Sixteen hardy souls took part in the third and final round of the Utopia Hair Salon Winter series English Skeet League at Meary Veg, Santon, in very wet, cold, and windy conditions.
The leader after the first round was Dave Corlett with 22 points with Paul Mihailovits, Jeff Corkill and newcomer to clay shooting Chris Workman on 21 followed by Mark Barnett and Joe Faragher (J) on 20. With the weather conditions getting even worse for the second round David Cowin (J) hit 21 to finish in third place in C class with 34 points, second place in C class went to Will Rand on 37 with Joe Faragher (J) taking C class with 38 points.
Peter Kelly was third in B class with 32 points with Brian Faragher taking second place on 35 one behind B class winner Mark Barnett on 36. Stan Cross was third in A class on 39 points as was unclassified Chris Workman also on 39, Dave Corlett finished second on 43 but taking the top prize with 44 points and also having the best round of the day a 23 in his second round was Paul Mihailovits.
2020/1 English Skeet Winter League final round winners: Will Rand, Dave Corlett, Paul Mihailovits, David Cowin, Joe Faragher, Peter Kelly, Brian Faragher
The third and final round of the Cu Plas Callow Winter series DTL league was held at Meary Veg Santon with 21 competitors taking part in extremely cold and windy conditions.
The leader after the first 25 was Summer League winner Mike Walker with 62 points. In equal second place on 61 were Peter Kelly and junior Joe Faragher followed by Stan Cross and Mark Barnett on 58 with Artur Stepka making up the top six on 57.
With the wind getting even stronger for the second round Giulio Fabrizio finished in third place in C class on 96, with Joe Faragher taking second place on 104. First place in C class went to George Davies on 114.
In B class junior Arran Wade was third on 101 but we had a tie for first place between Stan Cross and Artur Stepka on 109. The best round of the day went to Steven Craine who hit 23 targets for 68 points and finished in fourth place in A class. Third place in A class went to Peter Kelly on 114, with John Moore taking second place on 115. Top of the class once again was Mike Walker on 118 – well done Mike!
2020/21 DTL Winter League final round winners: Peter Kelly, Mike Parr, Artur Stepka, Mike Walker, John Moore and Joe Faragher (jnr)
The IOM Clay Pigeon shooting club held their annual Christmas shoot and kindly sponsored once again by Top Spec Fencing saw a record entry of 61 shooters taking to the stands in cool, windy but dry conditions.
The leader at the half way stage with a perfect 25 straight was B class shooter Rob Corlett with A class Mike Walker in second place on 24 followed by Mark Riley, John Moore and another B class shooter in Peter Lowe all on 22.
In the Phil Yewdall section of the shoot for those people who have never shot before J Salter was the leader here with a well shot 22, in second place on 16 was R Wade with C Kermode third on 15, the leading lady was Julie Faragher on 13. At the end of the second round in the non members section J Lewis was third on 102 points with Rob Watterson in second place on 114 but the winner on 117 was G Lewis.
In the unclassified section Ted Davis was in third place on 108 with Stan Skinner taking second place on 117 with James Bradley in first place on count back also on 117. In the ladies section Allana wade was second on 69 with Nicky Barnett taking first place on 81.
In the novice section for new members Warren Flynn was third on 75 with his dad Steve Flynn in second place on 81 but in first place also on 81 and beating Steve on count back was junior Zac Bellhouse also with 81 points. In the junior section Michael Cross was in third place on 108 with Arran Wade taking second place on 114 but losing out for first place on count back to Joe Faragher also on 114.
In C class Richie Radcliffe was in sixth place on 72 with Alan Wright taking fifth place on 75, Tom Kelly was forth on 87 with Brian Kelly taking third place on 90, Steve Rand was in second place on 99 but the winner of C class with 114 was Will Rand.
In B class junior Michael Cross was in sixth place on 108 with another junior Joe Faragher in fifth place on 114, Stan Cross was forth on 117 with Mark Barnett taking third place on 120, Peter Lowe was second on 129 with Rob Corlett taking B class with 138.
In A class Alan Wade was sixth on 117 with John Moore fifth on 123 in forth place on 126 was Peter Kelly with Steven Craine last years winner overall in third place also on 126, in second place also on 126 was Neil Parsons with Mark Riley taking A class with 135.
In the Phil Yewdall Memorial non members section R Wade was in third place on 105 with junior C Kermode taking second place on 111 but winning the Phil Yewdall cup and a membership to the club was J Salter.
