Who will be a winner at the Journal Sports Awards? (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Who will be a winner at the Journal Sports Awards?

2003 proved yet another vintage year for the area's sportsmen and women. Mike Turner and Sarah McQuillen highlight just some of the many achievements and events that made the news.

JANUARY

Bowls: Male and female Five Rivers Indoor Bowls Club members were celebrating after inching closer to the National finals. The ladies excelled themselves in their first Zone Final since 1996, winning a thrilling contest against Moonfleet by 72 shots to 70. While in the individual contests, Mike Tyler, Colin Ives, Bob Tanner and Mickey Crook won their rinks quarter-final against East Dorset Club.

Cricket: South Wilts under 16s young stars continued to shine in the NatWest Hamp-shire Junior Indoor Champion-ships. Wins against Sarisbury Athletic and Bournemouth moved the side into the play-off places. James Hayward, Eddie Abel and Lysander Wolf were all in particularly fine form.

Football: Salisbury City were enjoying a splendid start to the New Year. A 3-2 home win against Histon restored their seven-point lead at the top of the table and followed the announcement that boss Nick Holmes had won the Eastern Division's manager of the month award for December in recognition of his side's excellent run of results. The club's trip to Dartford was a victim of the inclement weather, but Whites then entertained Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth in a friendly at the Ray McEnhill Stadium. Pompey's youngsters, watched by Redknapp and assistant Jim Smith, ran out 3-0 winners in a highly entertaining game.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins' goalkeeper Colin Hopkins was in the news again helping Heath to the three points against Hamble ASSC. The shot-stopper turned scorer, netting from a penalty for the sixth time this season and then capped the day off by saving a penalty at the other end.

Laverstock & Ford became one of only 100 clubs in the country to receive the Football Association's Charter Stand-ards Award - and only the third club in Wiltshire to receive the prestigious award. Right on cue, they took their unbeaten run to 13 games to open up a four point lead at the top of Hampshire Division Two.

Also heading to the top of the pile were Shrewton United after putting seven goals past Melksham Town in their latest Skurrays Wiltshire League match.

Salisbury official Roger East was one of the referee's assistants at Highbury for Arsenal's FA Cup 4th round tie with non-league Farnborough Town.

George & Dragon booked their place in the semi-finals of the Wiltshire Junior Cup after a comprehensive 9-0 success against Swindon's Vicaima.

Golf: Andy Beal headed to South America after being invited to compete in Costa Rica and Guatemala on the European PGA tour. En route, Beal stopped off in San Diego to team up with his coach.

Orienteering: Emily Benham of Sarum Orienteers was selected for England for next month's international against Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Point-to-Point: The Wessex Area point-to-point season got off a week later than planned after the Army meeting at Larkhill had to be postponed because of the inclement conditions. Mister Bean proved an impressive 20-length winner in Division One of the Open Maiden, while Red Brook Lad took the honours in the Ladies Open.

Rugby: Salisbury Rugby Club were another club enjoying a new year boost with a last-gasp victory over Abbey. Stuart Bellinger ran in three tries in a 32-27 victory.

However, Bishop Words-worth's School's under 15s exited the Daily Mail under 15s Cup at the fifth round stage despite a 17-17 home draw with Bristol's QE High School. Bishop's fell victims to the competition's away rule.

Newly married women's rugby star Emily Cooke (nee Feltham) heard she was to miss out on England's Six Nations campaign. Despite her efforts to be fit following a catalogue of injuries, England coach Geoff Richards opted to include her in the England A team instead. Emily hid her disappointment and answered back in the best way possible by running in a hat-trick of tries in an emphatic 34-0 victory.

There was, however, good news for Poulner's James Greenwood. He was one of five London Irish-based players named in the England under 19s squad for the game against Scotland.

Show jumping: Danny Dunne qualified one of his ponies - Grovely's Fantas - for April's Blue Chip Championship. Two clear rounds secured him a fifth place finish in the Junior Sapphire class.

Squash: Five Rivers' squash team scored a maximum 60 points from their first three matches after the festive break.

Volleyball: Salisbury Volley-ball Club's ladies continued to dominate the Wiltshire League. They headed the table by three points from Melksham after the latest round of matches.

