
Simmons R 94 4 100
English R 93 5 100
Goodwin S 89 9 100
Elliott D 88 10 100
Robinson F 87 11 100
Clarke P 86 12 100
Chambers J 85 13 100
Results for 2nd English Skeet Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 15th March 2009
C Rose 98 0 100 J
Greenleaf 98 0 100
G Billington 96 2 100
D Billington 96 2 100
R Simmons 96 2 100
M Clarke 95 3 100
S Piper 95 3 100
D Stanton-Hope 94 4 100
S Burrow 94 4 100
D Sweeney 93 5 100
D Bignall 92 6 100
J Wilmott 92 6 100
P Clarke 91 7 100
L Steed 91 7 100
M Atkinson 91 7 100
D Elliott 91 7 100
J Chambers 90 8 100
B English 90 8 100
S Goodwin 89 9 100
L Boatrace 88 10 100
D Byatt 87 11 100
F Robinson 87 11 100
Results for 1st English Skeet Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 1st March 2009
Billington G 99 0 100
Rose C 99 0 100
English R 98 1 100
Stanton - Hope P 98 1 100
Bignell D 97 2 100
Billington D 96 3 100
Sweeney D 95 4 100
Steed L 95 4 100
Simmons R 95 4 100
Piper S 95 4 100
Greenleaf J 95 4 100
Atkinson M 95 4 100
Chambers J 94 5 100
Clarke M 94 5 100
Clarke P 92 7 100
Byatt D 92 7 100
Boatrace L 92 7 100
Peirse K 91 8 100
Wilmott J 91 8 100
Burrow S 88 11 100
Goodwin S 88 11 100
Morris J 87 12 100
Robinson F 86 13 100
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - Saturday 14th June 2008
Champion T. Convoy 100/100
Veteran J. McSweeney 100/100
Lady G. Billington 98/100
Junior L. Steed 97/100
Colt J. Greenleaf 97/100
Results for ESK Selection held at Dartford GC on Sunday 6th April 2008
ROSE C 98 100
BILLINGTON D 97 100
SIMMONS R 97 100
BILLINGTON GC 96 100
SWEENEY D 96 100
CLARKE M 96 100
STEED L 96 100
GREENLEAF J 94 100
GOODWIN S 92 100
ENGLISH R 88 100
ROBINSON F 76 100
CLARKE P 72 100
Skeet Intercounties
Dartford GC - Sunday 24th June 2007
1st Kent 486/500
2nd Essex 485/500
3rd = Berkshire 482/500
3rd = Surrey 482/500
5th Oxfordshire 480/500
6th Sussex 475/500
7th Greater London 474/500
8th Hertfordshire 465/500
9th Buckinghamshire 436/500
Champion (s/o) Darren Wood (Kent) 100/100
Lady Sarah Gray (Kent) 97/100
Veteran (s/o) Bob English (Essex) 97/100
Junior Jason Adams (Kent) 94/100
Colt (s/o) Jack Greenleaf (Essex) 94/100
A really good day was had by all (despite the weather). This event, being held for the first time at Dartford Gun Club, was run extremely well with a good atmosphere, good food and excellent targets. The ground looked immaculate and obviously a lot of hard work had gone into the running of this championship. The champion, after a shoot off with Dave Morgan and Ross Pottinger, was Darren Wood from Kent, who was delighted, the Lady Champion was Sarah Gray from Kent and the Junior Champion was Jason Adams also from Kent who was unable to have a shoot off as James Ayes was not present so he won by default. The Colts had a shoot off with Jack Greenleaf from Essex emerging the winner and the Veterans also had a shoot off with Bob English from Essex taking the title. (Colin Webb was not present so he was unable to contest the title). Again, the team shoot went down to the wire with Kent winning by just 1 target from Essex with Berkshire and Surrey tying for third place
Skeet South East Intercounties
Doveridge - Sunday 1st October 2006
3rd Essex Seniors 486/500
Gill Billington 99/100
Scott Piper 98/100
Tim Convoy 97/100
Dave Billington 96/100
Dave Elliot 96/100 1st
Essex Veterans 287/300
Bob English 98/100
Mick Atkinson 96/100
Jim McSweeney 93/100
9th Essex Juniors 270/300
Jack Greenleaf 96/100
Joe Baker 90/100
David Bolton 84/100
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - Saturday 1st July 2006
Champion J. McSweeney 100/100
Veteran J. McSweeney 100/100
Lady G. Billington 97/100
Junior D. Bolton 95/100
Skeet County Championship
Clacton Gun Club - Saturday 18th June 2005
Champion Vic Bradley
Lady Gill Billington
Junior Joe Baker
Veteran Jim McSweeney