The last day of March also saw the last matches of the 2024-2025 Isle of Man Rifle Association Winter League. The results of those last matches are below, and the final standings, league winners and Individual, Ladies and Junior Champions can be found on the Results page.
Kirk Michael v Port St Mary
Despite the continued efforts of the DoI to make journeys more difficult, 16 dedicated shooters from Port St Mary journeyed North by Northwest via Peel up to Kirk Michael. Although the hosts were able to field a full team of 5, the results were pretty much a foregone conclusion and Port St Mary remained undefeated in Divisions One and Two, and took the win in Divion 3 too. Top scorer for Kirk Michael was Captain, Suzanne McKnight, with 98, which was matched by Port’s Ben Kelly and Donna Gardner.
Douglas v Laxey
Douglas hosted Laxey at the Sinclair Range and with only 8 points separating them, visitors Laxey took the win in Division 1. Benefitting from 6 shooters to Laxey’s 5, Dougals took the Division 2 win.
Sulby v Castletown
For the second time this season, Sulby hosted Castletown, and this time exploited the home advantage, winning Division 1 by just 3 points. Division 2 saw Castletown take the win, also by a three point margin. Force of numbers secured the home side the Division 3 win. Top scorer for Sulby was Julian Teare with a near-perfect 99.
Castletown v Kirk Michael
Despite once again being unable to field a full team, Kirk Michael journeyed to Castletown for their penultimate match of the season. The home side, turning out 11 were guaranteed wins in all three divisions and secured their highest Division 1 score of the season so far.
Laxey v Sulby
Laxey hosted Sulby at the range in the Glen Gardens and although fewer in number, the home team were victorious in Division 1. However, being able to field twice the number of shooters than their hosts, Sulby took the wins in Divisions 2 and 3.
Port St Mary v Sandsiders
Sandsiders’ “Secret Seven” journeyed South to Port St Mary for what was their very last match of the 2024/2025 Season (Sandsiders have the Bye for the match on 31 March). The home side, fielding 15 shooters, kept up the powerful form they’ve show all season and took the wins in all three divisions, maintaining their undefeated run in Divisions 1 and 2.
Kirk Michael v Laxey
Kirk Michael were once again short-handed against visiting side Laxey, so even a season’s best score so far from Junior shooter Alex Hepburn couldn’t save the Home side from defeat. Epic scores from the visitors meant that even if Kirk Michael had been at full strength, a win would still have been unlikely!
Sandsiders v Castletown
Sandsiders, fielding 8 shooters, took on Castletown’s 10 at the Sinclair Range. The greater numbers and experience of the visitors meant Castletown took wins in both Divisions 1 and 2.
Sulby v Douglas
An intrepid team of 5 from Douglas journeyed north to take on the Dirty Dozen of Sulby. Despite the home team’s greater numbers, Douglas proved once again they are not to be underestimated, and even with an uncharacteristically low score from Sam Jones, the visitors took the Division 1 win by 4 points. Greater numbers obviously gave the hosts the wins in Divisions 2 and 3.
Douglas v Kirk Michael
Douglas played host to Kirk Michael this week and exploited the home side advantage, taking wins in both Division 1 and 2.
Laxey v Sandsiders
The 8-strong Sandsiders squad journeyed to Laxey this week to take on the home team’s “Famous Five”. Sterling performances from Gemma Kermode and John Wood with a brace of 98s secured Laxey the Division 1 win. Greater numbers gave Sandsiders the Division 2 victory.
Castletown v Port St Mary
In the final Southern Derby of the season, it looked like Castletown might give Port St Mary their first Division 1 defeat as the initial shooters to take to the firing points for each team were pretty evenly matched. But the current league leaders weren’t going to relinquish their position at the top of the table without a fight, and Port’s last three shooters, Paul Clague, Ben Kelly and Les Crowe secured the Division 1 win with a 98 and a pair of 96s respectively. The visiting team’s greater numbers also ensured a clean sweep of all three Divisions
The Monday night matches of 3 March marked the resumption of the Isle of Man Rifle Association Winter League after the second break of the season.
Sandsiders v Douglas
The Isle of Man Shooting Club Derby saw IOMSC Sandsiders “host” IOMSC Douglas at the Sinclair Range, home to both teams. Douglas’ greater experience saw them take the win in Division 1, but Sandsiders strength in numbers secured them the win in Division 2. Top scorer for Sandsiders was the always reliable Jean Quaye with 96, with Mark Osborn and Dave Humphrey topping the leaderboard for Douglas with just one point better, 97.