FEBRUARY

Athletics: 56-year-old teacher Brian Gillo won the shot-put at the British Masters Athletics Federation event at Glasgow with a throw of 12.31 metres. He went on to represent Great Britain in Spain at the European Masters Championships.

Badminton: Stonehenge Bad-minton Club's Stuart Sneddon claimed three titles at the annual Salisbury & District Junior Championships.

Basketball: St Edmund's Girls' School & Sports College could boast four England internationals after Jessica Brookfield was named in the under 13s basketball development squad joining fellow pupils Alice Walton and Emily Brookfield. Fellow pupil Mikaela Howell continued to make a name for herself in the Arsenal and England football camps.

Bowls: Five Rivers Indoor Bowls Club's ladies' magnificent run in the National Yetton Trophy finally came to an end. The Zone champions exited at the last 16 stage at the hands of Eastbourne. The club's men's team also reached the end of the line in the National Individual competitions - Mike Tyler, Colin Ives, Bob Tanner and Mickey Crook lost by just one shot in their Area semi-final at East Dorset.

Cricket: South Wilts Grammar School took the honours in the County Under 15s girls indoor cricket tournament.

Rob Wade took over as captain of South Wilts following Russell Rowe's acceptance of the Wiltshire CC captaincy.

Football: Eastbourne Boro-ugh inflicted Salisbury City's first home reverse of the season. The defeat, plus the postponement of their next game at St Leonards enabled Banbury United to nudge the Whites off the top spot. Former England captain Stuart Pearce was special guest at the Old Sarum club for a fundraising evening. Back on the pitch, City's promotion hopes were further dented when they went down 3-1 at rivals Bashley. To make matters worse an administrative blunder meant they were docked three points after it was discovered that new signing Nathan Per-kins, who made his debut in the 4-1 win at Spalding United, was still registered with his former club AFC Newbury.

Shrewton United recorded their 100th goal of the campaign as they put ten past Marl-borough Town without reply. Dean Foot scored four goals in the game. The club's under nines were also unstoppable. They wrapped up the HSA League title thanks to a 3-0 win over closest challengers Claren-don Cubs.

Rugby: Former Bishop Word-sworth's pupil Richard Hill won his 52nd England cap in the Six Nations victory over France at Twickenham.

Meanwhile, Poulner's James Greenwood was in the England under 19s side that suffered a 17-13 defeat by the French.

Salisbury Rugby Club's revival continued with a hard earned 22-20 away victory over Amer-sham & Chiltern - their first on the road this season.

Emily Cooke's late try put Richmond into the semi-finals of the Women's Rugby Cup.

Swimming: Eleven-year-old Ellie Steel from Whiteparish, was offered a place on the prestigious World Class Start Programme, following her success at the English Schools Championship.

Tennis: A 28-point tie-break in the last set provided a dramatic end to Salisbury A's victory over Riverside A. The win virtually sealed their retention of the Wiltshire Winter League Divi-sion One title.

Volleyball: Newly-formed Sal-isbury ladies reached the final of the Wiltshire Cup, but were beaten 28-18 by Melksham.

MARCH

Athletics: Sara Ponsford was selected as first reserve for Eng-land after finishing ninth in the English Schools Cross Country Championship at Brighton.

Bowls: Five Rivers Indoor Bowls Club's ladies, looking to retain their Riversmeet title, secured a vital victory against a strong Atherley team. A 36-shot success against East Dorset saw them crowned champions.

Boxing: Light-welterweight Adam Grigg powered his way to victory against Chris Edwards of Burnham to make it four wins from four outings.

Cycling: Ian Bishop enjoyed a double when he won both of New Forest Cycling Club's early season time trials.

Football: 'Quins 'keeper Colin Hopkins was on target again, scoring his ninth goal of the season with an injury time penalty to earn his side three points against Andover.

Five second half goals en-sured Shrewton United's league and cup double hopes remained intact. After a goalless first half against Aldbourne in the semi-final of the Wiltshire Senior Cup, Dean Foot was among the second half scorers to earn them a place in the final.

Laverstock & Ford secured promotion from Hampshire Division Two after beating Ludgershall 3-0.