In the handicap section for the George Costain memorial cup the winner was former sidecar racer Brian Kelly on 174 points. This only left the John Moore high-gun cup to be decided and we had to have a shoot off to decide a winner between A class Mike Walker and B class Rob Corlett who both tied on 138 shot over a full round of 25 targets, it was neck and neck after ten targets with both shooters only dropping one target, it was still neck and neck after twenty targets with both shooters dropping a further target each, they both hit their twenty first targets then Rob missed his next two only for Mike to miss his twenty forth target. Rob hit his last target which meant Mike had to hit his to take the cup which he did scoring 22 to Robs 21 – well done Mike!
The prizes were presented by Emma Parsons of Top Spec Fencing after another excellent meal at the Crosby Hotel.
Results
A Class
M Riley (22, 23 = 45)
N Parsons (20, 22 = 42)
S Craine (21, 21 = 42)
P Kelly (21, 21 = 42)
J Moore (22, 19 = 41)
A Wade (17, 22 = 39)
B Class
R Corlett (25, 21 = 46 + 21)
P Lowe (22, 21 = 43)
M Barnett (20, 20 = 40)
S Cross (19, 20 = 39)
J Faragher (18, 20 = 38)
M Cross (17, 19 = 36)
C Class
W Rand (19, 19 = 39)
S Rand (20, 13 = 33)
B Kelly (15, 15 = 30)
T Kelly (16, 13 = 29)
A Wright (14, 11 = 25)
R Radcliffe (8, 16 = 24)
Ladies
N Barnett (13, 14 = 27)
A Wade (15, 8 = 23)
Juniors
J Faragher (18, 20 = 38)
A Wade (19, 19 = 38)
M Cross (17, 19 = 36)
High Gun
M Walker (24, 22 = 46 + 22)
Handicap
B Kelly (90 + 84 = 174)
Phil Yewdall
J Salter (22, 17 = 39)
Novice
Z Bellhouse (13, 14 = 27)
S Flynn (13, 14 = 27)
W Flynn (9, 16 = 25)
Non Member
G Lewis (20, 19 = 39)
R Watterson (19, 19 = 36)
J Lewis (15, 19 = 34)
Unclassified
J Bradley (18, 21 = 39)
S Skinner (19, 20 = 39)
T Davis (19, 17 = 36)
Next week is third round of the winter series Pro Sporting league, entries close at 10:00.
It has been another busy week at Meary Veg with three competitions taking place:
Pro Sporting League – 3rd Round
First up on Tuesday evening was the third round of the Dave and Pam Corlett Pro Sporting league with 16 competitors taking part in near ideal conditions. The leader at the half way stage was Alan Wade with a well shot 24, in equal second second place on 22 were Peter Kelly and the Cross boys Stan and Michael with Dave Corlett next on 21. After the final 25 the winner was Alan wade with 45 with Dave Corlett and Michael Cross in equal second place on 42 followed by Peter Kelly on 41 with Mark Riley and Stan Cross in equal fifth place on 40.
Results
A Class
A wade (24, 21 = 45)
D Corlett (21, 21 = 42)
P Kelly (22, 19 = 41)
B Class
M Cross (jnr) (22, 20 = 42)
J Moore (18, 19 = 37)
B Faragher (15, 16 = 31)
C Class
W Rand (15, 20 = 35)
A Stepka (15, 14 = 29)
D Cowin (jnr) (12, 15 = 27)
DTL League – 3rd Round
The next competition on Saturday afternoon was the third round of the Tower Insurance DTL league with 19 competitors taking part in breezy dry conditions and again Alan wade was the leader at the half way stage hitting a 25 straight for 74 points only second barrelling his last target for a perfect round. In second place on 72 was Mark Riley with Peter Kelly and Neil parsons in equal third place on 71. Alan Wade made no mistake in his second round hitting all targets with his first barrel for a perfect 25/75 for a final score of 50/149 with Mark Riley second on 49/145 followed by Neil Parsons and Peter Kelly on 49/144 .
Results
A Class
A Wade (50 / 149)
M Riley (49 / 145)
P Kelly N Parsons (49 / 144)
B Class
D Corlett (47 / 137)
M Parr (45 / 134)
S Cross (45 / 125)
C Class
R Corlett (45 / 128)
R Moore (40 / 118)
J Lapa (40 / 110)
IOM Olympic Skeet Championship
The final shoot on Sunday was the IOM Olympic Skeet Championship sponsored by Sadler Agricultural Supplies with 13 competitors taking part in very wet and windy conditions.
