Suffolk Guild of Ringers
Monday 7th October 2024
Ridgman Trophy 2015
The 28th Ridgman Trophy 10 bell striking competition was held on Saturday 6th June at SS. Peter and Paul’s church Wisbech. Eight teams had been entered into the contest with the draw being made in the tower some two weeks previous. We were drawn to ring in second place.
The judges were Caroline and David House of Brighton. David suggested that all bands had rung slower than the bells demanded but then said he had never rung on them. We found them difficult to place at speed and more erratic when rung slowly during our practice piece and settled into the right speed for our test effort.
The test piece was half a course of Cambridge Surprise Royal run into rounds at the fifth lead end, 200 changes long.
Our band was placed as follows:-
| 1 | Craig Cradidge |
| 2 | David Potts |
| 3 | Clare Veal |
| 4 | Jed Flatters |
| 5 | David Stanford |
| 6 | Ruth Munnings |
| 7 | Rowan Wilson |
| 8 | George Salter |
| 9 | Mike Whitby |
| 10 | Richard Munnings |
Tea and food was provided in the church hall by the Wisbech ringers and
two poly pins of Elgoods beer were available to sample, though most teams declined
until after their test piece. Wisbech St. Mary were open for ringing and we
went over en mass to ring.
The format of the Ridgman is that teams draw a timed slot so are free to come and go to suit the schedules and numbers gradually build up as more and more teams arrive. In the end there were some 60 people in the church hall to hear the judgement.
| Order of ringing | Remarks | % | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essex | Slightly quick, back bells did not dodge well together | 65 | 4 |
| 2 | Suffolk | Sped up after first lead, good little bell runs, no quick leads | 78 | 2 |
| 3 | Ely | Careful ringing, though some clips, method mistake in last lead | 85 | 1 |
| 4 | CUG | Struggled to find rhythm, strung out | 54 | 6 |
| 5 | Hertford | Quick leads poor finish did not work together | 50 | 7= |
| 6 | Peterborough | Good patches but speed erratic 9, 10 dodging dragged | 58 | 5 |
| 7 | Lincolnshire | A little rocky, no clear rhythm lots of errors | 50 | 7= |
| 8 | Bedfordshire | Pleasant careful ringing but major method mistake not corrected | 76 | 3 |
At the post ringing meeting it was agreed that next year’s competition which will take place on Saturday 4th June will be hosted by the Hertford County Association with Erin Caters nominated as the test method/principal.
Second place augers well for next year and we have a good mix of experience as well as up and coming younger ringers to take us forward.
Jed Flatters
7/6/2015