Kirk Michael v Sulby
A rather depleted Sulby side wandered down the road to Kirk Michael minus their Junior shooters, who were all otherwise engaged in Young Farmers shenanigans! Although home side Kirk Michael were able to field a full team they were unable to capitalise on their home advantage, and Sulby took the wins in both divisions. Suzanne McKnight for Kirk Michael and Peter Faragher for Sulby took equal honours at the top of Division 1 with 97 each.
Port St Mary v Laxey
Port St Mary’s Junior Shooters lead the charge in the match against visitors, Laxey, with young Freddie Sime sharing top honours for the home side with a league best score of 98, along with seasoned veterans Kevan Kneale and Les Crowe. It was also a league debut for Junior, Hayden East, who put in a solid performance earning him a place in the Division 2 scores with an excellent first match 94.
Laxey, fielding multiple international-grade shooters gave the home side a run for their money, but in the end couldn’t defeat Port, who remain unbeaten in Division 1 of the league. Gemma Kermode topped the table for Laxey with 98 and it was nice to see Stephen Curphey back on form with a solid 96.
Castletown had the Bye this week
Sulby v Sandsiders
Sulby played host to Sandsiders this week and the home team’s greater numbers ensured wins in all three divisions. Top scorer for Sulby was Orry Teare with 99 and for Sandsiders it was Jean Quaye with 98.
Douglas v Port St Mary
Douglas hosted Southern powerhouse Port St Mary at the all-electronic Sinclair range. Whilst Douglas should never be underestimated, it was a night of celebration for the visiting team. Not only did Port St Mary take wins in all three divisions, but Donna Gardner scored her second 100 of the season, putting her in contention with team-mate Paul Clague for this season’s “Double Hundred” competition.
Laxey v Castletown
Laxey played host to an unusually under-manned Castletown and took a 7-point win in Division 1, despite Castletown’s Richie Arthur scoring his first 100 of the season and Neil Masson scoring a season’s personal best 90. Castletown secured the win in Division 2 thanks to being able to field four shooters to Laxey’s two.
Castletown v Douglas
Whilst not quite reaching biblical proportions, the match between Castletown and Douglas did have something of an air of ‘David and Goliath’ with the home side of 11 shooters suffering a first division defeat to Douglas’ 6. Sharon Christian and Mark Osborn led the charge for the visitors with a brace of 98s, which also happened to be a season personal best for both athletes. Town’s regular top gun, Richie Arthur hit a 97 in reply but, the home side’s depth didn’t have the strength to see off the challenge. Greater numbers did, however ensure the hosts the wins in Divisions 2 and 3.
Sandsiders v Kirk Michael
It was a week for the underdogs this week, with Kirk Michael taking an away win against hosts Sandsiders in Division 1 on their visit to the Sinclair Range. The Western side have only been able to field a full team of shooters for 5 of their 13 matches so far this season, so the win was cause for much celebration in the ranks! Perryn Watson missed out on a perfect score by a whisker when her last shot just clipped the line, but the 99 contributed to the team securing a solid 20-point win against their hosts. Top scorer for Sandsiders was Jean Quaye, and Jean’s mum, Julie recorded a league personal best of 91. Sandsiders greater numbers gave them the victory in Division 2.
Port St Mary v Sulby
Although both hosts, Port St Mary and visitors, Sulby were pretty evenly matched in terms of numbers, Port St Mary were, once again unstoppable, taking easy wins in all three Divisions. Port’s Ben Kelly was top scorer overall, with his fifth consecutive 99, and this, added to a trio of 98s and a 97 gave the hosts a 14-point victory in Division 1. Sulby put in some solid performances, including a season’s personal best of 93 from Rod Forshaw, but it wasn’t enough to dent Port’s onward march to the top of the league.
Castletown v Sulby
Fielding 12 shooters this week, home side Castletown hosted Sulby, who outgunned them both in numbers (14 Shooters) and scores. Sulby took the wins in all three divisions, but the home side didn’t make it easy for them, with just three points separating the teams in Divisions 1 and 2. Division 3 was an easier win for Sulby, with four shooters to Castletown’s two. Rumour has it that the visitors also outperformed their hosts in the post-match libations in the Sidings, but on this your correspondent cannot possibly comment!
