Thirty competitors from both clubs regrouped under blue skies last Sunday for the second half of this year’s inter-club challenge, which saw Meary Veg retaining the trophy for the second year running after some very close competition.
The afternoon of Saturday 29th March found thirty competitors from both clubs battle it out at Meary Veg in challenging conditions, with high winds and driving rain making for some interesting targets. 50 clays each of Skeet and DTL were shot simultaneously on both ranges, and 50 Sporting followed a short break in order to make sure the targets remained fair in the building winds.
The second half of the 2024 Inter-Club was shot at Meary Veg this Saturday, and saw the home team lift the trophy after several hours of highly enjoyable competition.
The first half of the 2024 Inter-Club All-Rounder was shot at Blue Point this Saturday, and saw thirty competitors from both clubs take to the stands in near perfect conditions.
English Skeet, DTL, and English Sporting were chosen to showcase not only the outstanding talent within both clubs but also the first-rate facilities, and to make scoring easier across all three disciplines we settled on three points awarded for all targets hit, with second-barrel DTL kills being the exception and netting two points.
The annual Pro Sporting Grand Prix was held on Tynwald day at Meary Veg, Santon, and saw fifteen competitors attempting 100 tricky targets across four stands in ideal conditions.
The first round was shot from our dedicated novices facility, and featured 25 targets which were anything but simple. A-class shooters Paul Mihailovits and Robert Corlett were joined by B-Class Stan Cross on 22 points, with Liam Kirkpatrick also representing B-class on 20. Hot on their heels with 19 points were A-class Dave Corlett and C-class Sue Doyle, who put in a solid performance in the opening round.
Mihailovits slipped to sixth place after the second round with 18 targets dispatched, while A-class Mike Cross improved on his opening 17 with a much more robust 23, followed by Cross Senior on 20 with Mark Sweetman, Rob Corlett and Ben Stembridge all on 19.
Round three found Mike Cross still on top with a 25 straight, followed by Mihailovits on 24 while Liam Kirkpatrick and Mark Barnett shared third position on 19 points. Lady shooters Sue Doyle and Jeannie Robertson continued to battle it out with 11 and 15 respectively, and it would be Robertson’s turn to pull out all the stops with an incredible fourth and final round, sharing the 21 point marker with Corlett Senior, Ben Stembridge, and Peter Kelly. Stan Cross and Mark Barnett scored 22, Mike Cross and Paul Mihailovits were on 23, leaving Liam Kilpatrick victorious over the rabbits with a solid 24.
Overall it was Mike Cross who would claim the high gun slot on 88 points from a possible 100, with Paul Mihailovits just one target behind on 87, and Liam Kirkpatrick in third on 84. One point also separated the ladies, and found Jeannie Robertson clutching the prize with 59 ahead of Sue Doyle’s 58 – truly a fight to the finish!