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 Fareham

The season continued this evening in City's second match of the season.  It was another home match, this time against against Fareham and here's how it went.

Portsmouth City - 481 I. Cooper (98) M. Nevatte (96) A. Nevatte (95) G. Scruton (99) P. Upchurch (92) D. Reeves (92) R. Ashman (93)

Fareham - 473 N. Grimstead (96) D. Spendlove (98) D. McCourt (96) M. Capewell (89) D. Blake (94)

It was an enjoyable night but a disappointing match as neither team was at full strength (remembering that match teams should have 8 shooters on the team, with the best five scores getting counted in).  Nonetheless, despite another low team score, PCRC benefited from the home range advantage, and healthier team numbers and achieved a win.  It's another home match against Chichester next week and then we have our first away match against West Meon in mid-November.

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.

Fareham vs Portsmouth City (The Arthur Lee Local Final)

This Monday saw the local final of the Arthur Lee cup.  The winners of this match go on to face whichever club wins to represent Southampton & District League.  For the first time in quite a few years, Portsmouth City managed to reach the local final where we faced Fareham.  Just like the Duttson Final we shot on a neutral range, this time Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club kindly provided the use of their range and a big thanks go to John Ring for scoring the cards, and again to Wayne Dugan for running the event.

This competition was teams of 6, shooting 2 cards each.  Unlike a few of our other competitions, every team member's scores counted.  Here's how it went:

Fareham - 1158 J. Lacey (97, 96) D. Shepperd (96, 97) D. Spendlove (99, 99) P. Randall (98, 98) T. Read (96, 94) J. Hounsell (94, 94)

Portsmouth City - 1151 M. Nevatte (99, 97) S. Hart (97, 95) G. Scruton (99, 99) I. Cooper (96, 99) A. Nevatte (96, 94) P. Upchurch (90, 90)

So a close match but unfortunately Portsmouth City will not go on to represent Portsmouth & District this year against Southampton.  Well done to Fareham and we wish them good luck in the final.

The Duttson Cup final comes down to graduated gauging... against Sarisbury... again!

On Tuesday, members of the Portsmouth City squad took part in the semi-final and final of the Duttson Cup.  This particular cup dates back to 1936, when it was donated by William Noel Duttson, the then-president of Portsmouth & District Rifle League (and also director of Portsmouth Brewery on Admiralty Road).

William Noel Duttson (1935)

This year it was Fareham, Portsmouth Railway, Sarisbury and Portsmouth City through to the semi-finals and, as always, we had both the semis and the final on the same evening and all on a neutral range, the Tipner indoor range, kindly provided by the HMS Excellent Rifle Club.  By virtue of drawing names from a bag, PCRC first faced Portsmouth Railway.

Here's how the semi-finals went:

Portsmouth City - 389 I. Cooper (99) A. Nevatte (99) M. Nevatte (97) G. Scruton (94)

Portsmouth Railway - 372 J. Nicholson (91) N. Toms (93) N. Perman (94) J. Stockham (94)

Fareham - 384 P. Randall (96) T. Read (97) D. Shepperd (95) D. Spendlove (96)

Sarisbury - 387 G. Barber (95) T. Gleed (96) M. Guille (98) P. Pearce (98)

This brought about the same final as we had last year: Portsmouth vs Sarisbury.  Last year it came down to graduated gauges; this is where the two teams' scores using standard gauges come out as the same - graduated gauges put the shots under a harsher spotlight and tell us who came closer to centre.

Portsmouth were the victors last year but would it be the case this year too?

Portsmouth City - 390 (.25G score - 384) I. Cooper (97) (96) A. Nevatte (99) (96) M. Nevatte (97) (95) G. Scruton (97) (97)

Sarisbury - 390 (.25G score - 389) G. Barber (98) (97) T. Gleed (95) (95) M. Guille (98) (98) P. Pearce (98) (98)

So, as with the Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder league this year, Portsmouth had to settle for second place to Sarisbury.  Well done, Sarisbury.

The Duttson Cup has taken pride of place on our trophy shelves in the last few years and we'll be sorry to see it leave us... but we'll get it back next year!

Current 1946 Duttson Cup Trophy replacing the 1936 trophy presumed lost during the war

Overall Portsmouth City hasn't done too badly in this competition, in fact we were the first ever winners of it!

Inaugural Winners of the Duttson Cup (1936).  The captain, H. E. G. Abrams is sitting; standing left to right is L. G. German, H. V. Young, and E. S. German.

