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Sussex Trials At Roffey by Ian Holman

All current county players and anyone that is interested in playing county darts for Sussex are invited by the new Mens team manager Andy Sexton to attend a trial match at the new county venue at Roffey Social & Sports Club on Sunday 17th August. This is an opportunity for the current players to have a practice game on the new county stage and for new players to come along and see what a county game might be like. Players would need to be at the venue by 12 noon. If you are interested but cannot attend the trials day please contact either Andy Sexton on 0771 7218694 or the assistant manager Michael Donegan on 0776 6790649, The full address of the venue is Roffey Social & Sports Club, Spooners Road, Roffey, Horsham, RH12 4DY.

Mansell Is Best Newcomer by Ian Holman

At the Sussex County AGM held at the Brighton Trade & Labour Club on Sunday 22nd June Roffey's Dave Mansell (pictured) was awarded the Mens best newcomer by last seasons Sussex Mens team captain Geoff Taylor. Michael Hammond won the Mens Player of the Year, Donna Rainsley the Ladies Player of the Year, Lisa Tanner the Ladies best newcomer and Elaine Chapman the Ladies most improved player. Finally the personality trophy was won by Paul Russell.

Sussex Youth Are Champions by Barry Moody

Michael Hammond Sussex Youth are the British Inter Counties Youth League Southern Section champions after a stunning 13-4 win at Fareham against Hampshire. After the disastrous 10-7 defeat at the Roffey Social & Sports Club earlier this season against the previous champions this was an amazing turn around for Sussex. The under-18 boys stated the day well with a 6-3 win thanks to Oliver Sopp (Brighton), Crawley’s Warren Grantham, Eastbourne’s Tom Sawyer, Tom Bingham (Sidley), Mark Fluck (Horsham) and man-of-the-match David Weir (Eastbourne) with a 21.32 average, his fifth win of the season. The under-21 girls won 2-1 with Kellie Hammond (Brighton) back to form and lady-of-the-match Lorraine Horne (Littlehampton) with a 16.37 average, her fifth win in six outings. With the match score at 8-4 to Sussex their under-21 boys were in no mood to ease up and they gained their best win of the season, 5-0, with wins for Doug Mason (Horsham) and making their first appearance in the under-21s the Newhaven pair Jake Watts and Matt Walton, followed by Gavin Studholme (Ticehurst) and man-of-the-match Michael Hammond (pictured) (Newhaven) with a 25.47 average. Hammond was unbeaten in five matches and finished top under-21 boys player with a season’s average of 25.32. Sussex won the Section Championship by one point and will go to the Youth Champion of Champions Cup playoffs in August.

Roffey Three Shine As Sussex Are Heavily Beaten By Champions by Barry Moody and Ian Holman

Sussex suffered a heavy defeat in their final game of the season as their opponents took the British Inter Counties League Division Two title at Brighton Trades & Labour Club. The Ladies B had a solitary win from Debbie Oakman (Lewes) 3-0 with a 19.78 average as they lost 5-1. The Mens B then faired slightly better although were defeated 8-4 with wins coming from Man of the Match Dave Mansell (Roffey) (pictured) who won his game 3-0, hitting a 180 and a 23.12 average, Richard Ford (Ticehurst) won 3-1 with a 21.05 average. Neil Smith (Roffey) won 3-1 with a 20.24 average and Paul Russell (Eastbourne) 3-2, hitting a 180 and a 21.67 average. Unfortunately Sussex then fell further behind as the Ladies A lost 5-1 with Trish Kidd (Littlehampton) their only winner 3-0 with a 16.89 average. The Mens A then restored some pride with a 6-6 draw. Their wins came from Man Of The Match Rod Hawkins (Brighton) 3-0 with a 30.06 average, Keith Price (Brighton) 3-1 with a 26.19 average, Dave Creasey (Eastbourne) 3-0, hitting a 180 and a 25.47 average, Pete Crossley (Roffey) 3-2 with a 24.31 average, Peter Stoner (Worthing) 3-1 with a 22.61 average and Darren Woolgar (Newhaven) 3-1 with a 26.49. The final score Sussex 12 Derby 24. Derbyshire finished on 200 points, 23 above Sussex who slipped to sixth spot.