Laxey v Douglas
An under-strength Douglas journeyed to Laxey who fielded all seven of their shooters, ensuring the home side wins in both contested divisions. Adrian Cowin and John Wood were the top scorers for Laxey, each with 98. For Douglas, Sam Jones topped the scoreboard with a solid 97.
Port St Mary v Kirk Michael
It was celebrations a-plenty for Port St Mary this week. Hosting a Kirk Michael team who were under-strength for the third consecutive week, wins in all divisions were guaranteed. The Division 1 victory was all the sweeter for Port’s Donna Gardner, who scored her very first league 100, which was also comprised of no less than six centre-tens! The Division 1 team dropped only eight points in all, giving a total of 492. Top scorer for Kirk Michael was Captain, Suzanne McKnight.
Sandsiders had the benefit of the Bye this week
Kirk Michael v Castletown
Hosts Kirk Michael were desperately under strength again this week, with just three shooters available for the second consecutive week. Castletown were also slightly more short-handed than usual, but still managed to field two full teams, securing wins in Divisions 1 and 2. Top scorer for Castletown was Robin McFee, with a season’s best so far of 99. Nigel Christian seems to be regaining his lost form with a respectable 96, which was matched by Kirk Michael’s Richard Kijak.
Sansiders v Port St Mary
Sandsiders hosted Port St Mary at the Sinclair Range this week. The visiting team were, for them, low on numbers this week, with only 12 appearing, but it was still enough for them to retain their position as league leaders with wins in all three divisions. Top scorers were Jean Quaye for Sandsiders and Ben Kelly for Port, both with 99s.
Sulby v Laxey
Laxey, although fewer in number than their hosts, put in a mighty performance this week to take the Division 1 win by a wide margin and with the top scores of the night provided by John Wood and Harry Creevy with a brace of 98s. Sulby’s greater numbers, however, assured them the victory in Divisions 2 and 3, and Rod Forshaw and Teddy Sayle put in season’s best scores so far with 90 and 92 respectively.
Douglas had the Bye this week.
Castletown v Sandsiders
Castletown hosted Sandsiders this week. Only one of ‘Town’s two electronic targets was working, and even that was being temperamental! Castletown’s Robin McFee seemed to spend most of his evening re-setting the target, but in spite of the technology doing its’ best to get him down, he didn’t succumb. For spite, on a paper target, he was top scorer hosts with 98, and went on to shoot an equally good score on a “Cambridge League” card when the match had finished. For Sandsiders, unused to shooting on paper, Jean Quaye was top scorer with 99, but even that couldn’t secure victory. Castletown took wins in all three divisions.
Laxey v Kirk MichaelSandsiders v Port St Mary
A double hundred saw hosts Laxey secure an impressive win against severely depleted visitors, Kirk Michael who were down to just three this week due to illness. John Wood and Gemma Kermode provided the brace of possibles in the Division 1 win, with force of numbers securing Division 2 as well. Of the Three Michael Musketeers, Perryn Watson was back on form with a solid 99.
Douglas v Sulby
Another team low on numbers this week was Douglas, who managed one better than Kirk Michael, but was still only able to field 4 shooters. This meant the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion in all three divisions in favour of visiting team, Sulby, who sent a squad of 13 down to the Sinclair Range. Top scores for both teams were 96s from Dave Kneale (Douglas) and Peter Faragher (Sulby)
Port St Mary had the Bye this week
Sandsiders v Laxey
IOMSC Sandsiders hosted Laxey at the all-electronic range at St Johns. Visitors Laxey came out on top in Division 1, even though some of the team’s initial sighting shots were well off the 10-ring. However, match firing gave the not unexpected result of a Win for Laxey in Division 1, with Adrian Cowin and John Wood topping the scoreboard with a brace of 98s.
Fortunately for Sandsiders their greater numbers secured them the win in Division 2, with new junior shooter Joe Kneale shooting an overall Personal Best. Jean Quaye was top scorer for Sandsiders with 97 and the match also saw league personal bests for Julie Quaye and junior Josh Saunders.
Kirk Michael v Douglas
Kirk Michael although able to field a full team of five this week, still suffered defeat to Douglas. A bad head cold saw the usually reliable Perryn Watson put in a disappointingly low score, and not even season’s best scores from Captain, Suzanne McKnight and Rifle Association President, Jason Brown could challenge the very strong performance from the Douglas side, who took the wins in Divisions 1 and 2.
