updated Nov 2014
The history of the annual Selsey Pom King challenge dates back to 1983 (see the page on 'a short history of Selsey Bill') although the first few titles were awarded retrospectively back to 1979. The current Pom Trophy replaced an earlier version and is currently held (2014) by joint title holders, namely Justin Atkinson and myself. The picture opposite shows Sam Hill, duly crowned, holding the trophy at his Pom party on 25.7.2009 (nice shirt Sam!) For those unaware of the rules, it is awarded annually to the person who sees the most Pomarine Skuas in the spring season, strictly between the start of March and the end of May, from Selsey Bill (sorry other locations don't count) - and believe me it usually takes a good deal of effort and a willingness to sit and keep looking at the sea when others have deserted the Bill and/or nothing else is moving.
Two of the stalwarts who founded the challenge - Chris Janman and Mervyn Jones - even went to the trouble of trying to 'scientifically' trying to work out the best chances of seeing a spring Pom off the Sussex coast and after a good bit of research came up with a bar chart plotting the best dates, times of day, wind conditions and length of watch to try and predict the most probable times for recording spring Poms! Although it was all light-hearted and really just a bit of fun, it was often quite accurate; it was thought that this esteemed document was lost in the mists of time, but recently Chris found a copy of it in his old birding diary for 1993 and it is now reproduced below. He's not exactly sure if that's the year the document was completed, but if not it would have been circa the late 1980's - early 1990's.
The Janman/Jones Pom Probability projection chart - with thanks to CRJ
THE BARRY CARTER MEMORIAL 'POM KING'
TROPHY, AWARDED ANNUALLY FOR THE
HIGHEST SPRING POM TOTAL AT SELSEY BILL
WEST SUSSEX . The back of the trophy bears a full list of the winners and as will be seen there have now been three ties - the most recent this year (2014).
| Totals in brackets | (No. of new winners) | |||
| 1979 (6) | CHRIS JANMAN | 1 | ||
| 1980 (43) | MERVYN JONES | 2 | ||
| 1981 (35) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1982 (13) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1983 (2) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1984 (18) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 1985 (30) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 1986 (15) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 1987 (4) | OWEN LAUGHARNE | 3 | ||
| 1988 (14) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1989 (60) | OWEN MITCHELL | 4 | ||
| 1990 (65) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1991 (34) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 1992 (16) | TIM EDWARDS | 5 | ||
| 1993 (57) | MERVYN JONES | |||
| 1994 (44) | OWEN MITCHELL | |||
| 1995 (70) | TIM EDWARDS | |||
| 1996 (20) | TIM EDWARDS | |||
| 1997 (103) | JOHN BRAME | 6 | ||
| 1998 (16) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 1999 (32) | TIM EDWARDS | |||
| 2000 (57) | OWEN MITCHELL | |||
| 2001 (47) jointly | JONES/EDWARDS | |||
| 2002 (13) | BOB MARCHANT | 7 | ||
| 2003 (25) | OWEN MITCHELL | |||
| 2004 (35) | OWEN MITCHELL | |||
| 2005 (32) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 2006 (45) | JIM WESTON | 8 | ||
| 2007 (19) | JUSTIN ATKINSON | 9 | ||
| 2008 (58) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 2009 (16) | SAM HILL | 10 | ||
| 2010 (18) | OWEN MITCHELL | |||
| 2011 (88) | CHRIS JANMAN | |||
| 2012 (33) jointly | ATKINSON/MITCHELL | |||
| 2013 (7) | GEORGE HEATH | 11th new winner | ||
| 2014 (77) jointly | ATKINSON/MITCHELL | |||
Book early to avoid disappointment! This pic was taken in early May 2001 and shows a gathering of keen observers 'on the wall' all hoping for Poms! Whilst it is always great when the birds do appear to the crowds, to win the Pom King title usually takes a good deal more endurance and a willingness to sit and wait when the crowds have gone and passage dries up, often through the long hours of the afternoon, for a flock of Poms can slip silently by almost unnoticed during the heat of the day.
One of the spin-offs from this annual challenge is that tradition now dictates there should be some sort of a presentation of the trophy each year to the new winner, usually by the outgoing Pom King. The new winner usually hosts a Pom Party when this takes place; over the years most of the parties have been held at the home of the new winner and some have been hilarious, but for the information of any new challengers this is not a fixed rule and the hand-over can be a simple affair if you so choose, say at a local pub or club, or even as last year a very low-key affair on the beach at the Bill. The thought of hosting a Pom party should not overshadow the main focus of the event however and it is for the new winner to decide how he or she would like the trophy to be presented.
It is always nice to see a different name on the trophy and here is Jim Weston with his first win in 2006; the eighth new name to be added. Jim threw his Pom party on a pleasant summer evening at home and we were able to spend time in the garden, where he is pictured displaying his new acquisition just after the presentation. Note that this trophy has now been replaced with the new Barry Carter memorial trophy - but it is still in use as it is now presented annually to the runner-up.
One particularly memorable Pom Party was in 2008, when Chris Janman won the title for his eighth time (he's now up to nine!) It had so happened that on 7th May that year conditions were perfect for Pom passage, but I had a domestic chore to do in Brighton, so afterwards I went to do some sea-watching at Splash Point, Seaford. I hadn't been there long when a call came from Chris to say they'd just had a magic flock of 20 Poms at the Bill close inshore heading east (followed by some ribald mickey-taking). Well I informed the Seaford lads and we waited; in short the 20 flock turned into 19 at Seaford but I actually saw 66 Poms that day, none of which could be counted, though a good few were fairly distant. I also saw plenty of other stuff but although the Seaford boys made me very welcome, it wasn't 'home' - and I still get reminded about it at the Bill even now. So at his Pom party Chris set up a spoof lecture at my expense, entertaining the audience with flip-charts (see right). He even presented me with a joke sat nav Pom detector set before proudly displaying the trophy (see below). Nice one Chris.
The highest-ever winning Pom total is 103, held by John Brame from Hant's (left), who won the title in 1997 - his only win to date. John was the sixth new name on the trophy. This turned out to be a record-breaking year, and the 'most birds in a day' total of 107 still stands. So far there has been no serious challenge to the record, but perhaps one day........?!
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| What it takes to be a Pom King (photo: Andy House) A photo of yours truly in action (!) keeping a lonely vigil, 18th May 2010. Didn't know he'd taken this. |
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