Sussex Youth Blown Away By Dorset by Barry Moody

Warren Grantham The Dorset Youth squad braved a snow blizzard to reach the Roffey Club, Horsham on Sunday 6th April where they proceeded to blow away the title hopes of the Sussex team. Winning all three games Dorset took the bonus points by an 11-6 margin, reversing the result earlier in the season at Dorchester and leaving Sussex with the prospect of having to beat Division leaders Hampshire at Portsmouth in the final fixture to gain top place. The Under Eighteens went 5-2 down but fought back to finish up losing 5-4. Winners were Tom Sawyer and David Weir (both Eastbourne), Sam Barnard (Lewes) and man-of-the-match Warren Grantham (Crawley) (pictured) with a 21.78 average. Tom Sawyer was awarded the 'Best performance of the day' award. The Under-21 Girls were missing previous match winner Michaela Dodd and slumped to a 2-1 defeat. Littlehampton’s Lorraine Horne won her second consecutive lady-of-the-match award. With the match score at 7-5 Sussex needed a strong performance from the Under-21s but missed doubles cost the home side dearly and they went down 4-1 with their only winner Gavin Studholme (Ticehurst) keeping his unbeaten record with a 3-0 win and a 19.27 average.

Sussex Still In Promotion Race by Barry Moody and Ian Holman

A 23-16 win at Merseyside puts Sussex in fourth place, just five points away from promotion to Division One of the Inter Counties League. With West Midlands and Norfolk failing to win Sussex now need a good win against leaders Derbyshire in the final fixture at Brighton at the end of April. Dave Mansell was the only Roffey winner. he won his Mens 'B' game 3-1 with a 23.39 average. Neil Smith lost his Mens 'B' game 3-1 with a 23.49 average and Pete Crossley lost his Mens 'A' game 3-2 with a 21.97 average. The weekend started badly for Sussex with the Ladies “B” losing 2-4 in a low scoring match. Winners were Debbie Oakman (Lewes) and lady-of-the-match Glenys Laker (Littlehampton) with a 17.89 average. The Mens 'B' came back to form with their third win of the season by 8-4. Apart from Mansell other winners were Paul Russell (Eastbourne) (pictured), Richard Ford (Ticehurst). Chris Gatford (Bognor), Andrew Sexton (Newhaven), Ken Sowerby and Andrew Stanford (both Worthing) and making the leap from the Youth team to gain his first man-of-the-match award at senior level, Pat West (Uckfield) with a 23.97 average. The Ladies 'A' put Sussex 14-10 up with their fifth win of the season. In the 4-2 victory they outscored Merseyside by 27 tons to 19. The winners were Rhonda West (Uckfield), Donna Rainsley (Newhaven), Sam Harding (Lewes) and lady-of-the-match Lisa Tanner (Eastbourne) in 19.03. Once again the Mens 'A' failed to get Sussex to the elusive 25 point target registering their fifth draw of the season. The 6-6 result included wins for James Packer (Eastbourne), Gary Edgar and Michael Hammond (both Newhaven), Keith Price (Brighton), Peter Stoner (Worthing) and a stunning man-of-the-match performance by Newhaven’s Darren Woolgar who won in 15,15 and 17 darts to record a 31.98 average, the second highest of the day in this Division.

Sussex

hopes of promotion now rest on their beating leaders Derbyshire at Brighton in the final fixture while hoping that Norfolk can take the bonus points at West Midlands.

Sussex Youth In Title Hunt by Barry Moody

Sussex Youth took the bonus points in hard fought match against Surrey at the Epsom Legion Club on Sunday 16th March. Their 13-7 win puts them just five points behind leaders Hampshire, who they meet in the final fixture at Portsmouth in May. The under eighteens got off to a shaky start, going 3-0 down but fought back well, with wins for Warren Grantham (Crawley) (pictured), Sam Barnard (Lewes), man-of-the-match David Weir (Eastbourne) with a 23.09 average, Oliver Sopp (Brighton) and match winner Horsham’s Mark Fluck, his first success this season. Sam Barnard was awarded the “Best performance of the day” award. The under-21 girls are joint top of their league table with Hampshire after gaining their third win of the season. Littlehampton’s Lorraine Horne made a welcome comeback to the squad and took the lady-of-the-match award with a 15.94 average. Michaela Dodd (Brighton) won her game with a 120 checkout to give Sussex the 2-1 win. With the match score at 7-5 to Sussex the under-21s needed two wins to take the bonus points. Gavin Studholme (Ticehurst) kept his unbeaten record with a 3-0 win and, in a clash of the Captains, Brighton’s Michael Hammond clinched the match result, beating Surrey star Anthony Hopkins 3-1, with a match award winning average of 25.84. Doug Mason (Horsham) put the icing on the cake when he grabbed his first win of the season to put the under-21s joint top of their league table with Hampshire and make the final score 10-7 to Sussex. Further good performances from their remaining two fixtures will give Sussex a great chance of claiming the league title.

