Sussex Champions 2012

2012 saw some highs and lows for Sussex. We were clear champions in the South East Regions FITASC, with a team win which saw us 7 targets clear of our nearest rivals.

The 2012Sussex Sporting held on virgin ground was a great success, through the combined efforts of the ground owner Darren Barton, Northall Veteran Dan Kerwood; not to mention the sponsors and volunteers who made the day run smoothly, for the 130 Sussex shooters. The course was not the easiest which is confirmed by the scores. The only 90’s shooter being our very own George Digweed (95), Veteran Ray Effamy (81), Lady Charlotte Kerwood (71) and Junior Dan Christian (81). Sadly there was not a Colt present.

Ivor Dadswell & Steve Golding

Whilst we are lacking in Colts to represent the County our young shots Scott Anderson, Guy Franklin, Hannah Gibson, Dan Christian, Phoebe Givron Taylor are still continuing to consistently win their championships. Junior star of the future, Dan Tarrant claimed Gold at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival despite the 46c heat and Alex Campbell scored an impressive 24/25 in his first attempt at the Sussex DTL.

George Digweed Sussex shooter and International Champion continued his never ending run of success with a resounding 20th World Championship in Cyprus in September, with an amazing 199 out of 200.

Alex Campbell & Steve Golding

A special thank you goes out to all our sponsors who helped make the year a success including KS Builders, Robbins of Herstmonceux, Tony Sorrell, Tony Hawkins and Mill Farn, most importantly not forgetting our very own Johnny Johnson who kindly donated to the cause. On behalf of the committee I would like to say thanks to everyone who supported the County in 2012.

So to round up I am sure that everyone who knows Steve Golding our outgoing Chairman would like to thank him for his excellent management of the committee over the past years.

Cliff Goodwin & Steve Golding

The position of County Chairman has been taken by our current trap discipline Captain and former Sussex Supreme Champion Tim Woodhams, other appointments include Tony Smith as Skeet Captain, Veteran Sussex shot, Jim Lamb has FITASC and Sporting Captain role, International Champion Charlotte Kerwood is the new trap discipline Captain and Gary Robbins as Committee Member. All other appointments remain the same.

SE-Inter-Counties Helice was held at Invicta Gun Club in Kent and in near monsoon conditions the championship had to cut ti 12 targets because on water in the trench. With Ivor and Tim Woodhams out of contention due to injury, it was time for the two new Sussex caps Dan Okines and Al Williams to shine.

They did a great job and put in some pretty healthy scores not bad for their first Helice this year, Sussex came a overall second to Kent and Sussex Colt Jack Judd had his first shoot-off with Surrey’s Fletcher King, better luck next time Jack, scores as below.

Sussex Helice Team Scores
John Foy 11
Al Williams 11
Dan Okines 10
Richard Plester 10
John Taylor (Vet) 10
Audrey Rex (Lady) 7
Phoebe Givon-Taylor (Jnr) 6
Jack Judd (Colt) 6

All was not lost as Sussex Junior Dan Tarrent won the Junior title so we did not come home empty handed, scores as below

Matt Lawrence 86
Tim Woodhams 85
Jack Jefferies 72
Norman Searles (Vet) 85
Audrey Rex (Lady) 60
Dan Tarrent (Jnr) 86
Arron Smith (Jnr) 85

Sussex Olympic Trap Champions
W Renney 76
Audrey Rex (Ladies) 50

Sussex Double Trap Champion
Colin Robinson 82

Although our scores were steady with no major hic-ups Sussex came overall 5th, on the plus side Dave Simmons was only 1 target behind the top scores and Aaron Smith won the Juniors also colt Jack Judd had his first outing shooting UT, see the scores as below.

Dave Simmons 94
Tim Woodhams 87
Matt Lawrence 85
Gary Robins 80
Silvano De Laurenzy (VET) 77
Aaron Smith (JNR) 82
Jack Judd (COLT) 39

Sussex Clear Winners of SE Regional FITASC Inter-counties

The South East regional inter-counties held at Southdown on the weekend of the 9^th September was attended by seven full teams and including Greater London, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire.

The targets as usual were testing but fair with something for everyone, course setter Shaun Peckham, put on two layouts in areas not shot in recent years, including a layout on the hill behind the named the sunflower meadow. This was aptly named and a pleasure to shoot in the pleasantly warm summer sun with a range of interesting targets from the 13 traps, new system.

Sussex stormed the championship with a clear win and a team score of 420, which was 7 targets clear of the joint second place teams of Surrey and Bucks with 415. The average team score was 84.4 with a high gun being claimed by George Digweed (95), the rest of the team were not far behind with Martin Goldie (85), Tom Bury (83), Gary Robbins (80) and Jeff Dix (79).

