Frostbite Tournament 2006/2007

When the teams were announced, I was drawn in Team F with Jeff K, Bill H, Joe M, Les F and Berry M - all very capable archers, and with the exception of Joe and myself all at least Second Class or better - so we should be in with a decent chance of doing well.

4 March 2007

Now playing: Everybody's Changing - Keane

What atrocious conditions for archery! The rain started just at we were being allocated our targets, and steadily got heavier and heavier throughout the morning, along with a gusting wind which insisted on taking the arrows all to the right. The ever-present mud was still ankle deep, and frankly nobody enjoyed being there at all. Shooting with John S and Berry M (first time I've actually shot with a team member!) I managed to get some decent ends in, but by the same token I also managed one miss too - albeit with a 10 and a 9 in the same end, which made up for it a little. (MUST REMEMBER TO COME DOWN IF THE SHOT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT!!).  Ended the round on 275 (48 h'cap), which was suitably down due to the weather but seemed in keeping with a lot of people's scores too, as everyone was complaining about the conditions. 

When we started the shoot today, I was 4 points clear at the top of the leader board, and I know that I shot 5 points less than my nearest rival today, who scored 280. With the handicap system, that gave me a total handicap adjusted score of 354 for today, and the other person finished with a total handicap adjusted score of 348. This means that the final scores after 5 months of shoots were 1839 to me against 1829, and a shiny silver arrow tophy for me to take home!    It also means that our team, which had been languishing in last place for the past few months ended up finishing in second place overall, which was a great improvement!  Matthew ended up finishing 3rd gent, and 4th overall, and Berry set a new junior girls club record along the way - well done team!

4 February 2007

Now playing: Love Really Hurts - Billy Ocean

Driving up to the range, we were bathed in early morning bright sunlight and the temperature was about 5 degrees. An hour later, just as we were ready to commence, the mist had descended and so had the temperature! I reckon it was only just above freezing point and everyone was feeling the cold. Still, at least the field is now dry and there was no wind at all. Shooting with Stan C, Paul C and Jan O'K, put in some pretty good shots, with one particularly nice end of 10, 10, 10 and ended the day on 297 (42 h'cap). Another 19 points on top of my PB and a h'cap score of 42. One stupid 5 about haflway through the middle dozen meant that I didn't quite reach the 300 mark - must remember to come down if the shot doesn't feel right. But never the less, a very enjoyable morning's shooting! 

Upon further information, it now transpires that I am 4 points clear at the top of the individual leader board, with only one round left to go, in March. So no pressure then!

7 January 2007

Now playing: Vertigo - U2

Happy New Year everyone! First Frostbite shoot of the year, and once again we were paddling in puddles that were ankle deep, and trudging through mud caused by the torrential rain from yesterday. Thankfully the rain held off for long enough for us to shoot the 3 dozen without getting wet this morning, and it seemed that everyone had a good shoot. Shooting with Joe T, Nick T and Meera S, and I can safely say that I'm now getting fully used to my new equipment and my scores are definitely in the ascendance! Ended the day on 278 which was 20 points better than November's PB and a handicap score of 47, which is in line with a Second Class score, and very satisfying. Feeling quite pleased with my shooting at the moment, 

3 December 2006

Now playing: Somebody to Love - Queen

What a difference a month makes! Last month we were basking in late autumn sunshine, this month we had torrential rain and the field was so muddy it was something like the Somme battlefield!  This was my first recorded score using my new limbs and arrows, and although I scored less that last month (245, h'cap of 54), it wasn't significantly less - which personally I think is a bit of a result! Had a couple of bad ends with just too many arrows in the 6's, which ruined the score, but still, I expect my scores to dip while I get used to the new equipment, and if it's only a small dip I can handle that!  People say that it takes 3 or so months to get used to new gear, so I expect to be back where I was in November, come January's Frostbite shoot.  Shooting with Joe T, John C and Stan C - all fairly experienced archers, and I ended the 3 dozen only about 10 points behind John, so that was OK.  It's still very noticeable how much flatter the arrows fly, and how smooth the limbs are to draw - after shooting a good 8 dozen yesterday in practice and a further 3 more today, I've got no feeling of stiffness in my back at all, which was something I noticed when shooting the old ones. The high grip (see the form section) and the follow-through are working well too.

5 November 2006

Now playing: Take your Mama - Scissor Sisters

I was shooting on the target with John M and Martin K, and I have to admit that Martin's shooting is quite amazing! Again, shooting with someone of his calibre really does make a difference to the way I feel about shooting, even if it isn't reflected totally in my scores. 3 dozen arrows at an 80cm face, from 30 metres - the whole shoot is over in less than 2 hours. One stupid miss for no apparent reason at all, and my final score came in with 258, which with the handicap system brought my score to 362 (shooting to a h'cap of 52). What amazed me at this point was that my score (while only average for my h'cap) was the highest in my team! Some serious words are going to be needed with the more accomplished archers on my team I think - especially as our team is now languishing in last place....