Salisbury City's lack of fire power again proved costly when they had to leave Stamford with a share of the spoils in another goalless draw. Dean Bowden missed the rest of the season after breaking his leg in the Wiltshire Premier Shield tie with Chippenham Town. The horrific injury occured in the opening minutes of the match, which was subsequently abandoned because of the time it took paramedics to move him from the field. The cup tie was concluded a couple of weeks later with Salisbury's 2-0 win securing a 5-3 aggregate success. Victory against Ashford, in a game that saw four players sent off, sent City back up the table and concluding a busy month for the club, back-to-back home wins over Chatham and Stamford lifted them back into the promotion places.

Horse racing: Shrewton-based trainer Dr Jeremy Naylor landed a 14-1 winner in the Showcase Handicap at Wincan-ton when Richard Thornton steered Indian Gunner home.

Former Saints and England footballer-turned racehorse trainer Mick Channnon, moved a step closer back to his roots after purchasing the 118-acre Home Farm Stud at West Tytherley to compliment his West Ilsley yard.

Motorbike racing: Any doubts about Daryl Bolter's upgrade to the expert class for this year's British Motorcycle Enduro Championship were dismissed when he took maximum points from the opening meeting of the season.

Orienteering: Emily Benham finished third on her international debut to help England win a competition in Holland.

Powerlifting: Lee Steggles, Neil Arnold, Paul Newell and Brendan Jaynes all secured top three finishes in their respective classes at the South East Championships.

Rugby: Emily Cooke's disappointment at missing the Six Nations was tempered somewhat by her call-up to the England team for the World Sevens in Hong Kong. She left her mark on the Far East tournament, scoring four tries as England finished runners-up to old foes New Zealand - the country's best ever showing in the tournament.

Salisbury gave champions-elect Oxford Harlequins a scare in their clash at Castle Road. The home team played out of their skins in the first half and somehow kept the game goalless at half-time. However, Oxford showed their class after the break and eventually ran out 24-3 winners.

Swimming: Phillip Cheverall was among the Salisbury Sting-rays team which triumphed in their home pool in the third round Wiltshire Winter League gala. The win kept the club top of the Division One table.

Tennis: Roger Witt passed a personal milestone when he made his 100th appearance in a winning Salisbury team in the Wiltshire Winter League.

APRIL

Cricket: After finishing runners-up in the NatWest Indoor Winter League, South Wilts Cricket Club's under 16s carried off the county title beating Bournemouth and Havant in the round-robin finals.

Test Match Special's Henry 'Blowers' Blofeld was a popular draw at City Hall - the latest stop on his 'An Evening With Blowers' tour.

Equestrianism: Twelve-year-old La Retraite pupil Eleanor Osmond and her pony Ballerina registered outstanding dressage results at the Hurstbourne Priors Centre. Eleanor hoped her success will be enough to secure a place in the British team in the Blarney Dressage Festival in Ireland later in the year.

Football: Salisbury City's promotion hopes were dealt a triple blow at the start of the month. As well as losing 3-1 away at rivals King's Lynn, their appeal against the deduction of three points was rejected.

Influential midfielder Wayne Turk, injured in the game against Stamford, was out for the rest of the season after it was confirmed he had suffered an ankle fracture.

Despite taking maximum points from two games in three days, City were resigned to another season of Eastern Division football after results elsewhere meant their promotion dream was over.

His former club Southampton provided City boss Nick Holmes with plenty to cheer about however, when they beat Watford at Villa Park to book a place in the FA Cup Final - their first appearance in the final since Holmes and his colleagues won the trophy in 1976.

Laverstock & Ford were crowned Hampshire Division Two champions when early pacesetters Overton failed to win their final game of the season.

St Edmund's under 14s triumphed at the inaugural Salisbury Girls' Football Festival.

Golf: The sun shone on Salisbury & South Wilts Golf Course as the then Mayor of Salisbury, Cllr Sue Mallory staged a golf day helping to raise funds for her 2002/3 Appeal. A new £10,000 car, on offer for anyone scoring a hole in one at the 18th, went unclaimed. Barry Pritchard's effort was the closest, earning him the Longest Drive award.

Horse racing: Legendary racehorse Persian Punch, trained at Fordingbridge by David Elsworth, visited Salisbury Racecourse on the eve of its new season to officially open the Persian Punch Bar - named in his honour as part of the course's £300,000 winter refurbishment.