So all in all a great result for the County and a confidence boost for the upcoming Sussex Championship on the weekend of the 12^th October, congratulations to the Sussex FITASC Team.

Sussex Sporting at SSG Shoreham 26th August 2012.

Report by Cliff Goodwin.

For many, the Sussex Sporting is the highlight of the Sporting calendar. Usually held late summer, we have been blessed with fine weather for this event for as long as I can remember and this year proved no exception. Owners Jamie Peckham and Darren Barton had preened the ground to perfection and the cluster of marquees, hog roast, crammed raffle prize table and al-fresco dining area around “shoot control” added to the atmosphere of a major event.

With 130 competitors participating, the shoot was certainly buzzing and it was great to see that many had travelled from outside the county to take part. Alongside Sussex shooters were visitors from Bucks, Greater London, Surrey and Kent and there was also a six-man contingent from the Channel Islands who were in the area for a World Sporting Series event down the road at Southdown. I bet they’re glad they made the effort to pop in as the target setting was absolutely top notch.

Jamie Peckham had just returned from running the traps at the World Championships and had, no doubt, taken some inspiration from the infamous RED and BLUE courses at Sweetslade. Northall’s Dan Kerwood had also lent a hand with the course design and had tweaked several stands with his own special brand of deviousness. As a result, we were treated to some of the most entertaining targets I have shot all year. Nothing was out of range but the array of speeds and angles, combined with the spectacular valley setting, ensured that cards would be wrecked if shooters failed to take the trouble to read each target carefully.

Stands of note that spring to mind are the “downhill rabbit”, “driven battue”, a pair of “exocet simultaneous crossers” and a deceptively slow “white incomer” that glided seductively down the valley but dipped just as it reached the “sweet spot” – stonking sport! And then there was the slow left to right crosser that tantalisingly nipped across a twelve foot gap in the trees and managed to single-handedly trash my card. Oh well, that’ll teach me to stay awake!

For the record, the technical nature of the course meant that many felt it shot a lot harder than it was but the figures don’t lie:

95% of shooters hit more than 50/100
82% of shooters hit more than 60/100
47% of shooters hit more than 70/100
17% of shooters hit more than 80/100

That said, only one shooter broke the 90 barrier, but then he is 19 times world champion!

Can’t wait for the next one, bring it on!

Congratulations to all the winners below.

Sussex Senior Champion – George Digweed 95

Sussex Veterans Champion – Ray Effamy 81

Sussex Ladies Champion – Charlotte Kerwood 71

Sussex junior Champion – Dan Christian 81

Sussex Colt Champion – no entries

High Gun George Digweed 95

AA Class 1st Alex Cobb 89 2nd Ross Straker 87 3rd Ludovic Anthony 87

A Class 1st Chris Frost 77 2nd Johnathan Ward 77 3rd Jim Lamb 77

B Class 1st Adam Wilmshurst 78 2nd Paul Curtis 74 3rd A Williams 73 / B Smith 73

C Class 1st Darren Keyte 70 2nd Adrian Smith 68 3rd Brian Walker 64

Ladies 1st Charlotte Kerwood 71 2nd Sarah White 69 3rd Fiona Thompson 65

Vets 1st Geoff Evans 84 2nd K Upton 81 / R Effamy 81

Juniors 1st Dan Christian 81 2nd Charlie Clark 74

Guests

A Class Bob Sadunasski 68

B Class 1st Andrew Cox 67 2nd Clive Anderson 66 3rd S Cunnell 66

C Class 1st A. Collins-Williams 59 2nd P Pitman 36 3rd D May 33

Ladies 1st Julie Franklin 49 2nd Sophie Brockwell 46

Juniors 1st Luke Abell 29

Thanks to Linzy and the staff at SSG and the Northall team for all their hard work in putting on such an epic event and thanks also to members of the Committee and others who volunteered their time to score the event.

Sussex Construction Company KS Builders have very kindly sponsored the Sussex CPSA Junior FITASC trophy, which is brilliantly engraved with the Sussex CPSA logo and competition title Sussex CPSA Junior FITASC Champion.

The question is who is going to be the first to get their hands on it? Well we won’t have to wait long as the Sussex CPSA FITASC is being held at Southdown on the 12th – 14th of October, so don’t miss out on the opportunity.

On behalf of the committee we would like to say a big thank you to KS Builders for their kind donation in the form of this trophy.

Charlotte Kerwood shot 68 which put her one target away from getting into the final, a great performance leading up to the Olympic Games! The Sussex Shooters would like to thank Dan Kerwood for his support before and during the Championships.