Port St Mary v Castletown
The second “Southern Derby” of the league season saw Port St Mary host Castletown. Port made it two-for-two with wins in all three divisions against the slightly short-handed visitors. Ben Kelly topped the scoreboard for Port with another 99, and there were three season’s personal bests for Donna Gardner, Peter Lewis and junior, Brayden Kelly.
Sulby had the Bye this week
The Monday night matches of 6 January marked the resumption of the Isle of Man Rifle Association Winter League, with “Christmas Elves” being blamed for many a shooting jacket feeling a little on the snug side!
Laxey v Port St Mary
Current league leaders Port St Mary ventured up the Coast Road to the Glen Gardens to take on Laxey. Sickness and work commitments resulted in both teams being low on numbers, with Laxey only being able to field four, and Port only just being able to make representations in all three divisions.
In the end, though, the results were inevitable, with Port St Mary taking the wins in all three divisions. Top scorer for the Home side, Laxey, was Harry Creevy with 98. Port’s top score of 99 from Ben Kelly drew light-hearted grumbling about “tight” marking denying him his second 100 of the season! Ben’s 99 was supported by a brace of 98s from Ashley Gardner and Callum Grant, who matched his best score this season.
Sulby v Kirk Michael
Once again, Kirk Michael found themselves with only 4 shooters, with sickness laying low their up and coming junior and a stinking cold impacting the performance of another of their number. Nevertheless the 4 intrepid members of the Michael side made their way up the road to take on Sulby.
The Home side were also somewhat down on numbers, but still able to field 11, thus taking the win in all three divisions in spite of some uncharacteristically low scores.
Even though a win was never on the cards, Kirk Michael’s Perryn Watson surprised herself by achieving a season’s best score so far, with a near perfect 99.
Douglas v Sandsiders
The two teams based at the Sinclair Range at St John’s faced each other this evening, with Douglas claiming the home-team advantage with a Division 1 win. Sandsiders’ greater numbers assured them the victory in Division 2. Dave Humphrey’s 97 was the high score for Douglas. Jean Quaye topped the bill for Sandsiders with an excellent 99.
Castletown had the Bye this week.
Castletown v Laxey
Castletown were unable to make the most of a home range advantage, losing the Division 1 match to Laxey by just two points. Steve Gardner scored a season’s best so far to share the top slot with Richard Arthur for Castletown, each with 97. A trio of 95s from Nigel Christian, Robin McFee and John Paul Bridson gave Castletown a respectable Division 1 score of 479, but it was a stonking 100 from Harry Creevy for Laxey which secured the win. A Laxey shooter was heard to comment “Harry Saved the Day” – but the opposition begged to differ – Santa Harry “made” their day!
Strength in numbers gave hosts Castletown the win in Divisions 2 and 3.
Port St Mary v Douglas
For the first time this season, Port St Mary fielded more than 15 shooters thanks to the welcome return of Grace Jackson and Kirsty Cubbon, who were home from University for the holidays. After the previous week’s shock Division 3 defeat, Port were back to usual form taking the wins in all three Divisions.
Junior, Freddie Sime made his second appearance in the Division 1 team with his highest score this season (96), just one point behind Ashley Gardner who was also back on form, putting in his season’s best score of 97. Joint top scorers for Douglas were Dave Humphrey and Sam Jones, each with 96.
Sandsiders v Sulby
Sulby journeyed down to the Sinclair Range to take on Sandsiders this week, and although they are not used to shooting regularly on electronic targets, the visitors took the wins in all three divisions. Peter Faragher was top scorer for Sulby with 99 and Jean Quaye lead for the home team with 96.
Kirk Michael had the Bye this week.
Kirk Michael v Sandsiders
Kirk Michael once again found itself in the unfortunate position of being unable to field a full team of 5, so victory for visiting Team Sandsiders was inevitable. Joint top scorers for the home team were Perryn Watson and Richard Kijak.
Jean Quaye lead for Sandsiders, even though her score of 93 was unusually low for the talented lady shooter.
Kath Barrett, armed with knitting as well as her rifle put in a season’s best score so far. Sandsiders took the wins in Divisions 1 and 2, but despite there being not much in the way of competition, it was a good natured match enjoyed by both teams.
Douglas v Castletown
Douglas welcomed Castletown for this match of the league. Whilst the competition was fierce, several members of each team joined in some festive harmony, proving that there is a social atmosphere in these meetings.