Motor racing: Alan Blencowe confirmed he would be racing Honda Civic Type Rs for the Barwell Motorsport team in this summer's British Touring Car Championships alongside Luke Hines in the production class. Despite joining the team on the eve of the season, Blencowe picked up a place on the podium at Ireland's Mondello Park in the opening race of the campaign. However, he was brought down to earth with a bump after finishing second, when his car suffered terminal damage in the day's second race after being hit by a fellow competitor.

Powerlifting: Phil Randall emerged triumphant from the Corus Welsh Championships held in Port Talbot, ensuring qualification for the summer's British Championships.

Rugby: Emily Cooke's stop-start season suffered another blow when she was stretchered off the field in Richmond's comprehensive 74-0 victory against Lichfield following an incident which left her with medial knee ligament damage.

Salisbury schoolboy Frazer McArdell starred for the Scottish Exiles under 16s during a tour of Scotland over the Easter holidays. He was man of the match against a Borders XV, played in front of 1,500 spectators, and was then named captain for their game with Edinburgh District, leading them to a 13-12 victory.

Salisbury closed the season with an emphatic 42-7 win against Dorchester.

Don Parsons announced his decision to stand down as club captain - a position he had held since 1999.

The European Cup, accompanied by a quartet of England players including Richard Hill, was on show at a testimonial dinner held at Milford Hall Hotel. Reports that the cup went AWOL for an hour or so during proceedings, enabling local rugby fans to be photographed with it at a nearby pub, could neither be confirmed nor denied!

And finally, another important trophy was in the area this month. Golf's Ryder Cup accompanied Wentworth Golf Club's managing director Julian Small who was guest speaker at Salisbury Racecourse at an event organised by the Rotary Club of Wilton.

MAY

Angling: Believed to be the biggest fish ever caught from any lake in the region, a 45lb catfish surprised carp angler Ben Skin-ner fishing at the New Forest Water Park fishery between Fordingbridge and Ringwood.

Paul Barnard picked up top prize in the three-day Withering-ton Farm Fishery contest, chalking up 38 points from a possible 39. His reward was the lion's share of the £2,000 prize money.

Basketball: St Edmund's School & Sports College's under 16s basketball team won the England Schools National Championship played over two legs against Bolton's Cannon Slade. Trailing 54-62 from the first leg, St Edmund's comprehensively won the return 80-48 with England international Alice Walton top scoring for the Salisbury team with 40 points

Cricket: South Wilts Cricket Club's hopes of securing their first win of the season were dashed by rain for the second week running. Their match at Hampshire Academy was washed out. Then, having posted a useful-looking 207-9 against Bournemouth at Wilton Road, the visitors were set what proved a simple revised total of just 120 off 29 overs.

The visit of last season's champions Havant provided a pulsating match at Lower Bemerton. Winning the toss and batting first, the visitors made 184-8 from 50 overs. A mini collapse looked ominous for South Wilts until Adie Holewell smashed an unbeaten 21 off 13 balls to wrap up a two-wicket victory with just one ball to spare.

Wiltshire captain Russell Rowe scored a century as the county side beat Wales by an innings and six runs in a Minor Counties Championship match.

Football: Salisbury City put the disappointment of missing out on promotion behind them to finish the season on a high. A comfortable 3-1 win over Swin-don Supermarine ensured club captain Scott Bartlett lifted the Wiltshire Premier Shield - the third time in five years City had won the county honour.

Nick Holmes was reunited with his former Saints colleagues at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium prior to Southampton's FA Cup Final against Arsenal. But there was to be no happy ending this time - Saints losing 1-0 to the Gunners.

Holmes welcomed his former manager Lawrie McMenemy to Whites' Old Sarum ground where a packed marquee on the pitch enjoyed the club's end of season dinner.

Eddie Boswell replaced George Parker as chairman of Bemerton Heath Harlequins who stepped down after 18 years in the post. Parker, whose connection with the club dates back 50 years, was the subject of a special This Is Your Life-esque presentation at Western Way.

Castle Street Club FC were celebrating their best ever season after completing a hat-trick of trophies. As well as the Salisbury & District Division Three title, they also picked up the Kimber Cup and Charity B Cup.