Poor Weekend For Roffey Players As Sussex Scrape Home by Ian Holman

Sussex scraped home against Northumberland 19-17 in Division Two of the British Inter-Counties League at Brighton Trades & Labour Club on the weekend of 1st / 2nd March. The Ladies B won 5-1 with wins from Bridget Guilford, Mandy Perry, Glenys Laker, Haley Gatford and Elaine Chapman. The Mens B lost 8-4 with wins from Ken Sowerby, Simon Parsons, Chris Gatford and Paul Russell. The Ladies A won 4-2 with wins from Sue Bird, Rhonda West, Lisa Tanner and Donna Rainsley and the Mens B drew 6-6 with wins from Peter Stoner, James Packer, Michael Hammond (pictured), Paul Eves, Dave Creasy and Darren Woolgar. Sussex Men of the Match were Michael Hammond (26.96 average) for the A's and Simon Parsons (24.86 average) for the B's. The Sussex Ladies of the Match were Donna Rainsley (19.36 average) for the A's and Glenys Laker (18.20 average) for the B's. Roffey's trio of Pete Crossley, Dave Mansell and Neil Smith all lost their games 3-1. Crossley had a 21.79 average in his defeat against Darren Gray for the A's. Mansell had a 25.69 average in his defeat against Spencer McGarry for the B's and Neil Smith had a 20.30 average in his defeat against Jaimie Martin for the B's.

Sussex Lose In Somerset by Ian Holman

Sussex were narrowly beaten 19-17 away to Somerset in Division Two of the British Inter-Counties League last weekend. All three Roffey players won their games 3-1. After the Ladies B had got Sussex away to a bad start losing 5-1 the Mens B levelled with an 8-4 win helped by a 23.25 average from Dave Mansell and a 20.35 average from Neil Smith (pictured). A 4-2 loss for the Ladies A was followed by a 6-6 draw for the Mens A with Pete Crossley obtaining a 21.38 average. Man of the Match for the Mens A was Bognor's Jason Hills with a 29.47 average. Simon Parsons of Bevendean Reds picked up Man of the Match for the Mens B with a 26.40 average.

Mansell Wins As Sussex Beat Berkshire by Ian Holman

Sussex got back to winning ways at the Trades & Labour Club in Brighton in January 2008 with a 20-16 victory against Berkshire in Division Two of the British Inter-Counties League. Dave Mansell (pictured) beat Paul Luker 3-2 in his Mens B team game with a 22.11 average. Pete Crossley and Neil Smith were both beaten in their Mens A games. Both players lost their games 3-0. Crossley had an average of 21.79 and hit a 180 against Brian Barton while Smith had a 21.69 average against Geoff Heath. Other Sussex winners were Lisa Tanner, Hayley Gatford and Sue Sexton for the Ladies B, Jason Hills, Peter Stoner, Paul Russell, Richard Ford and Mark Davis for the Mens B, Rhonda West, Donna Rainsley, Trish Kidd, Sam Harding and Sue Bird for the Ladies A, Gary Edgar, Jim Withers, Rod Hawkins, James Packer, Geoff Taylor and Darren Woolgar for the Mens A. Sussex Men Of The Match were Rod Hawkins with a 28.17 average for the A's and Peter Stoner with a 25.82 average for the B's. Sussex Ladies Of The Match were Trish Kidd with a 19.57 average for the A's and Sue Sexton with a 16.70 average for the B's. Final mention goes to Youth Player Ollie Sopp who was unlucky to lose 3-2 on his Senior debut despite hitting two maximums against Steven Greene.

