Saturday 21 June 2014

Great weekend



We had a league match against West Essex last Sunday (15th June), after not being able to field a full team  for last months match I was just hoping for a good day and getting five archers on the line so we would have a fighting chance. On the day we did not have the minimum five archers but six! So a good start, four of us were quite experienced with one of the others shooting in their second and one their first ever league match and only the second time they had shot at 80 yards!
The weather was kind with almost no wind, cloud cover to keep the sun off and a comfortable temperature if a little on the cool side. I was shooting with two great guys from West Essex, Brian and Sean and we had a really good time (well I did and think they did too). The long and the short of it was we won by 192 points, of our top five scores (you field a team of up to eight and then the top five scores count), the lowest was Peter who was shooting in only his second league match and scored just over 400, I think he came along thinking he was just making up numbers, but on the day without his score we would have lost, so well done Peter. Our other novice Sheila was shooting with such a low poundage bow that even with the sight reversed at 80 yards she was aiming at the tree tops behind the boss, she had the option  to shoot along side at a shorter distance but decided that she would like to shoot with the team so another well done.
As for me after my last round I was not expecting much but ended up on a personal best of 752, it was just one of those days when things clicked (or didn't) for me. Not much else to add except to say that West Essex as usual were great hosts and I expect the tea afterwards was up to their usual high standards, but I had to scoot off straight away and catch a train to Norwich for an urgent meeting in a bar with two old school friends, which led to a really good couple of days during which we ate far too much drank just about enough and did some things that some people think we are getting too old for....but that's a whole other story.

5 comments:

  1. Good to hear that you're getting some shooting in, and very well done to boot: are you now, or were you, shooting again with the clicker?

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    1. No still not using the clicker except now and then I will put it on when I am doing reversals, my shooting is still improving without one so I really do not see the need to use one.

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  2. How depressing!!!! (for those of us who struggle on!!)

    How frequently do you shoot? I have been aware that at best, being able to shoot say 1 x time a week, maybe 2x, is not enough but is how it will be, and then occasionally that will be with the longbow...but of late I have only been able to shoot once or twice a month, and everything I know will have gone backwards, just as I thought I was progressing. A little. The trouble is on club nights I also get too easily distracted and start chatting and not concentrating........

    Also your posts of late have made very good reading, thank you.

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    1. Well the last few years have been a bit up and down for me with injuries and life in general getting in the way, so it is not all good over here.
      I only get to shoot twice a week if I am lucky but I do believe that quality is more important than quantity. Going down the club and banging a hundred arrows into a target can be fun but shooing thirty or forty really well or while sharpening up part of your shot cycle is going to pay off in the long run. As far as chatting goes I try and get set up and shooting as quickly as I can and then if I have some time afterwards I can chat to the rest of the guys there. But if you have to wait to for a spot on a boss then it is not so easy.

      There is also the stuff you get asked to do for the club, last Sunday I had about 3 hours free so thought I would get to the clube for about 9 am and shoot a round. But on the Sunday before I was asked if I could assess a three beginners who have just finished their course, at 10:30 so I ended up shooting a few dozen before hand and thenby the time we got started, did the assessments and presented them their certificates (they all passed) it was time to pack up and go home. But not before the club Chairman said "you did I nice job with those three can you do two more next Sunday", can't say no can you?

      Oh and thanks for the feed back on the posts glad you enjoy them.

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  3. did anything get sent....?

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