Golf: Three of the area's top young golfers were in form at St Melion, Cornwall. Sam Elkins (16) and Matt Lawrence (20) both shot 77 to finish second in their age groups, amassing 12 order of merit points for the Faldo Junior Series.

Henrietta Brockway picked up ten points after finishing third in the girls' section. The 13-year-old Mere prodigy would make history later in the month by becoming the youngest female golfer to compete on the Ladies European Tour.

Elkins was in the news again adding his name to the illustrious list of star golfers who have won the Wiltshire County Colts Matchplay title. He triumphed after a mammoth 90-holes of golf. Previous winners include Andy Beal and David Howell.

Mark Searle, taking time out from his golf scholarship at the Tennessee State University in Nashville, made history by following in his father Roger's footsteps to win the Wiltshire County Championship. They are the first father and son winners in the competition's history.

Roger was also in fine form, scoring a hole in one at the 17th at High Post.

Hockey: There was good news for Salisbury Hockey Club's men's team who learned they had escaped relegation - two months after the end of their season after Inter League play-offs worked in their favour.

Horse racing: There were smiles all round at Salisbury Racecourse when glorious sunshine attracted more than 9,500 racegoers to its opening meeting. Most punters left the track happy too - six of the day's seven races were won by favourites.

Just 48 hours before watching his beloved Saints in the FA Cup Final, Mick Channon was also smiling at Salisbury as 16-1 shot Master Robbie romped home.

Karting: At Larkhall in Scotland, Ross Curnow won the second round of the British Junior Kart Championship.

Motor racing: Alan Blencowe was on the podium again when he competed in the latest BTCC round at his home track, Thruxton. Meanwhile, Shrew-ton-based Rob Horsfield continued his domination of the Monoposto Championship by winning twice at Snetterton.

Rugby: Salisbury Rugby Club's investment in its youth policy looked to be paying dividends after the club triumphed at the Lytchett Minster sevens for the first time since 1993 when they were captained by a certain Richard Hill.

Show-jumping: Danny Dunne won the junior open competition at the Devon County Show on Paddy's Last Chance.

Volleyball: Salisbury Volley-ball Club were celebrating after the club's newly-formed second and ladies teams won their respective Wiltshire leagues at the first attempt.

Wrestling: Salisbury boasted another sporting champion when Tristian Hayes, aka The Anthrax Kid triumphed down under in an international event near Sydney.

The 22-year-old hairdresser won his first major title when he beat New Zealand's Leif Jeffreys in the final of the light-heavyweight contest.

JUNE

Athletics: County records tumbled at the Wiltshire Schools Championship. Sarah Tedd completed the intermediate girls' 3,000m in a record-breaking 10.54 minutes, while Peter Emmett won the senior boys' 1,500m in a time of 4:02.6. Sara Ponsford and Tom Emmett both produced personal bests to win the intermediate girls 1,500m and the junior boys 1,500m respectively.

Rising shot putting star Kieren Kelly impressed at the South West Athletics Championships, winning a host of medals. He also secured his place in July's ESSA national competition with a throw of 15.92m. Further success in the Norwich Union European Under 23/Junior trials and AAA's Championship won him an invitation to make his international debut in Italy.

Sara Ponsford and Sarah Tedd were both crowned champions at the South West Schools Championship, winning the 1,500m and 3,000, respectively, while Peter Emmett picked up a bronze medal in the 1,500m at the Welsh Championships.

Triathlete Julie Dibens was in fine form at the European Championships in the Czech Republic. She led the event after the swimming phase and eventually finished fifth.

Cricket: South Wilts CC climbed to their highest position in the league since 1999. They ground out a determined result against old foes Andover to go second behind BAT. The success was consolidated by Tim Lamb's superb half-century in the club's fourth straight victory, a four-wicket win over Liphook & Ripsley.

Equestrianism: The Wilton Horse Trials proved a right royal occasion, attracting a top class entry including Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips. Winter-bourne Stoke rider Louisa Lock-wood enjoyed a successful weekend, with three of her rides finishing third. Louisa missed out on first place at the Burgie horse trials by the narrowest of margins. After leading all the way in the dressage, steeplechase and cross-country, she and Opposit-ion Summertime incurred a couple of time penalties in the show-jumping - just enough to cost them the top spot.