When it came to the results, it was a close call. Castletown edged ahead to take the wins in the First and Second Divisions. The top four scorers were matched in each team. Nigel Christian was the top shot for Castletown with his 97, equally Dave Humphrey scored a 97 for the home team Douglas.
Notably, Andy Bell shot a season best with his 94.
A comment from Castletown was that although Douglas are down on team numbers, they are still competitive and a win against them is not a given.
Sulby v Port St Mary
Sulby hosted a surprisingly small contingent from the South. Work commitments, sickness and other reasons stopped a number of people from attending, resulting in the visitors only being able to field a total of 11 shooters.
Despite strong performances from Sulby’s shooters, with Mark Cain the top scorer for the home team with 97, Port took the wins in Divisions 1 and 2. However, the surprising lack of numbers did result in Port’s first loss of the season in Division 3, which has put an end to the team’s thus far clean slate.
The match was also memorable for Port Shooter Tom Pirson, who scored the magic 100 for the first time ever. Congrats Tom!
With every detail full, it was a surprisingly quick night all in all.
Following last week's break, the league resumed this week, with Sandsiders getting an additional week of with the Bye.
Kirk Michael v Port St Mary
An unusually small Port St Mary squad turned out for their last match of the first rotation of the winter league. 13 determined Southerners journeyed North by Northwest to take on Kirk Michael, who were able to field a full team of five this week. However, the outcome was never really going to be in doubt. Port St Mary have been undefeated in all three divisions so far this season, and this match didn’t buck the trend, with the visitors taking all three division wins. For the home team, Perryn Watson and Richard Kijak had season’s best scores so far of 98 and 98 respectively. For Port, the high points were an impressive second 100 in as many weeks from Paul Clague and a season’s best so far of 99 from Les Crowe.
Douglas v Laxey
After a few short-handed weeks, Douglas were back to fighting strength, and were evenly matched with visitors, Laxey, with both teams fielding six shooters. Only three points separated the teams in the first division, with Laxey taking the win 481 to Douglas’s 478. Adrian Cowin was top scorer for Laxey with a season’s best so far of 99. Douglas took the win in Division 2 by two points.
Sulby v Castletown
Sulby hosted the other Southern team this week, in their match against Castletown, but weren’t able to exploit the home advantage, losing Division 1 to the visitors by 8 points with some unusually low scores from their top shooters. Division 2 saw Sulby take the win by a narrow three point margin, and force of numbers secured them the Division 3 win as well. Joint top scorers for the visitors were Robin McFee and John Paul Bridson, both with 97.
Douglas had the Bye this week.
Castletown v Kirk Michael
Once again, Kirk Michael was low on numbers, but a valiant four shooters braved the cold and snow showers to head South to take on Castletown. Despite solid shoots from all the Westerners, defeat was inevitable and ‘Town took the win in all three divisions.
Laxey v Sulby
The Team from the Glen Gardens hosted Sulby this week, and despite being severely outnumbered, it didn’t stop Laxey putting in a sterling performance. A trio of 98s from Gemma Kermode, Harry Creevy and John Wood secured the team the win in Division 1 by four points. Naturally, fielding a total of 17 shooters, Sulby won Divisions 2 and 3 with ease.
Port St Mary v Sandsiders
A remarkable night in the match between Port St Mary and Sandsiders! For the first time in over 4 years, The Port had a double century in Division 1, with Ben Kelly and Paul Clague each scoring a perfect 100. With the other three shooters in the first division only dropping 11 points between them, and young Freddie Syme making a welcome return to the A-side, victory for Port was inevitable.
Sheer force of numbers also ensured the home side triumphed in Divisions 2 and 3. Sandsiders took 8 shooters on their journey south, and it’s nice to see the increase in numbers for a team who had struggled in previous seasons. Jean Quaye was top scorer for the visitors with 97.
Port St Mary had the Bye this week.
Kirk Michael v Laxey
Kirk Michael, back to full strength this week hosted Laxey, but were unable to make the most of being able to field a full team. High scores from Gemma Kermode, Harry Creevy and John Wood secured the win for Laxey in Division 1, and the visitors took the win in Division 2 just by strength of numbers. Perryn Watson was the high scorer for the home team.
