Love me do - The
BeatlesShooting Indoors - 2008/2009
5 April 2009 - Middlesex v Herts County Match (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
Love me do - The
Beatles
As a result of finishing in the top 5 at the county championships in February, I received a call from the county team selector to shoot against Herts in a county team match today - which to be honest was a little daunting! This was my first time shooting for my county, and I was a tad nervous to start with, as it's a team shoot and there's always an expectation to do well and make a solid contribution. So before we started I was a little apprehensive, and more than a little nervous.
When shooting commenced, all my sighters were going left at 9 o'clock into the red. My sights hadn't been changed, my form was no different, and the previous week in practice I was hitting the 10 ring with monotonous regularity. So it was a bad way to start things off, and it didn't get any better when scoring started. Dozens went 111, 109, 108, 111, 113. All of which are about 3-4 points down on my average level, and made a final total of 552 - possibly my worst Portsmouth for a couple of months. It's a disappointing way to end the indoor season, but it was a good experience, and if I do ever get asked back to shoot for Middlesex again, I'll know what to expect!
Now to turn my attentions to outdoors. . .
14 March 2009 - Wicken (Stafford)
Now playing:
Wake Me Up
Inside - Evanescence
There is something about this shoot that I really, really like – Portsmouths and FITAs and (to a lesser extent) Worcesters are pretty much everywhere, but Staffords are few and far between, and I think it’s the rarity of this round that first attracted me to it. Despite the fact that it’s over an hour’s drive up the M1 and it’s in Milton Keynes – the Land of the Roundabout – it’s just a lovely, lovely shoot, and one that I hope to continue shooting for many years to come.
The hall is vast, and beautifully lit, and has a great “airy” feel about it, and even though you have to negotiate a step system made up of benches and tables to get down to the shooting line from the waiting area on the stage above, no one seems to mind, and it means everyone has loads of room to manoeuvre their gear, which makes a change from most indoor shoots.
I did this shoot for the first time last year, and scored woeful 589, so I was keen to ensure that not only did I beat that score, but also manage to emulate something like the form I’ve been maintaining for my Frostbite scores of late. Ideally somewhere near 640 would be nice. (that would mean shooting two 320’s, which seems reasonable.)
So, after a 10, 10, 10 in my first end of sighters, followed by a 10, 9, 9 in the second, I couldn’t wish for a better score than a 58. I just hope it didn’t bring the “curse of the good sighters” with it!
Shooting alongside SimonW, the person from whom I bought my Helix, and last year’s winner, I was keen to show him that his riser has gone to a good home, and to make sure that I didn’t disgrace myself. The first three dozen came in at 108, 104, 106, making a 318 for the first half. A little below where I wanted to be, but not too far off the pace, and a reasonable Frostbite score. Nothing worse than an 8 here, but not on target for the 640 I was hoping to attain. The second half then went 110, 111, 108 for a 329 – my best ever three dozen at 30m, and a real shame I can’t claim it as a PB for the distance. Still, a final overall total of 647 took me well over my target for the day, and most definitely a new PB! It’s a solid C class score, a 31 handicap, and will hopefully place me somewhere a lot nearer to the top than my score last year. Very happy indeed! Most definitely coming back next year!
15 February 2009 - Aquarius Indoor Open (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
Ragged Wood -
Fleet Foxes
Next time I do this shoot, I must remind myself to wear shorts! Even though it was a mere 3 degrees C outside, it must have been about 25 degrees in the army barracks hall that is used for this shoot. A typical government building, smelling of old floor polish and dust, and overheated to the rafters! It's also fairly cramped too, and we had to set up in the bar area adjacent to the shooting hall, and carry our bows through once the previous session had finished. I can report that self-closing doors and recurve bows don't mix well!
I was on a target with a longbow archer, so I was fortunate enough to have most of the gold pretty much to myself all afternoon, and indeed, we had to replace the target face after only 3 dozen. I do like wrecking targets with my big fat X7s! The numbers - fairly average today: 111, 112, 109 (with a stupid 7), 117 and 112 making a final total of 561. It's about average at the moment, so I'm quite pleased with that. The 117 was nice to shoot, and once again I did another 60, but again at the end, and at the start of each half dozen. It more than made up for the 109 though! And interestingly, the 4th dozen too.