Nott A Good Weekend For Sussex by Ian Holman

Sussex fell to their second defeat of the season, away to Nottingham in the British Inter-Counties League Division Two. With the scores level at 9-9 overnight the Ladies A side kept things even by drawing 3-3 before the Mens A suffered a 9-3 loss. Apart from Dave Mansell (pictured) winning his Mens B game 3-0 with an average of 21.78 the Roffey players had a poor weekend. Kez Botting lost 3-2 with a 21.80 average, Neil Smith lost 3-1 (22.71 average) and Pete Crossley lost 3-0 (20.70 average). Men of the match for Sussex were Geoff Taylor 25.79 for the A's and Gary Edgar 26.00 for the B's. Lady of the Match for the A's was Donna Rainsley 20.67 and for the B's Sam Harding 15.83.

Sussex Youth Beat Surrey Youth by Barry Moody and Ian Holman

Sussex Youth gained their second successive win in the Inter Counties League with a hard fought 11-6 victory against Surrey at their new venue, The Roffey Sports & Social Club. Unfortunately local players Doug Mason and Rob Metcalfe (pictured) were both defeated in the Under 21's matches. Mason lost 3-1 against Martin Byrne and Metcalfe suffered a 3-2 defeat against Anthony Hopkins despite hitting a 180. Mason hit a 19.96 average and Metcalfe 21.29. There were Under 18's wins for Jake Watts, Sam Barnard, Matt Wenham, Dave Weir, Oliver Sopp, Michael Smithers and Tom Sawyer. Both Wenham and Weir registered maximums with Weir hitting a superb 27.08 average in his 2-0 win. In the Ladies there were wins for Lorraine Horne and Kellie Hammond while Shona Sawyer had a 125 checkout in her 2-1 defeat. In the Under 21's there were wins for Michael Hammond and Gavin Studholme. Michael Hammond hit a 180 and had a 26.84 average. The win leaves Sussex level on top with Hampshire who they meet at Roffey in February.

Sussex Fight Back To Beat London by Ian Holman

Sussex picked up their second straight British Inter-Counties League Division Two victory after fighting back from a 10-8 overnight deficit against London to win 19-17. The Ladies 'B' team got Sussex off to a good start on Saturday obtaining a 4-2 lead with wins from Sam Harding, Debbie Oakman, Gladys Laker and Mandy Parry. Laker took the Sussex Lady of the match for the 'B's with an 18.18 average. The Mens 'B' then lost 8-4 with wins from Ian Barrett, Paul Russell, Andy Stanford and Andy Sexton. Roffey's pairing of Kez Botting and Dave Mansell both lost their games. Botting lost 3-2 with an average of 21.63 and Mansell had a 21.66 average in his 3-1 defeat. The Sussex Mens 'B' man of the match was Stanford with 25.38. For London Mens 'B' top performers were Dave Etherington with a 26.81 average and Richie Buckle with a 26.58 average.

Yesterday the Ladies 'A' brought the overall scores level at 12-12 with wins from Lisa Tanner, Trish Kidd, Sue Bird and Rhonda West as they won 4-2. Bird hit the best winning average with 19.78. Roffey's Pete Crossley (pictured) opened up for the Mens 'A' and put Sussex In front with a 3-1 win and a 20.89 average before Dave Creasey gave Sussex a two game advantage. Defeats for Jim Withers and Roffey's Neil Smith brought the scores level again. Smith was unlucky to lose 3-2 with an average of 23.28. Sussex restored their two game advantage with wins from Roffey's Danny king and Keith Price. After a slow start King got going in the third leg with a 180 and ended up with a 3-1 win and a 24.80 average. London fought back again to level at 16-16 as James Packer and Geoff Taylor were defeated. Taylor had an excellent start to his game with two 180's before taking the first leg out in 12 darts but ended up losing the next three against Ian Nicholls. Sussex took the victory by reeling off the next three games with wins from Rod Hawkins, Michael Hammond and Darren Woolgar. Paul Eves lost the final set of the day. Dave Creasey took the Mens 'A' man of the match with a 26.37 average.

Youth Win Opener by Barry Moody and Ian Holman

Local pair Rob Metcalfe (pictured) and Doug Mason represented Sussex Youth as they opened their season with an 11-6 win away to Dorset in the Southern Division of the County Youth League on Sunday 21st October.