Sandsiders v Castletown
Sandsiders welcomed Andy Traynor back to the team after a prolonged absence. Despite not having shot in a long time, his skill with the rifle was unaffected, putting in a very respectable 95. Jean Quaye was top gun for the home team with an excellent 99, but sadly, even being able to field 10 shooters, it was not enough to secure victory, with wins in all three divisions going to visitors, Castletown, who fielded 12 shooters, two of whom – Megan Mitchell and Charles Carter – were shooting on electronic targets for the very first time.
Sulby v Douglas
Sulby fielded and impressive 16 Shooters this week, including three new members – brothers Illiam and Lonan Christian, and James Rosengrove, who all made a respectable debut for the home team. Top scorer for Sulby was Peter Faragher with 98. His score was matched by Douglas’s Dave Humphrey, but the Sulby Juggernaut was unstoppable against a seriously outmanned outgunned Douglas, who were down to just three shooters this week. Wins for Sulby in all three divisions were therefore inevitable.
Sulby had the Bye this week.
Douglas v Kirk Michael
Douglas hosted Kirk Michael at the Sinclair Range. Once again, the team from the West were outnumbered, with only four of their five shooters able to take part in tonight’s match. Top scorer for the home team was Dave Kneale, with 98 and Sharon Christian, who came to the match fresh from getting off the boat, joined Dave Humphrey and Sam Jones to provide a trio of 95s. Top scorer for Kirk Michael was Jason Brown with 93, and junior Alex Hepburn had his best score of this season so far and a match Personal Best.
Laxey v Sandsiders
Although missing Harry Creevy, Laxey gave an unexpected welcome back to the team to Andrew Jessopp. Despite a missing Laxey scope (which had been unpacked for last week’s match against Port St Mary, and not subsequently repacked), and sterling performances from Gemma Kermode and John Wood, with 98 and 97 respectively, Laxey took the win in Division 1.
Not to be outdone in the missing kit department, Sandsiders found themselves missing a glove, and Kath Barrett got herself into a muddle with some pre-match knitting – perhaps trying to quickly replace that missing glove?!
However, in a pleasant change from last season, when the team struggled for members, greater numbers gave Sandsiders the win in Division 2.
Castletown v Port St Mary
In the first of this season’s Southern Derbies, Castletown hosted current league leaders, Port St Mary. Castletown’s electronic targets had been dismantled, meaning the match had to be shot entirely on paper, across just 4 firing points. With 27 shooters in total, it could have been a very long night for the Southerners, but with every detail full, the evening passed relatively quickly.
For the hosts, Castletown, top scorer honours went to jointly to Trevor Taubman and John Paul Bridson, with 97 each. However, it wasn’t enough to stop the Port St Mary juggernaut. 98 was the number of the night for the visitors and for the first time in a number of years, all of the team’s Division 1 shooters put in the same score. Solid performances and greater numbers gave the visitors wins in all three divisions. For Port St Mary’s Brayden Kelly, this was his first competitive match on paper, but the youngster was unphased, and equalled his match Personal Best. It was a night for Port Personal Bests, with Josh Stewart also breaking his own record with an excellent 98.
Castletown had the Bye this week.
Port St Mary v Laxey
Port St Mary played host to Laxey this week
All shooters this week, both home and away, opted to shoot on the electronic targets.
Despite suffering with an exceptionally painful neck, Ben Kelly managed an excellent score of 98. Fortune also smiled on Tom Pirson, who equalled his match personal best with 99. Fortunately, it was after he’d fired his last shot that his rifle hand stop decided to come loose!
Also back on form was Callum Grant, with a near perfect 99, and the Port was pleased to welcome back, for one night only, Ms Grace Jackson, who popped in during her reading week from University.
The fates were not kind to Freddie Sime, however. The up-and-coming junior suffered an equipment failure and was unable to finish his card.
The small, but perfectly formed contingent from Laxey put in a good performance, with a solid 97 from John Wood, and Stephen Curphey was back on form with a 92 after his first match hiccough last week.
Sandsiders v DouglasTechnically, this was a “home” match for both Isle of Man Shooting Club teams, as Sandsiders and Douglas both shoot at the Sinclair Range at St John’s.
Officially, Sandsiders were the Home Team for this match, but sadly they couldn’t capitalise on the home advantage. Douglas won Division 1 comfortably despite Dave Humphrey’s target refusing to switch to match. This necessitated him having to shoot again in the following detail but the disruption didn’t appear to affect him too badly and he came away with a respectable 96.
For Sandsiders, Jean Quaye was the top scorer with 97. Joe Kneale surpassed his previous scores with a greatly improved effort, helping Sandsiders to a Division 2 win. Hopefully he can continue the upward trajectory.
