Shoulder-to-Shoulder Catch Up

There's been a bit of a delay in getting these scores out to people.  Sorry for the wait.  Since the Sarisbury match, City has had a few further matches and we've now finished our the 2016-17 shoulder-to-shoulder season (which will also be our last season at the Hambrook St range).  Our performance was a bit of a mixed bag of results if we're honest but it's not without its highlights.  Here's how we did.

Havant A - 491 A. Morley (99) A. Perry (99) J. Alexander (98) J. Allsop (98) L. Hanna (95) M. Nevatte (97) M. Reynolds (95) T. Brown (99)

Portsmouth City - 485 A. Nevatte (97) G. Scruton (99) I. Cooper (98) J. Rowe (95) T. Sommerville (96) R. Ashman (94) S. Hart (95)

It's fair to say that we were outmatched on this one.  We weren't quite able to get a full team together but congratulation to Havant for a very respectable winning score.  A small note of congratulations should also go to Tom Sommerville for his first counted-in score.

So by this point, we'd shot 10 matches and lost 4.  I wish I could say we turned it around after this, but there was one more defeat to come...

This time we really were reduced in numbers and could only muster a team of 6.  It was a close match... but didn't go our way.

Portsmouth Railway - 484 J. Ring (98) M. Carter (92) C. Coles (99) C. Richards (96) N. Toms (96) N. Perman (95) K. Hardyman (95)

Portsmouth City - 482 I. Cooper (98) A. Nevatte (94) G. Scruton (96) J. Rowe (97) P. Upchurch (91) S. Hart (97)

So where our defeat against Sarisbury meant we had to say goodbye to any hopes we had for winning the championship this year, these defeats against Havant and Railway meant we had to say goodbye to achieving runner-up, as we had last year.

Thankfully, the news gets better for City from here.

Portsmouth City - 484 I. Cooper (99) A. Nevatte (93) L. Haskett (96) P. Upchurch (90) S. Hart (98) J. Rowe (98) R. Ashman (89) T. Sommerville (88)

West Meon A - 480 G. Stone (89) P. Hannington (95) M. Atkins (95) G. Dixon (92) A. Smith (100) D. Corbett (98)

So we got back on the winning track but congratulations need to go to A. Smith of West Meon for his ton.

Wickham had started very strong this season but, like City, had encountered a slump mid-season.  This was a home match for City, so we had the advantage and thankfully, we pressed it.

Portsmouth City - 491 J. Rowe (99) A. Nevatte (99) I. Cooper (99) G. Scruton (98) S. Hart (95) P. Upchurch (90) L. Haskett (96)

Wickham A - 483 R. Long (95) T. Malleson (97) T. Caister (98) S. Dismore (98) M. Barnes (93) J. Willsher (95)

A very strong showing from many of the team.  No tonnes, but those 99s are nothing to be sniffed at.  Our final match was against HMS Excellent and while our record against them is good, City had lost its last two away matches.

HMS Excellent A - 474 J. Atkins (97) T. Dugan (93) W. Dugan (96) I. Andrews (90) T. Thompson (93) E. Metcalfe (93) I. Thomson (95)

Portsmouth City - 487 G. Scruton (100) A. Nevatte (95) J. Rowe (100) I. Cooper (95) M. Simmons (92) R. Ashman (94) P. Upchurch (93) S. Hart (97)

So Portsmouth City finished the season on a high note!  Congratulations to G, Scruton and J. Rowe on their tonnes, especially to Jonny, for whom this was his first Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder ton!

So here were the overall stats for Portsmouth City's 2016-17 season:

9 wins, 5 losses (last season was 11 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses)

Team Average: 487.1 (last season was 486.7)
See all the results here.

Further results to come...

Arthur Lee Cup Round 2 - City vs Havant

Happy New Year everyone!  Yes, it is now 2017 and technically a 'new year', however, over at the club we're right in the middle of the winter leagues and those include the Arthur Lee Cup matches, of which we had our second round match against Havant last Thursday (having beaten West Meon in the first round).