The leader after the first round was junior Ted Davis with 18 with James Bradley and father and son Stan Cross and Michael Cross in equal second place on 17 followed by Jeff Corkill and John Moore on 16.With the weather deteriorating making putting in a good score was difficult but James Bradley managed just that scoring 21 to lead on 38, in equal second place on 34 were Michael Cross and John Moore with Ted Davis and Neil Parsons next on 33. It was status quo after round three with James Bradley leading on 55 followed by Michael Cross and Neil Parsons on 51. After the fourth and final round Dave Clague hit the best round of the day a 22 to finish in third place on 70,Michel Cross also got into the twenties scoring 20 to finish in second place on 71 and also take the junior prize sponsored by Neil Parsons and Stan Cross, but the IOM Olympic skeet champion for 2020 is James Simpson with 72 points – well done James!
Results
Overall
J Bradley (17, 21, 17, 17 = 72)
M Cross (17, 17, 17, 20 = 71)
D Clague (14, 16, 18, 22 = 70)
Juniors
M Cross (71)
T Davis (65)
Olympic Skeet Winners: M Cross, J Bradley, and D Clague
Next week on Saturday is the next round of the Sadler Agricultural supplies ABT league and the Manx Petroleum’s Olympic skeet league, On Sunday is the next round of the Pam and Dave Corlett Pro Sporting league in the morning and in the afternoon the next round of the SMP Parners Sporting league, on bank holiday Monday is the Cross Doubles sponsored by the Cross family, this is a phone in entries shoot, please contact Peter or Stan. Duty officers this Saturday morning are J Moore & D Corlett
It is with regret that we report that our Patron, George Costain, passed away on Wednesday 10th January.
Whilst this is a moment for sad reflection it should also be a time to celebrate happy times spent in George’s company and all the things that George has done to help our Club thrive and create the wonderful facilities we enjoy today.
From left to right: Eddie Corlett, Ron Casey, Billy Moore, Margaret Corlett, Ned Christian, George Costain, Edward Corlett, Roy Christian, ? Rimmington, Wilf Cannell, Col. Erington Brewis, Alan Raynor, John Moore, John Quilliam, Eddie Kelly, Peter Kelly, Jack Clague
George was one of our founding members, when the Douglas Gun Club and The Southern Game Preservation Society amalgamated in the early 1970’s. As Chairman, President and Patron George was a driving force in the promotion and establishment of both our club and clay shooting on the Island. George was the founding Chairman of the MCPSA and shot for the Island many times including at the first CSFED Games that the Isle of Man competed in and at Home Countries Skeet Internationals. He was Shooting Manager for the Commonwealth Games Team in New Zealand in 1990 and the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Games in India in 1995.
Many of us will have memories of game shooting with George both on and off the Island where his Manx ‘skeet’ made a three hour journey seem to pass in half an hour! At the drinks and lunch breaks George would take photographs and often produce from his pocket, along with a bag of sweets, old photographs to remind all of previous happy days spent together. George was an excellent game shot being an early member of the exclusive Bols Snippen Club for getting a left and right Woodcock and such feats as bringing down a duck that everyone else had thought out of range (shame it was white and carried a penalty of £25!).
Initially our club shot at Broogh Fort, Santon and many will remember enjoying bacon baps in our port-a-cabin whilst outside the clays often disappeared into the cold mist! When we lost the use of Broogh Fort George was instrumental in holding the club together and, after several years in the wilderness using temporary ranges, eventually charmed and persuaded politicians and civil servants to grant us a lease on Meary Veg. George helped to get planning permission (becoming an expert on the Manx Chough and managing to get a cup of tea out of the planning appeal committee in the process!) and finally assisting with encouragement, shovel, saw, hammer, brush, pork pies and tea as our new home emerged.
George was small in stature but full of energy and a larger than life character in his own polite, understated, gentlemanly but mischievous way. Clay, game and rifle shooting were just a small part of his life. A skilled motorcyclist ‘Sparrow’ Costain won the 1954 Senior MGP in an epic race in atrocious weather – a report on the race is well worth a read.
George was also an instrumental member of The Southern Motorcycle Club helping them to establish racing at the Billown Circuit in the 1950’s.
There are many more stories to be told of George’s sporting achievements and his working life as a butcher and farmer. Our sympathies go to George’s family, of whom he was so proud. Like us we are sure that they have many happy proud memories and stories to tell of a Manx gentleman it has been a privilege for us all to have loved and call a friend.