Didn't win anything on a personal front today but GOA came away with the team trophy, and it was very pleasing to see that it's the first time we've won it since 1988. Let's hope it's not another 21 years before we win it again!
7 February 2009 - Middlesex Indoor Championships (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
The Power of Love
- Huey Lewis and the News
The annual county championships are a little bit more than your average competition; in as much as there’s slightly more pressure to do well and the results are used as some form of standing within county rankings. Whilst I’m under no illusions that I’m ever going to win the competition on an individual level, it’s always good to do well, so that GOA might come some way close to winning the team championship, as we finished second place last year.
Shooting in the second session (of five for the entire weekend) it felt very much like a GOA home shoot, with about 15 of us in attendance. As a result, I’ve found that shooting when you feel totally relaxed with the environment and surrounded by people you know really does help in the way I shoot, and today was no exception.
So, to the shooting – first three sighters all went high and right into the 8 ring, so after a slight adjustment, the following three all landed in the gold. Much happier with that! Then the dozens came in at 112, 113, 111, 115, and 112 – making a final total of 563. It’s a comfortable C class, a 30 h’cap (shaving a point off my overall handicap for this year) and a new PB too! A very pleasing score indeed, and I was also really pleased to get my 60 from six arrows too – although three were at the back end of one half dozen, and the next three were at the start of the next end, so it doesn’t really count. It was still nice shooting though! I was also happy to get over the jinxed 4th dozen issue too.
If I do have a gripe from the day, it was the same problem I had at Guildford last month – judges changing the target face prematurely (in my opinion). The same happened today at the 4th dozen stage. I admit I’d made a lovely mess of the gold with my fat arrows, but the 10 ring was still perfectly visible all the way around, and I’d made a nice little black hole in the centre which I was using as an aiming point. The judge claimed it was too damaged and decided to replace it, which apparently he can do without my permission or consideration. I just hate new faces! Thankfully it didn’t ruin my score this time.
I came away at the top of the overnight leader board, which was a first for me, but with several Master Bowman archers still to shoot on the Sunday session I’m under no illusion my name will stay there! A top 10 (or maybe top 5) placing would be nice to finish the weekend off with.
<UPDATE> When the results were published, it transpires I've come 3rd! My highest placing in an indoor tournament, and officially 3rd in the county!
18 January 2009 - Guildford Archers (FITA 25)
Now playing:
I'll
see it through - Texas
Today was a different league of shooting from yesterday, and the tournament is a Record Status FITA 25, shot under timed conditions, and with a lot of the top archers from around the south east in attendance. Shooting with the Middlesex champion on my target, I was certain that his score, his general demeanour and attitude would all help me to "up" my game a little bit today. Although, as a point to note for future reference - make sure you shoot this tournament in the first session, as parking and getting into the sports centre was a doddle at 9am. Coming out of there at lunchtime however, the place was packed! You could not move for swimmers, ice skaters, football players and who knows what other sports were going on in there - it was like Piccadilly Circus!
Again, another point to remember - sighters are not sighters in this round, but are deemed as two ends of "official practice". So you get to shoot as many arrows as you like in the allocated two minutes. I comfortably managed to shoot four (all I had in my quiver), so I was happy that getting three shots in, in the space of two minutes would not be an issue. I put in some lovely ends at the start, and was only about 15 points behind my target companion after three dozen. Then the judges decided to change our target face for the fourth dozen as we'd knocked a hole out of the 10 ring! I hate new faces part-way through a shoot, and sure enough my score plummeted for the fourth dozen. The totals came in at 107, 105, 107, 99, 105 - making a final total of 523. And another new PB. I finished on a lovely 10, 10, 9 and I was pretty certain that my arrows kept my companion out of the 10 zone for that last end, as two of mine were sitting beautifully in the X ring! It's this 4th dozen thing again though - what's going on here? I don't want to start a trend, or worse a jinx, on my 4th dozen each shoot. How does one practice a 4th dozen over and over?
One thing I do have to pay attention to though, was that I was advised by a judge (at the end of the shoot) that my pre-draw was in danger of getting to an illegally high level, before I get to full draw. Might have to do some work on this over the next couple of weeks. I wasn't warned or cautioned about it as the judge in question is fairly laid back, but it's something that I know people have been disqualified for in the past, and other stricter judges would have words with me during the shoot, so I have work on it to ensure it doesn't become a bad habit. Aside from that, it was a good day once again.