Here's how we did:

Portsmouth City - 1156 I. Cooper (96, 95) G. Scruton (99, 100) A. Nevatte (96, 97) P. Upchurch (91. 95) S. Hart (98, 97) R. Ashman (95, 97)

Havant - 1149 A. Perry (93, 91) A. Morley (96. 97) D. Cotton (93, 97) L. Hanna (97, 97) M. Nevatte (98, 98) T. Brown (96, 96)

We had the home advantage once again and thankfully too advantage of it.  So, City progresses to the next round!  No double tonnes this time but we achieved a win and sometimes that's what counts.  The regular shoulder-to-shoulder season starts this week and this Thursday we head for our away match against Chichester (who have recently put together a lovely new website).  Wish us luck! 

City score high against Havant

Tonight we hosted Havant at home.  After losing to Sarisbury in our first match of the season, we've been keen to get a winning momentum going.  Here's how we did:

Portsmouth City - 491 I. Cooper (97) A. Nevatte (97) P. Upchurch (92) L. Haskett (91) S. Hart (100) R. Ashman (98) J. Rowe (95) G. Scruton (99) Reserve T. Sommerville (90)

Havant - 485 A. Perry (95) A. Morley (99) D. Cotton (98) L. Hanna (93) M. Nevatte (96) M. Reynolds (94) T. Brown (97) J. Allsop (95)

Congratulations to Sarah Hart for her ton (and for her wonderful blueberry muffins!).  This score of 491 marks our best score of the season so far, and our best showing against Havant for a number of seasons.  You might notice a familiar name in Havant's ranks: one of our own, our treasurer and former captain, Marian Nevatte.  We're happy that she's settled in her new club... but we weren't about to go easy on her in these matches. ;-)

The season is now in full swing and the matches and various competition cards are coming thick and fast.  Keep an eye out for more news about various shoots over the coming weeks.

The 2016 Summer Report, pt 2: Shooting Outdoors

The Hampshire Long Range Open Meeting

In preparation for the ELEY finals at Bisley (see part 1) a number of our shooters were keen to get a bit of outdoor practice in beforehand.  As a result, a few of us went up to Andover Rifle Club to enjoy a fine day of shooting on their outdoor range.

This was a Double Dewar match, meaning two cards shot at 50m and two cards at 100yds.  Each card has a maximum of 200 points on it, so final scores are out of 800.  The shooting is a little different from the standard indoor shooting, which we do at 25yds; the targets are further away but they are also bigger, and therefore because they are bigger, we can shoot more than one competition shot into each target.

Let's compare:

A standard 25-yds indoor 10-bull (the shots have been coloured red to make them clearer in these pictures).

Zoom in on the 25-yd card and you see that there is only one competition shot per target.

A shot 50m outdoor card.  Only 4 competition targets.

Zoom in on one of the targets and you can clearly see 5 competition shots

A shot 100-yds card with two competition targets.

Zoom in on one of the 100 yds targets and you will see 10 competition shots.

So the upside of outdoor shooting is that there is less moving around from one target to the next.  The difficulty lies in changing light and wind conditions.

Matt Simmons, Jonathan Rowe, and Tamsin Rowe, all shooting at 100 yards for the first time!

Owing to the fact that none of us shoot particularly regularly outdoors, this match represented a steep learning curve for those of us for whom this outdoor shooting was all new and those more experienced of us who had to remember what we were supposed to be doing.  It was a great competition that presented Tamsin and Matt with their first outdoor experience, and Jonny with his first 100 yds experience.  None of us did astoundingly well, except perhaps Tamsin, who proudly took away the Phyllis Green Trophy (top lady in C/D class).

Well done, Tamsin!

The Bisley Weekend Aggregate

A couple of City shooters, Gordon Scruton and Jonathan Rowe, decided to not just do the ELEY final but go up and do the whole weekend aggregate of the annual Bisley meeting.  This involved three cards at 50m and three cards at 100 yds, making a sum-total of 120 competition shots (thus 1,200 points in total).  This was an awful lot of fun and we'd encourage as many of you as possible to set aside the weekend next year to join us.  There was camping involved, BBQing and lots of the infamous 'Bisley wind' to throw the shots off.

Particular highlights in the shooting over the weekend were Jonny's high placing in C Class at 50m and, to a lesser extent, Gordon's placement in A Class for his 50m.

The Dacorum Open Handicap Shoot

A little time after Bisley weekend, a few more shooters decided to go up to Buckinghamshire for a handicap shoot, this handicap was based on a shooter's declared average.  Much like handicaps in golf, this is a way for shooters with different levels of skill to enjoyably compete against each other.  This competition marked a couple more firsts for Portsmouth City shooters - for Mike McCormick it marked his first time shooting at 100 yards, and for Tom Sommerville it was his first outdoor shoot entirely.