Football: Shrewton United's under-nines survived a penalty shoot-out en route to securing their third trophy of the season, in the RPM Andover six-a-side tournament.

Golf: The Journal supported the inaugural High Post Corpor-ate Golf Challenge, which helped raise £2,600 for the Wilton Branch of Riding for the Disabled.

Horse racing: Amateur jockey Lee Tibbats sustained serious injuries in a freak accident at Salisbury Racecourse. He fought for his life for five days before recovering consciousness.

Meanwhile, Frankie Dettori enjoyed a winning double at the Netherhampton track, steering Pongee and Tarbiyah to victory.

The Bibury Cup proved a real scorcher - both on and off the track.

Midas Way won the big race with Steve Drowne aboard. And it was doubles all round, as Steve Drowne, Dane O'Neill and Kieren Fallon all chalked up victories. O'Neill upset the apple cart somewhat in the Smith and Williamson Maiden Fillies Stakes by steering the David Elsworth-trained Golden Heart past his preferred option, Blaina.

Elsworth later described the comfortable winner as 'just a pony', admitting he had made the wrong choice with the bookies, losing £100 on Blaina!

Motorcycling: Daryl Bolter recorded his best ever result finishing fifth in the UK Fast Eddy cross-country pro race.

Motor racing: Alan Blencowe enjoyed two of the most successful weekends of his career when he picked up four consecutive podium finishes in the BTCC.

He finished third and then second at Silverstone behind team mate Luke Hines, sealing a remarkable day for the Barwell Motorsport team. The achievement was all the greater because Blencowe secured third place despite starting from the back of the grid. He bettered it two weeks later with two second places at Rockingham to close the gap on the leaders in the drivers' championship.

Orienteering: Sarum Orient-eering Club became national champions after putting in a magnificent team performance to beat Essex Stragglers by just two points.

Rugby: Dave Bell was installed as Salisbury's first team captain for the forthcoming season.

Emily Cooke fought back from injury to make a spectacular return to the England team, scoring a try to help her side to a dramatic Churchill Cup victory over Canada.

JULY

Athletics: Kieren Kelly was selected to represent Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics in Paris.

Bowls: Alderbury quartet Gerry Woolley, Allan Wilson, John Webb and Pete Frost were through to the national championships after a clean win in the semi-finals of the County Fours.

Equestrianism: Di Hayes won the open horse class at the Sarum and Forest Harness Club's two-day meeting.

Football: New Southampton signings Leandre Griffit and Francis Benali were among a Saints Reserves side in action in a thrilling friendly against Salisbury City. Saints were 5-3 winners.

Golf: Andy Beal was a popular winner of the Wood-BMW Classic, his first Order of Merit event in eight years and his first victory since returning to the sport after having his left eye removed because of a tumour.

Young stars Sam Elkins and John Haugh were among a triumphant Wiltshire team, which won the South West Boys' under 18s team Champ-ionship by a devastating 15-shot margin. They booked a place in the national finals in September.

Polo: Princes Charles, Will-iam and Harry were the jewels in the crown at the annual Rundle Cup tournament at Tedworth House, Tidworth.

The royals' team were convincing 6-1 winners in the Indian Cavalry Officers' Trophy, beating the Combined Services team. There was also some horseplay when the young princes clashed with their cousin Zara Phillips in the light-hearted jockeys versus eventers match, played on ponies and bicycles.

Powerlifting: Bill West enjoyed a golden day when he married Fiona Scott in a special ceremony conducted aboard a yacht in Jamaica. He returned just in time to witness a storming performance by a quintet of Salisbury lifters at the British Championships in Bournemouth.

Lee Steggles, Phil Randall and Neil Arnold all picked up British titles, while Paul Newell registered his first ever top three finish and Brendan Jeynes recorded a personal best to take fourth place. Steggles, the best female lifter at the event, also learned she had been accepted into the prestigious powerlifting hall of fame.

Tennis: Nick Brown won the chance to play on the hallowed turf of The All England Club after reaching the national finals of major junior competition The Road To Wimbledon.

Riverside ladies won promotion to Division One of the Hants and IoW League for the first time in the club's history and a mere 12 months after they topped Division Three.

AUGUST

Athletics: Shotputter Kieren Kelly put in the best performance of his life in the European Youth Olympics in Paris, throwing 17m 30 to smash his previous personal best by almost a metre. He came sixth overall and was named best British competitor at the event.

