Friday 30 January 2015

Two Matches in One (PCRC vs Fareham B)


Last night saw Portsmouth City face Fareham B in not one but two shoulder-to-shoulder matches.  This was a result of our home match earlier in the season being postponed.  Despite being away, we thankfully managed to dig our heels in and get another 4 points onto our league scores (2 points for each win).

Here's how the scores went for our Away match:

Fareham B - 465

K. Pollington (94)
M. Copenwell (91)
R. Spencer (88)
S. Parry (96)
D. Blake (96)
 Portsmouth City - 482

I. Cooper (93)
M. Nevatte (96)
A. Nevatte (98)
G. Scruton (98)
P. Upchurch (93)
S. Hart (97)
J. Rowe (92)
D. Reeves (87)

Then the second round of cards decided the postponed 'Home' match:

Portsmouth City - 487

I. Cooper (97)
M. Nevatte (96)
A. Nevatte (97)
G. Scruton (97)
P. Upchurch (94)
S. Hart (97)
J. Rowe (99)
D. Reeves (86)
Fareham B - 471

K. Pollington (96)
M. Copenwell (94)
R. Spencer (91)
S. Parry (96)
D. Blake (94)


Many thanks to Fareham B for hosting this double match which went later than we're used to.  Special congratulations must go to Jonathan Rowe for getting the best score of the night (99), which also marks a new personal best.  Well done!

Next week's home match against Wickham will see both teams putting in that little bit more effort to make sure we don't achieve another draw!

With five matches left in the season, the competition for best Portsmouth shooter is very close.  Here are the top five averages:

A. Nevatte (98.0)
G. Scruton (97.8)
I. Cooper (97.4)
S. Hart (96.9)
M. Nevatte (95.1)

As you can see, it's close so it's anybody's guess who'll come out on top by March.

Sunday 25 January 2015

Five Shooters through to NSRA/ELEY Round 2


The results from the first round of the NSRA/ELEY Postal Competition are now out.  Five of our shooters have made it through to the second round.  If they can get through that, then it's the shoulder-to-shoulder final outdoor at Bisley this summer!

Congratulations to Adam Nevatte, Marian Nevatte and Gordon Scruton in B class; Jonathan Rowe in E class; and Mike McCormick in F class.

Friday 23 January 2015

Portsmouth suffers defeat at the hands of Sarisbury


I'm not use to giving bad match reports on the blog.  So far this season, PCRC has acquitted itself very well (5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss).  However, on Monday, we faced Sarisbury at their range and unfortunately they took us down a peg and reminded us not to be complacent.


Here were the scores:

Sarisbury - 490

M. Guille (99)
M. Frost (97)
P. Pearce (100)
P. Fitzsimmons (93)
G. Barber (97)
T. Gleed (96)
P. Pepper (97)
 Portsmouth City - 480

M. Nevatte (92)
A. Nevatte (96)
I. Cooper (96)
S. Hart (98)
L. Haskett (89)
D. Reeves (85)
G. Scruton (98)
J. Rowe (91)

Put simply, we didn't shoot particularly well and we deserved to be beaten this time round.  Special congratulations go to P. Pearce for scoring another possible against us this season and to the entire Sarisbury team for a very respectable score of 490.  Our averages all go down a little on this one but we now look ahead to our two back-to-back matches against Fareham B next week with steely resolve!

Thursday 22 January 2015

In Memorium - Mary Maiden

Portsmouth City Rifle Club is sorry to hear of the passing of a stalwart of shooting in Hampshire, Mary Maiden, who died last week after a short illness.


Mary held a number of positions in the Hampshire Smallbore Rifle & Pistol Association over the years to the point where one had become indistinguishable from the other.

We'll miss you, Mary.

Friday 16 January 2015

PCRC gets the New Year off to a Winning Start!

Happy New Year everyone!

It's been a busy week for the club as we try to remember how to shoot after the haze of Christmas and New Year.  This week on Tuesday our shooters have been shooting their various postal competition cards (postal meaning that we shoot on our range, our opponents shoot on their ranges, and the cards get posted to a 3rd-party marker).

On Wednesday we had our Beginners' Night, it was a great success and I believe a fun time was had by all.  We are still to decide the date of our next taster night but it will probably be in April.


Last week we progressed further in the Arthur Lee Cup competition, but this was on account of our opponents, Havant, not being able to raise a team and so we won be default.  Not the most satisfying way to progress in a tournament, but we'll take it.

However, last night last night was the return of the shoulder-to-shoulder matches.


It was a home match last night, against Fareham A.  The clubroom was packed last night but it was a good atmosphere (with plenty of snacks - thank you Marian!) and the home team (us) managed to edge past Fareham to secure a victory and further improve the team average for the year.

Here were the scores:

Portsmouth City - 490

I. Cooper (100)
M. Nevatte (97)
A. Nevatte (98)
G, Scruton (97)
P. Upchurch (94)
S. Hart (96)
L. Haskett (98)
J. Rowe (95)

Reserve
D. Reeves (83)
 Fareham A - 486

N. Grimstead (94)
T. Read (97)
J. Hounsell (98)
D. Shepperd (98)
D. Spendlove (99)
T. Mace (92)


Special congratulations go to Ian Cooper for another possible and to Lauren Haskett for a fine return to form.  This marks PCRC's best team score so far this shoulder-to-shoulder season!

Our next match is Monday, against Sarisbury.  Bring it on!

Sunday 11 January 2015

Dave Nevatte Remembered

A year ago today we lost an incredibly important part of our club, David Vernon Nevatte.  Dave was not only a great shot, earning a place on the Hampshire county team and getting himself up to A-class at Bisley, but he was a good friend and worked hard as secretary of Portsmouth City Rifle Club for 20 years.

Dave's trophy haul from Bisley Week 2012.  Trophies include: The Lever Brothers Challenge Cup (B-Class Championship Aggregate),  The Rutland Challenge Cup (B-Class 50m Championship Aggregate)
Dave joined PCRC in 1992, coming over from Havant Rifle Club (sorry Havant), and in 1994 he took over from Ted Trimboy who had been secretary and overall manager of the club since 1942.  Big shoes to fill but Dave filled them admirably.  In 2012, Dave finally managed to promote himself to A-class by winning the B-class aggregate (an achievement not seen from a Portsmouth shooter since Den Foster in 1947).

Dave's passion for shooting was infectious and now his wife, Marian, and son, Adam, continue his legacy as the backbone of our club; being as friendly, helpful and generous of their time as I remember Dave being when I joined 7 years ago.


Last November, Marian unveiled the Dave Nevatte Memorial Salver at the Hampshire Smallbore Association AGM as a way to remember Dave's enjoyment of his sport and his contribution to shooting in Hampshire.

Dave on the firing point
We miss you, Dave!