Kirk Michael v Sulby
Hosts Kirk Michael were seriously outgunned, being able to field only four shooters this week. New kit brought mixed fortunes - Jason Brown’s new butt-plate clearly helped him to a much-improved 92, but Richard Kijak struggled to adapt to a new shooting lens. Perryn Watson was again top-scorer for the home side, with 95.
Sulby, fielding 10 shooters, took the honours in Divisions 1 and 2, with an excellent 95 from Andy Mitchell securing him a Division 1 slot. The only slight damper on the evening was the need for the Kirk Michael Range Conducting Officer to strongly remind Sulby’s Junior shooters about the basic principles of Range Safety.
Sulby v Sandsiders
Sulby came out on top this week, even with many of their team unable to attend. Orry Teare was back on form with a 97 (the top score of the night) and the club’s knack for finding juniors seems to work to their advantage as youngsters made up half the team. It was Sandsiders first match of the season to be shot on paper targets, which reminded the team how different it really is compared to shooting on electronic targets.
Douglas v Port St Mary
Douglas warmly welcomed Port St Mary to the all-electronic range at St John’s for the first time this season. Both teams were low on numbers, but spirits remained high. In the end it was a very close result in the first team with Dave Humphrey being the top shot, not only for Douglas, but also of the match with a near perfect 99. It wasn’t quite enough, however, with Port taking the Division 1 win by just two points. Port’s top score of 97 came from Paul Clague. The second and third team results went unchallenged in Port’s favour. Worthy of note is Port’s family affair, as Ben Kelly watched over his son Brayden’s debut match on the road. The up-and-coming youngster bettered his previous match personal best by one, with a commendable 92, just four points off his Dad’s score of 96.
Laxey v Castletown
Having had the Bye in Week 1 of the League, Laxey’s first match of the season was at home to Castletown. Despite a brace of 98s from Adrian Cowin and Harry Creevy, Laxey couldn’t keep Castletown at bay, and the Southerners took the Division 1 win with match top-scorer Nigel Christian putting up an impressive 99. Sheer force of numbers also secured Castletown wins in Divisions 2 and 3.
Kirk Michael had the Bye this week but will host Sulby in Week 3.
The new season of the Isle of Man Rifle Association Smallbore Winter League got off to a flying start on Monday 14 October.
Laxey had a relaxed beginning, with a first match Bye.
Port St Mary v Sulby
2024 League Champions Port St Mary started the season in fine form with home wins in all three divisions against Northern powerhouse, Sulby. Port St Mary is a hybrid range of 8 firing points – four with electronic targets and four with standard paper targets. With half of the visitors preferring to shoot on paper targets, all 8 firing points were in use throughout the evening, and the match against the unusually short-handed Sulby was completed in almost record time. The match was not without incident, however. The usually high-scoring Orry Teare was hampered by a rifle jam which took some time to fix, and the disturbance clearly having an effect on performance. For Port, Ben Kelly was top scorer with a solid 98, and the match marked the impressive League debut of Ben’s son, Brayden, who scored a very respectable 91 and also has the distinction of being the youngest shooter in the league at age 13.
Sandsiders v Kirk Michael
Westerners, Kirk Michael ventured down to the Sinclair Range at St John’s to take on Sandsiders in their first away match of the season. Despite being outnumbered, the Michael team put on a solid performance, taking the win in Division 1, with Perryn Watson as top scorer with a 97. Strength in numbers gave Sandsiders the win in Division 2, with Jean Quaye being overall top gun with 96. Special mention goes to Joseph Kneale, a young man who only took up target shooting about 2 months ago and made his league debut in this match. Shooting in competitions is daunting, even for experienced shooters and Joseph’s determination to participate and develop in the sport is to be commended. We look forward to following his progress as the season goes on!
Castletown v Douglas
Southern team Castletown played host to Douglas in their first match. Displaying their usual strength in numbers ‘Town took the win in all three divisions, with steady improvers Duncan Watterson and Chris Williams-Jones securing themselves places in Divisions 1 and 2 respectively. The match also saw the welcome return of Trevor Taubman to the Castletown line-up. John Paul Bridson and John Brewis tied for the top spot for the home team with a brace of 97s, and there was a three-way tie for Douglas with Mark Osborn, Sharon Christian and Dave Humphrey each securing a solid 95.