Mike and Tom shooting on the 50m range.

No significant wins in this competition but it was a great, if slightly drizzly day and a fun time was had by all!

Havant's Final Fling 'Scottish Match'

This annual competition marks one of the last competitions of the outdoor summer season.  A Scottish match is one that is only at 100 yards, and in this case was 60 competition shots.  Portsmouth shooters, Ian Cooper and Gordon Scruton took part in this competition, both in A Class, and while neither got close to winning the class (well done to Cliff Richards of Havant for that) it was pretty close between the two of them.

That's the end of the outdoor round up, but the next part of this summer report will look at the indoor postal leagues.

Arthur Lee Cup 2016 (Local Final): City vs Railway

This evening was the local final of the Arthur Lee Cup.  Last year, we reached the local final but were narrowly beaten by Fareham.  This year we managed to get to the final once again but were up against Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club.  The match was kindly officiated by Wayne Dugan of HMS Excellent Rifle Club and was held at Havant.

This match is a little different from our normal shoulder-to-shoulder matches.  This was teams of 6 (instead of the usual 8), shooting 2 cards each (instead of 1), and unlike our other competitions, every team member's scores counted.  Here's how it went:

Portsmouth Railway - 1147 J. Ring (98, 97) M. Carter (93, 94) C. Richards (97, 97) C. Coles (97, 96) N. Perman (94, 93) K. Hardyman (94, 97)

Portsmouth City - 1163 M. Nevatte (98, 98) S. Hart (95, 100) G. Scruton (97, 94) I. Cooper (99, 95) A. Nevatte (94, 100) R. Ashman (96, 97)

So Portsmouth City goes on to represent Portsmouth & District this year against Sarisbury, who will represent Southampton & District.  Well done to Sarah Hart and Adam Nevatte for their tonnes.

A win, a loss, and a draw (2016 Matches, pt 1)

We've had a few matches since our last post at the beginning of the month.

Unfortunately our success at West Meon at the end of last year has not been followed by the string of success we had hoped for but PCRC is by no means out of contention.  Here's how the matches went:

Havant A - 482 A. Morley (96) A. Perry (94) D. Cotton (99) J. Allsop (94) L. Hanna (95) S. Lavin (95) T. Brown (97)

Portsmouth City - 481 I. Cooper (97) M. Nevatte (95) A. Nevatte (96) G. Scruton (97) S. Hart (94) P. Upchurch (95) J. Rowe (96)

So it was 7 vs 7 and neither side shot particularly well and we were beaten by virtue of Havant shooting just that little bit less badly than we did.

Oh well... our next match was at home against the current champions, Sarisbury, who we had a particularly high scoring loss against earlier this season.  This had to be a far better score than the previous week against Havant, and thankfully it was.  Here's how we did:

Portsmouth City - 491 M. Nevatte (97) A. Nevatte (96) I. Cooper (98) G. Scruton (98) S. Hart (100) J. Rowe (96) P. Upchurch (95) R. Ashman (98)

Sarisbury - 491 M. Guille (99) M. Frost (98) G. Barber (94) T. Gleed (99) M. Holdway (97) P. Pearce (98) P. Fitzsimmons (94)

So, a high scoring match for both teams but an eventual draw.  Congratulations to Sarah Hart for getting a ton.

Our next match was against Fareham on their range.  It had now been three matches since a win for PCRC in the shoulder-to-shoulder league, so we were hungry for another win if was stood any chance of not slipping too far down the league table.  Luckily, we managed quite nicely:

Fareham - 472 D. Shepperd (99) D. Blake (92) M. Cakewell (92) D. Fry (92) M. King (84) D. Accourt (80) D. Spendlove (97) M. Salisbury (82)

Portsmouth City - 486 I. Cooper (96) M. Nevatte (98) G. Scruton (96) S. Hart (97) A. Nevatte (95) P. Upchurch (93) J. Rowe (95) R. Ashman (99) Reserve L. Haskett (95)

So no particularly remarkable scores but a good solid addition to our aggregate.  At this point our stats were as follows:

7 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses
Team Average: 486.4

Click here to see how we've done more recently.

City vs Havant (The 2015-16 Shoulder-to-Shoulder Season Kicks Off)

Last night saw City's first match of the 2015-16 Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder season.  We were runners up last season, narrowly losing out to Sarisbury, so we were keen to start strong this season with a view to having another swing at the championship cup.  It was a home match against Havant and here's how it went.