1936 - Portsmouth City

1937 - HMS Victory

1938 - HMS Excellent

Suspended during World War II (1939-1945)

1946 - Portsmouth City Police

1947 - Civil Defence

1949 - Portsmouth City

1950 - Portsmouth City

1951 - Havant

1952 - Portsmouth City

1953 - Portsmouth City

1954 - Portsmouth City

1955 - Portsmouth City

1956 - Portsmouth City

1957 - Portsmouth City

1958 - Portsmouth North End

No Competition (1959)

1960 - Portsmouth City "B"

1961 - Portsmouth City

1962 - Royal Marines "B"

1963 - HMS Collingwood

1964 - Portsmouth City

1965 - Portsmouth City

1966 - Portsmouth City

1967 - Portsmouth City

1968 - Portsmouth City

1969 - Royal Marines

1970 - Fareham

1971 - HMS Excellent

1972 - Havant

1973 - Havant

1974 - Havant

1975 - HMS Excellent

1976 - Havant

1977 - Havant

1978 - Havant

1979 - Havant

1980 - Havant

1981 - HMS Nelson

1982 - HMS Nelson

1983 - HMS Nelson

1984 - HMS Nelson

1985 - HMS Nelson

1986 - HMS Nelson

1987 - HMS Nelson

No Competition (1988-1991)

1992 - Portsmouth City

1993 - Portsmouth City

1994 - HMS Excellent

1995 - HMS Nelson

1996 - Chichester

1997 - Sarisbury

No Competition (1998)

1999 - Havant

2000 - Sarisbury

2001 - HMS Excellent

2002 - Portsmouth Railway

2003 - Havant

2004 - HMS Excellent

2005 - Sarisbury

2006 - Havant

2007 - Sarisbury

2008 - Havant

2009 - Havant

2010 - Havant

2011 - Sarisbury

2012 - Portsmouth City

2013 - Portsmouth City

2014 - Portsmouth City

2015 - Sarisbury

For those of your keeping a tally, PCRC (21 wins), Havant (15), HMS Nelson (8), HMS Excellent (6), Sarisbury (6), Royal Marines (2), Chichester (1), Civil Defence (1), Fareham (1), HMS Victory (1), HMS Collingwood (1), North End (1), Police (1)

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.

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!

Round Up of the 2014 Summer Season

Over the summer months, the Portsmouth City Rifle Club's shooters have been keeping busy taking part in the Civil Service, Portsmouth & District, and Hampshire Summer Postal Leagues, as well as the NSRA/ELEY national postal league.  Outdoors, some of us took advantage of the good weather to participate in the Hampshire outdoor matches.

Overall it was a very productive summer of shooting that introduced a few of our newer shooters to postal competitions and allowed all of us to keep practising over the summer months in preparation for the 2014-15 winter leagues.

Civil Service Summer League

In the Civil Service leagues, we are delighted to report the following shooters won their divisions:

Phil Upchurch (Div 7)
Jonathan Rowe (Div 13)

Special mentions also go to the following shooters who came a very close second:

Stephanie Furness-Barr (Div 11)
Yanye Koji (Div 14)

Portsmouth & District Summer League

In the P&D leagues, unfortunately none of our shooters placed first in their divisions but some did manage to come second (or joint-second).  They were:

Mike McCormick (Div 8)
Jonathan Rowe (Div 9)
Yanye Koji (Div 10)

Hampshire Indoor Summer League

And in the Hampshire team summer league, our A team secured second place in the third division.  They were Ian Cooper, Marian Nevatte, Adam Nevatte and Gordon Scruton.  Many congratulations to Fareham's B team for winning the division.  We'll see you again come Summer 2015! :-)

Hampshire Outdoor Summer Shoot

Outdoors, Gordon Scruton managed to shoot himself out of D Class by winning the division and the Holdaway Cup.

NSRA/ELEY National Postal Competition

Finally, Jonathan Rowe, a relative newcomer to shooting managed to get to the final of the 2014 NSRA/ELEY national postal competition.

PCRC gets off to a great start in the 2014/15 County League!

The Portsmouth and District Rifle Association shoulder-to-shoulder league got under way a few weeks ago.  So far PCRC has had two matches and we've won both of them!

Our first match of the season was an away match against Fareham's A team.  Despite not having a couple of our best shooters, we shot a very respectable 487 (out of a possible 500).  Hard luck to Fareham 'A', but well done to our shooters!

Fareham A - 473 D. Shepperd (98) T. Read (84) R. Spencer (90) N. Grimstead (92) D. Spendlove (94) T. Mace (96)

Portsmouth City - 487 I. Cooper (99) P. Upchurch (98) M. Nevatte (92) A. Fallows (83) G. Scruton (98) J. Rowe (95) S. Hart (97) L. Haskett (89)

Our second match was at home against Sarisbury.  While PCRC managed to win the match with a respectable 486, special congratulations should go to Mr. P. Pearce of Sarisbury for his possible.

Portsmouth City - 486 P. Upchurch (93) A. Nevatte (97) R. Ashman (87) M. Nevatte (92) S. Hart (99) J. Rowe (90) I. Cooper (98) G. Scruton (99) Reserve L. Haskett (95)

Sarisbury - 480 P. Pepper (93) P. Pearce (100) M. Frost (96) G. Barber (95) M. Guille (96) G. Guille (88)

Go Pompey!