Bowls: Alderbury quartet Jerry Woolley, Allan Wilson, John Webb and Peter Frost snatched a one-shot victory over Purton to clinch the Wiltshire Fours title.

Cricket: South Wilts CC suffered a drubbing at the hands of newly crowned Southern League champions BAT Sports. The winners were in confident mood, securing a 100-run victory. South Wilts ended the season in a disappointing sixth place given their early season form.

Equestrianism: Louisa Lockwood and Opposition Summertime mounted a strong challenge at Gatcombe Park, finishing fourth in a very competitive section.

Mark Logan and his mount Frizzy were selected to represent Great Britain at the 2003 European Young Riders TREC Championships in Belgium.

Football: Salisbury City's season got off to a rocking start with the Party on the Pitch, featuring a special appearance by girl band Mis-Teeq. A massive clear-up operation had to take place to allow the Whites' match with Burgess Hill Town to go ahead the next day. Sadly, Salisbury lost 0-1.

Golf: Andy Beal set a new course record while competing at the Taunton and Pickerage pro-am tournament.

Horse-racing: The £50,000 Listed Sovereign stakes provided one of the highlights of the season at Salisbury Racecourse when Passing Glance pipped the previous year's winner Prior's Lodge to the post in a thrilling contest.

Motorcycling: Daryl Bolter scooped the Expert Enduro Championship in only his first year in the class. He sped away with all but one round of the championship to win promotion to international competition on the World Enduro circuit.

Shooting: Veteran clay pigeon shooter AJ Smith returned to the sport and ended his comeback season as both European and World Masters champion.

Tennis: Titles changed hands in all ten events at Salisbury Tennis Club's annual finals day. The men's singles champion Nigel Watts dethroned reigning champion Roger Witt while Karina Weedon beat the previous year's winner Janie Mel-huish to claim the ladies singles title.

Keith Richardson took the honours in the men's singles at Riverside Tennis Club's finals day. His hard-fought victory brought him his 12th title.

SEPTEMBER

Bowls: Wilton Bowls Club played an informal international fixture against a touring team from the Western Province Club in South Africa.

Equestrianism: Vicky Brake finished a creditable 21st at the Burghley Horse Trials on Call Again Cavalier.

Football: Salisbury referee Roger East, whose career began in the Salisbury & District League, was accepted onto the Select List of match officials enabling him to be selected as a referee's assistant in Premier League matches.

On the eve of their FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie, Salisbury City manager Nick Holmes said he was setting his sights on Whites reaching the First Round proper.

Victory against Taunton Town set up a date in the next round with Westbury United.

Journal Sport played its part in reuniting Holmes with the famous cup he won in 1976. The Football Association dispatched the FA Cup and the FA Trophy to Old Sarum for a photo shoot to promote the two competitions.

Shrewton United were having no problem adjusting to life in the Western League. They ran out 8-1 winners against Weston St Johns.

Horse racing: Frankie Dett-ori enjoyed a win at Salisbury on Nyramba, trained by John Gosden. Newly-wed amateur jockey Lee Tibbatts, who suffered serious head injuries earlier in the season, was special guest at the track for the meeting, escorted by bride Joanna.

Karting: Ross Curnow help-ed England to victory in a major international competition staged in Cumbria.

Motor racing: Alan Blencowe picked up two more podium places as the BTCC roared into Donington. However, any lingering hopes of winning the drivers' title were put on hold when victory for team mate Luke Hines clinched the crown. The season closed spectacularly for Blencowe however, when he finally did what he had threatened to do all season - win a race. He described his victory at Oulton Park as a "fantastic experience."

Rugby: Salisbury held a minute's silence before the start of their opening game of the season in memory of Peter Rudorf who died in a tragic diving accident in Iraq. The club, suffered back-to-back defeats in their opening three league games. An ever-growing injury list didn't help matters.

Richard Hill was named in Clive Woodward's 30-man squad for the forthcoming World Cup in Australia.

OCTOBER

Football: Salisbury City's FA Cup dream rolled on with a shock 4-3 win away at Dr Mar-tens Premier Division Havant & Waterlooville. Darren Crook came off the bench to score the winner in a thrilling cup tie.