Portsmouth City - 483 M. Nevatte (97) A. Nevatte (97) I. Cooper (97) G. Scruton (97) S. Hart (95) L. Haskett (92) J. Rowe (95)

Havant - 480 D. Cotton (96) T. Brown (95) S. Lavin (86) J. Allsop (94) A. Perry (96) A. Morley (96) J. Alexander (92) L. Hanna (97)

So while the team scores on both sides were a little lower than we would both like, PCRC managed to capitalise on the home range advantage and achieve a win.

Jonny and Sarah's 95s were both competing for a spot on the scoring team (the rules of the matches are 8 in the team, best 5 scores are counted in).  First the number of bulls were considered (both the same), then the number of shots requiring the gauge (the same), and finally it came down to the number of absolute bulls (where the middle spot was completely taken out).  Based on this, Sarah's card was deemed the superior card.

This gives the team it's first two championship points and we look forward to our next match in a couple of weeks against Fareham.

Havant Outdoor Double Dewar

This Sunday saw Havant host their annual Double Dewar competition.  A double dewar is two cards at 50m and two more at 100 yds - 80 competition shots in all.  I'm pleased to say that Mrs Marian Nevatte achieved 3rd Place in B Class.

Well done, Marian!

Portsmouth City vs Havant

Tonight was the penultimate shoulder-to-shoulder match for Portsmouth City and our last home match of the 2014/15 season.  As mentioned in previous match reports, PCRC has managed a good number of wins this season and this places us in contention for the Portsmouth & District championship this year.  It has been 10 years since we last won so we are keen to have our name on the trophy once more.

Tonight's match was going to be a challenge as we faced Havant, who had beaten us earlier in the season.  Would it be the same story again this evening?

Portsmouth City - 485 D. Reeves (85) A. Nevatte (94) M. Nevatte (92) I. Cooper (99) S. Hart (99) P. Upchurch (93) G. Scruton (97) J. Rowe (96)

Havant - 482 T. Brown (95) D. Cotton (97) L. Hanna (96) A. Perry (96) J. Alexander (93) M. Reynolds (98)

To be completely honest, there was 'below par' shooting from both teams but thanks to a couple of solid performances from Ian Cooper and Sarah Hart, PCRC managed to add another two championship points to our league score!

Our final match is this coming Tuesday (please remember that the range will not be open Tuesday 3rd March); an away match against West Meon.  Our last match against them was a draw but we're hoping to push our winning streak one further, all the way to the end of the season!

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!

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!

Portsmouth City faces league champions, Havant

On the strength of four wins and a draw so far, this evening Portsmouth City faced the current league champions: the very capable Havant.

2013/14 Season	Wins (out of 16)	Aggregate
1st) Havant A	15	7813
2nd) Sarisbury	11	7790
3rd) Wickham A	8	7708
4th) Portsmouth City	8	7694

Last year PCRC placed 4th in the league.  This season we have managed to secure a win against Sarisbury and achieve a draw with Wickham.  However, the team went into tonight's match knowing that Havant wouldn't make this easy as they had produced an average team score of 490 against us over our last four meetings:

December 2012

(484) Portsmouth City vs Havant (490)

March 2013

(490) Havant vs Portsmouth City (489)

November 2013

(480) Portsmouth City vs Havant (491)

February 2014

(487) Havant vs Portsmouth City (475)

So how did the teams this time round?

Havant - 491 A. Perry (97) A. Morley (100) D. Cotton (100) J. Alexander (96) F. Slevin (91) L. Hanna (96) M. Reynolds (96) T. Brown (98)

Portsmouth City - 488 I. Cooper (100) M. Nevatte (95) P. Upchurch (94) A. Nevatte (99) S. Hart (97) G. Scruton (97) L. Haskett (88) J. Rowe (94) Reserve D. Reeves (84)

Despite a respectable score of 488 (which bumps our season average up to 486.8) PCRC was 4 points short of coming away victorious.  Special congratulations to A. Morley, D. Cotton, and our own Ian Cooper for shooting possibles.

We come away from this one with our heads held high; it was a loss but by no means a disgraceful one.  Of course, congratulations go to Havant for their consistently high quality of shooting against us.

Next week is the last shoulder-to-shoulder match of the year before the Christmas break.  Home against West Meon.