Oh, one further note - the boy, having broken the county Portsmouth record yesterday at Brunel, did the same again today with the FITA 25, and one particularly good end had a bouncer. Now, with GNAS rules, when you get a bouncer you just shoot your spare arrow under the judge's guidance, with FITA rules, once everyone has stopped shooting you walk up to the target with the judge and look for the unmarked hole in the target. Once he's happy that there's a hole that your arrow has bounced out of, you walk back and then shoot your last arrow (all whilst under the gaze of everyone else). So he stepped up onto the line, took a deep breath, and slotted it right into the 8! Good lad!
17 January 2009 - Brunel University Open (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
Only wanna be with
you - Hootie & The Blowfish
This shoot had its date changed from last year, so instead of shooting it just before Christmas it was held in mid January as the hall was double booked. Personally, I preferred this as the new year always seems like a good time to blow out the cobwebs and start thinking about the forthcoming season. There are always loads of students at this shoot too, most notably from Brunel, Imperial, London and Surrey Universities, many of whom are novices, so it's always quite interesting to watch them learning their new sport and trying to figure out things like etiquette and scoring. Although this lack of experience is always made up for, by the fact that some of the female students are fairly easy on the eye!
Anyway, to the shooting - Dozens went along the lines of 113, 112, 114, 110, 112 - making 561. A new PB, a solid C class and a very happy me! The 4th dozen let me down again (anyone see a pattern forming here? Look at my Green Dragon and my Spelthorne scores!) and it could've been 5 points higher than that quite easily. Still, there were loads of PBs set by Greenwood Archers today, we won the ladies recurve, third in the gents recurve, and had there been a team trophy (which hasn't been returned for the past 3 years, which is the reason why there wasn't) then we'd have walked away with it by about 100 points with ease. So a very good day all round! Definitely a shoot that I'll continue to attend again next year (or later this year, if they get the hall booked correctly!)
3 January 2009 - Spelthorne Open (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
Fishing
for a Dream - Turin Brakes
It seems like ages since my last indoor tournament, and although my shooting has been going OK over the past month or so, (a 31 h'cap Worcester and a 32 Portsmouth) it felt a little too soon after Christmas to be doing this shoot. A fair number of Greenwood Osterley had turned out to shoot here today, and as this is seen as the "dry run" before the Middlesex Champs next month, it was great to see so many familiar faces from other clubs around the county also there.
Things started off fairly well, and I put in some tidy scores for the first three dozen, and then promptly threw things away in the fourth dozen! With a bouncer, about 3 seven's and an eight all in the same dozen, it just all fell apart. I managed to get it back together for the last dozen, but the score could've been a good ten points higher had I not had such a bad dozen in the middle. The actual scores were 111, 112, 115, 102, 112 - making a final total of 552. I remember this time last year my target was to get to 550 for this round, and now I'm only marginally pleased with a 552! Things are definitely improving though - last year I came something like 15th place with about 542, and this year I came 10th, so I'm happy with that. Greenwood also won the team trophy too, which was unexpected, bearing in mind that Reading and Surrey Bowmen usually put out strong teams. Let's hope we can do the same at the County Champs!
7 December 2008 - Cranford FITA 25
Now playing:
I'm
Yours - Jason Mraz
I’ve never done this shoot before, and I’ve not done all that many FITA 25’s either, so I was quite interested in doing this as a practice for the Guildford FITA 25 in January, which is a much bigger shoot. When we got into the hall though, the first thing you notice is how orangey the sodium lights make the place look. Looking at the target faces down the end, it was hard to distinguish between the gold and the red, as the light made everything seem orange. My green sight ring might’ve helped here, but I’d left it at home!
I had the pleasure of shooting on a target completely on my own, as my target partner decided not to turn up, so it was quite nice to see that all the damage I was doing to the target face was my own! Although that idea was soon ruined when I saw that the other target on my boss was being shot by two longbowers, who quite frequently drifted onto my target! One of which was the boy, so I guess I had to allow him! It was quite eventful though, as one of their bows exploded as I was stood next to her. Glad I wasn’t at full draw when it happened!