The victory pitted them against Wessex League outfit Lymington & New Milton who, despite taking the lead after just 48 seconds, were promptly dispatched 5-1. City 'keeper Kevin Sawyer got in on the goal feast, scoring with a late penalty kick. Unsurprisingly, there were wild scenes after the game as players and supporters filled the club's Sarum Suite bar to hear the First Round proper draw.

The mighty Sheffield Wed-nesday were next!

Horse racing: Soon to retire racing legend Pat Eddery made his final appearance at Salis-bury aboard Vandenberghe at the track's last meeting of the season. Champion jockey Kieren Fallon rode the winner in the final race of what had been a record-breaking season for the venue which had attracted more than 58,000 racegoers during the summer.

Desert Orchid made a public appearance at Whitsbury in support of the charity Compas-sion in World Farming.

Motor racing: Rob Horsfield won the deciding race of the Formula Honda Champion-ship at Snetterton.

Wrestling. Clive Cannell fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he competed Stateside during a tour of the East Coast by the British Knights team. Clive won two of his three contests.

NOVEMBER

Equestrianism: Stapleford's Vicky Brake was named in the 14-strong long list for next summer's Olympic Games.

Football: Salisbury City paid a five-figure sum for Bashley midfielder Craig Davis ahead of their trip to Hillsborough for the FA Cup First Round clash with Sheffield Wednes-day.

On Remembrance Sunday more than 1,600 supporters travelled to the famous York-shire ground to cheer Whites on in a truly memorable game.

The 4-0 scoreline flattered the Nationwide Division Two side. A major cup shock looked on the cards during the early stages which the non-leaguers dominated. Journal Sport produced special before and after supplements to commemorate City's exploits.

There was no cup hangover for Whites.

Nick Holmes rang the changes and his side were soon making huge advances up the table. Back-to-back wins at Rothwell Town and Eastleigh, where former Southampton boss Lawrie McMenemy was among those who witnessed a superb display, pushed them into the top seven.

Saints and England striker James Beattie made a special appearance at Outburst where hundreds of young admirers turned out to greet him.

Rugby: There was tragic news at Salisbury RFC. Another of their up-and-coming players, Alec Edwards, was killed in a freak accident in Somerset. Reece Corcoran and Pete Rudorf also died in tragic circumstances earlier in the summer.

There was happier news from down under. All eyes were on Australia as England beat France to reach the Rugby World Cup Final.

Former Salisbury player Richard Hill made a timely return to the team after recovering from an injury sustained earlier in the tournament.

Hill played a vital role in the win, and again in the final against the host nation, which closed with Jonny Wilkinson's last minute drop-goal securing the Webb Ellis Cup.

DECEMBER

Football: Four wins and two draws during the month ensured Salisbury City stayed among the league's high-fliers.

Motorcycling: Daryl Bolter won club events in Dorchester and Portsmouth before taking fifth place in the John Banks National Enduro event in Norfolk.

Powerlifting: Salisbury's powerlifting stars shone brightly in Vienna at the World Championships.

Bill West and Lee Steggles broke numerous records in the Austrian capital en route to their world titles and were also handed the best lifter accolades.

Paul Newell proved the find of the championships - taking silver in the highly competitive 90kg class.

Rugby: James Greenwood was named in the England (South) under 21s team to play their northern contemporaries.

Former St Edmund's pupil Hayley Legg, now playing for Richmond, was called up for the Scottish under 23 side.

World Cup winner Richard Hill returned to club action scoring a try in Saracens' 29-10 victory against Rotherham.

He joined his England team mates for a victory parade through the streets of London cheered on by three-quarters of a million people.

Hill's extraordinary year got even better when he was named England captain for the game against New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham.

A full house saw England win 42-17 and witnessed a typically gutsy display by the former Bishop Wordsworth's pupil.

As well as requiring 13 stitches for an eye wound sustained early in the game, Hill suffered a broken nose following an incident involving Troy Flavell who was subsequently cited by England's management team. Badly cut, bruised and bloodied, captain Hill still joined his colleagues afterwards for a lap of honour with the Webb Ellis Cup.

Weightlifting: Karl Grant won the final of his weight class at the Greater London Open Championships at Crystal Palace.