s SAGL nears the end of its 109th shooting season only competitions remain to be played. The 4 A-side charity knockout cup was shot to its conclusion at Wilmcote Social Club and had a number of unusual features.

In a quarter final match shot on 2 May Avon A were drawn against Binton B. Avon were the better shooters with 126 points which included Nick Williams and Alison McMillan both shooting 34 points. Binton had a few loose threes on the target and needed the eight point handicap to give then a 126 point finish. With both teams scoring the same number of points, the match was awarded to Binton B as they were the side with the lower team average.

The last two rounds were shot on 23 May. Binton B met Home Guard who shot very well with 34 from Andy Morris, and 33s from Gareth Morris and Tracy Pegg, a career best score for Tracy. Even with the handicap points Binton could not match Home Guard’s accuracy and they finished again on 126 points.

MEB who had won through the quarter final round when their opponents failed to turn up, themselves failed to turn up for their semi final against Binton Badgers so Badgers went into the final without having fired a shot!

The final was well shot by both teams who kept their shots tight to score only fours and bulls. Home Guard did not shoot quite as well as in the previous round. Andy Morris was their top shot with 33 points and they finished on 127 points. Badger’s top shot was Andy Smith who missed one bull for 34 followed by Andrew Radbourne’s 33. Badger’s finished on 129 but Home Guard had two handicap points which brought the scores level at 129. The match was awarded to Home Guard as they were the side with the lower team average.

Both the Ladies Rose Bowl and the Youth Cup had only three entrants. In both competitions shooters have five shots on two targets.

Alison McMillan who has held the Ladies Rose Bowl for three years seemed determined to retain the trophy when on the first target she topped the scores with 24.1 points. Sammy Skye Unit put her under pressure shooting 23.2 as did Michelle Dale with 23.1 points. On the second target Unitt missed only one bull for 24.3 but McMillan and Dale missed three bulls each for 22.1. Unit took the trophy coming out overall winner with 47.5 points and McMillan had to be satisfied with second place.

Lester Langford was defending his tenure of the Youth Cup for the third time and on the first target missed only one bull to lead with 24.3 points with Sammy Skye Unit second on 23.3 points. On the second target Langford again missed one bull for 24.2 and Unit did better with 24.1 but the match and trophy was Langford’s for the fourth consecutive year with a total of 48.5 points out of a possible 51. Ben Hodges who only started competitive shooting this season was the third contender and was unlucky not to have hit more bulls but he kept his shots tight and had no stray threes. He has shot well in his first season and is considered to be “one to watch for the future”.

The final match of the season for the Thompson Cup will be shot tonight (30 May) between Wilmcote and Binton A at the Avon Sports Bar, Stratford.

Report by Juana Everett, to be published on 30th May 2019