So, the shooting: I think it comes under the category of “distinctly average” today – dozens were 102, 107, 101, 105, and 107. Making a final total of 522. It’s a D class 34 h’cap, which is about average for what I’m shooting at the moment, and it was a new PB, so I’m not too unhappy. What did hack me off though, was that during one particularly nice end of 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 7 (self imposed pressure on the last arrow!) I managed to wreck one of my X7’s by whacking up the rear end, and putting a lovely dent in the shaft! The group was about the size of a 10p piece, so it proves I can do it when I try – glad they weren’t expensive carbons! I’ve still never managed to get a 60 end indoors though. Oh, and Greenwood Osterley came away as second placed team, so it was a good day.
Do this shoot again? Maybe – it’s very local, and the company was good. I might have to petition the organisers next year – They did the usual Ladies, Gents, Recurve and Compound categories, which was fine, but longbows were ALL classified together (Ladies, Gents and Juniors). Not quite sure how they justify that?
9 November 2008 - Green Dragon Bowmen Open (Portsmouth)
Now playing:
I haven't stopped
dancing yet - Gonzales
I said this last year, and I’ll say it again this year I really do like this shoot! This is the third time I’ve shot here now, and it’s become for me one of my regulars on my shooting calendar. It’s a great hall (albeit somewhat dimly lit), which is used as an indoor bowls green and tennis courts when in its normal guise. So it doesn’t have any of the echo that some halls tend to have, and it has lovely green baize carpet under foot. Shooting in just the final session as I’d already done a Frostbite at the club in the morning (with another new PB here, of 319!) it was great to meet some old friends from clubs around Herts, Bucks and North London. I seem to be unfortunately feted with shooting with grumpy old sods here though, and found myself shooting with a girl from an Essex club that I know well, and I don’t think she smiled on one single occasion all afternoon!
So, to the shooting – after having shot a few good rounds indoors already this autumn, I was fairly confident with my sightmarks, but was surprised to see my shots all land low and left at about 8 o’clock in the 9/8 zone. A quick adjustment of the sights for the second set of sighters had things all back in the gold once again. The sights then stayed there all afternoon, so I was a little perplexed why they had to be lowered. The dozens came in at 111, 112, 113, 106 (with a stupid 7) and 113. Making a final total of 555. It’s a new competition PB, a h’cap rating of 33 and another C class score! I just need one more now to be reclassified as C class.
I can highly recommend this shoot – maybe next year we’ll be able to get enough for a full team together. Oh, and one last note – the boy broke the Middlesex County record for a junior shooting a longbow. A good day all round!
23 October 2008 - Portsmouth (at the club)
Now playing:
Love is the end
- Keane
The indoor season started at the club about 3 weeks ago, but due to various work commitments I've been unable to get there on a Thursday evening, so I've been playing catch up and trying to get some decent indoor sightmarks on a Saturday for the past couple of weeks. I managed to get there for the FITA 18 last week, which was nothing spectacular at 498 (38 h'cap) but I was fairly happy with it, especially as I'd done myself out of 10 points, so it COULD have been 488! It was a new PB, and anything around the 500 mark is fine by me. It started with an awful dozen, but gradually improved through the evening, so I was glad to see the indoor setup was working.
Then last night was the first Portsmouth I've shot for what seems like an eternity, and the first chance to see how my scores have changed since starting to shoot indoors with my big fat X7's and long feathers. FITA 18's are all very well, but I don't shoot many of them, and Portsmouths are where (for me) the measure really is for indoor shooting. Shooting with three other (outdoor) First Class archers on the next three targets along, we all had a good laugh through the evening, and knew that our scores would be fairly closely matched, so I was keen not to let myself down! I'd left the sight exactly where it was from last week, so I was confident that I'd be somewhere near the gold for sighters - and sure enough they all went into the 10 ring! Very pleased with that! When scoring started, the dozens went 112, 113, 109, 112, 113. The middle dozen was a bit crap, with a couple of 8's and one 7, but aside from those three stray arrows I had nothing outside the gold all evening. On totalling it all up it comes to 559! A new PB, a 31 h'cap and best of all, a C class score! My first ever C class, and I've shaved two points off my indoor handicap in doing so!
I love my X7's, I love my 4" feathers, and I know
for a fact that they gained me at least 3 extra points with their line cutting
ability, as I'd had a couple of "iffy" 9's that JUST broke the line on the 10
ring. A carbon arrow would have just scored a 9. Just got to get two more similar
scores now! 