Sunday 16th May saw the start of the 2021 series of Southern’s regional competitions, with the Singles and Shooting held at Oxshott PC.
Players were keeping a close eye on the wet May weather as this much-anticipated event approached, with forecasts of strong winds and rain. The 28 players came prepared with waterproofs, ready to battle for the title of Regional Singles Champion and Regional Shooting Champion. With Hilary at the helm, the groups were quickly organised with a random draw on the day and play began promptly by 10am. Surprisingly, the weather remained dry (at least for the first couple of games!)
Some strong performances dominated the morning leagues, with Steve Daykin seeded in top position, Kaylee in 2nd and Callum in third after each won all 3 games in the morning. Also in the mix and winning all 3 of their morning games were Dave Lucas and Hassi Leverett. At the semi-final stage Steve beat Callum and David Cruz beat Justin. In the end, it was Steve, the number one seed from the morning, who took the title of Regional Singles Champion.
Main Consolage was won by Liam Kidd as he beat Oxshott local Ash Patel who had previously beaten big brother Peter Kidd in the Semi’s.
There were a few bye’s in the first round of the Plate, with the final won by Allan Paice, beating Jeff Fox. The Plate Consolage final was won by Georgina Wilkins who beat Will Read.
Alongside the afternoon knockouts the Precision Shooting competition got underway with the lovely Tony Mann closely observing each player and explaining the new, tougher, Tir de Precision rules while Hilary noted the scores. After the first round, the top 4 players were Callum Lombard (24pts), Justin Ellis (20pts), Tony Kidd (16pts) and Frank Charlesworth (15pts). They went head to head, with both Callum and Frank finishing in equal top spots with 13 points. On countback, Frank pipped Callum to take the title of Regional Shooting Champion.
Despite the intermittent downpour, it was a great start to the season.
Congratulations to winners Steve Daykin and Frank Charlesworth, and thanks to Hilary and Tony for running the day and smiling through the rain. Thanks also to Oxshott Petanque Club for hosting us and Jeff for the excellent lunches.
Sayonara, from your Happy Blogger