The Under 18s gave Sussex a 5-4 lead with wins from Oliver Sopp, Matt Wenham, Michael Smithers, Tom Sawyer and Pat West. West took the Under 18s man of the match with a 24.44 average. The girls extended the lead to 7-5 with Kelly Hammond and Lorraine Home winning before the Under 21s wrapped things up by taking four of the remaining five games. Winners for the Under 21s were Gavin Studholme, Rob Metcalfe, Sean Brooks and Michael Hammond. Hammond took the Under 21s man of the match with a 27.94 average.

Metcalfe won his game 3-0 against Ben Ward with a 25.15 average. Mason went down 3-2 against Jamie Garman with a 17.73 average. Finally, Paul Richardson from Crawley played a reserve game but lost 1-0 against Russell Long.

Danny King On Fire As Sussex Beat Norfolk by Ian Holman

Sussex comfortably beat Norfolk in their BDO Inter Counties Championship Division Two fixture at the Brighton Trades and Labour Club over the weekend. The Ladies 'B' team got them off to a good start on Saturday, winning 5-1 then the Men's 'B' won 9-3 to give them a 14-4 overnight lead going into Sunday's 'A' team games. Ree Collins from Lewes was the lady of the match with a 18.14 average from her 3-2 win against Teresa Felgate. Other lady winners for Sussex were Mandy Perry, Debbie Oakman, Sam Harding and Bridget Guildford.

For the men, Brighton's Mark Davis was man of the match with an impressive 28.99 average in his 3-1 win against John Cooper. Roffey's Dave Mansell (pictured above) won his game 3-2 with a 19.30 average. Other Sussex winners were Jason Hills, Rob Collins, Andrew Sexton, Richard Ford, Ian Barrett. Paul Russell and Andy Stanford. Unfortunately Roffey's Kez Botting had double trouble as he went down 3-0 to Terry Stanmore. Andrew Sexton had the best leg of the afternoon (a 13 darter) which included a 180.

The Ladies 'A' team extended Sussex's lead to 18-6 with wins from Sue Bird, Rhonda West, Trish Kidd and Sue Sexton. Rhonda west won lad of the match for the 'A's with a 21.36 average.

Roffey's Danny King (pictured) kicked off for the Mens 'A' in blistering form with an opening 12 dart leg that culminated with a 161 check-out. This was followed by legs of 17 and 20 darts for a 30.67 average which was good enough to take the Mens 'A' man of the match award. Last week King hit a 30.06 average for Roffey in their Super League match against Tally Ho. Fellow Roffey player Neil Smith won his set 3-1 with a 23.35 average and there were also Sussex wins from James Packer, Dave Creasey, Michael Hammond, Rod Hawkins and Paul Eves that gave the hosts a 25-11 victory. Roffey's other Sussex player Pete Crossley lost his set 3-1 with an average of 19.39.

Sussex Lose Opener by Ian Holman

Sussex were beaten 21-15 by West Midlands at Willenhall as they began their fight to regain their place in Division One of the British Inter-Counties League. Both men's sides drew 6-6 with the ladies 'A' losing 4-2 and the Ladies 'B' losing 5-1. Roffey's Kez Botting won his debut match for the Mens 'B' team on Saturday (3-1) as did Bevendean's Mark Davis. There were also wins for Simon Morris (Newhaven), Paul Russell (Eastbourne), Ian Barrett (Ticehurst) and man-of-the-match Andy Stanford (Worthing) with a 26.69 average. Dave Mansell lost his debut appearance 3-0 despite hitting a 180. Sue Sexton was the Ladies 'B' team lady-of-match with an average of 14.11.

On Sunday, in the Mens 'A' team Danny King (pictured) won 3-0. Other winners were Darren Woolgar (Newhaven), Geoff Taylor (Bevendean), Jim Withers (Eastbourne), Michael Hammond (Newhaven) and man-of-the-match Rod Hawkins (Lewes) with a 29.36 average. Pete Crossley lost 3-1 and Neil Smith lost 3-0. In the Ladies 'A' team the Sussex winners were Littlehampton pair Donna Rainsley and lady-of-the-match Karen Winter with a 19.27 average.