Write on Target
Hi Folks! For all you people with long memories, this is a Club Newsletter! We'd like to wish you a belated Happy New Year, but perhaps we're a bit late? So, .................on with the news.
Shoot Reports
Worcester County Field Shoot
It was at the end of October that two brave SCOA archers set forth into the teeth of the wind on the Sunday when the UK was battered. They arrived at Oaklands shaken but not disturbed. Satisfactory food was taken (sausage and bacon butties) before we all sallied forth to do battle with the elements.
Much to our surprise, the wind held off throughout the shoot and that golden thing that sometimes shows was reported to have been seen high in the Western sky.
An enjoyable day was had by all, with SCOA returning with one medal (overall Recurve second) - well done Peter Langmaid.
Clive Freeman
Surrey Field Championships - 3 November
It has been said (but not by me) that if Kent is the garden of England, then Surrey is the patio. I feel this to be a little harsh on the County of my birth and upbringing, which has quite large areas of forest and heath along the ridge of the North Downs - and when archer meets forest, thoughts tend to turn to field shooting.
I've shot at the Surrey Field Champs for about the last ten years, and don't let the fact that I now live 130 miles away put me off. As well as being a very enjoyable shoot, it gives me a chance to catch up with news of my old club and visit friends and family (ie free board and lodging at Mum's!) It's just a bit of a shame that great minds have thought alike over the scheduling, so it always seems to clash with SCOA's Worcester.
The venue is a place called High Ashurst, on the Northern slopes of Box Hill (which some readers may have heard of). It's like an enormous adventure playground where Scout groups and the like can come and dangle off ropes and high walkways. They seem to add a new bit each year, which us archers can stand under and say "How the **** are you supposed to get up there?" The terrain is ideal for field archery, with plenty of steep slopes and some open areas to make the distance judging even more difficult.
The round shot is the GNAS National Animal round - 32 big game faces at unmarked distances, but there are regulations over the faces which can be used, with maximum and minimum distances for each size of face - so if it's a polar bear, the range is between 30 and 55 metres. One arrow from each of two pegs, ten points for a kill, five for a wound. At this tournament, sixteen targets are shot in the morning, everyone comes in for lunch whilst the pegs and faces are changed, then it's out again to shoot a slightly different sixteen.
This year, despite dire warnings about ihe weather, the day dawned bright and sunny. Little did we know what was in store. My group had started on target 12, and as we shot target 16 we could see the skies to the West were black. Past the pavilion and on to target 1, whence the heavens opened. By the time we'd got our waterproofs out, we were soaked. We sought refuge in the pavilion and watched the heaviest downpour that most of us had ever seen take fifteen minutes to pass over.
Once the rain had eased off, we paddled our way back onto the course. The sun came back out as if nothing had happened, and we managed to dry off by the finish, helped by a long lunch break during which my bow assumed temporary duty as a clotheshorse. To round off the day, I picked up a silver medal for second place open (ie non-Surrey) gents' freestyle and took all my arrows home with no additional damage sustained.
It's a long way to go, but it's worth it.
Peter Langmaid
SCOA's Indoor Worcester
We held our annual Open Worcester round at the Harry Mitchell Sports Centre early in November, with two sessions well attended by both SCOA and visiting archers. Stourbridge did well, with a total of 8 awards being won, and special note for first place being won by Peter Clarke.
This was the last event where Dave officiated as Tournaments Officer and we must thank him for all the work he has put into this post over the last few years.
Clive Freeman
Evesham 18m FITA
In mid-November six SCOA archers sallied forth to do battle with the UK's best at the Evesham 18m FITA World Record Status shoot. True to form, the author was put on a target with: a lady compound archer, B Class, a gent compound archer A or B class (can't quite remember!), and a junior compound archer who shoots for GB - nothing like a little competition to sharpen the senses!!
As four of us were booked in to the morning session, the day started with us meeting at the ungodly hour of 8.00 am to make the drive to Evesham. The venue was very similar to Perryfields, with the exception that the lighting was wonderful.
The round commenced with kit inspection, and progressed satisfactorily. Our scores met expectations. Our two archers who shot in the afternoon gave a good account of themselves, and as a group, we gathered several medals.
This was the first round of the Winter's Garrington Cup and we are hoping to enter a Compound and Recurve team at each shoot, so if you would like to see other clubs in their own home town, and enjoy a shoot (IN THE DRY AND OUT OF THE WIND), come along with us.
Clive Freeman
Redditch Stafford
Six SCOA archers attended this shoot in mid-November with very mixed experiences. One of the Peters suffered serious equipment failure but was able, with the assistance of other SCOA archers (the other two Peters), to effect temporary repairs. The Judge allowed him to shoot his missed ends after the others had finished the round (some pressure with all the others watching you).
One of the other archers (a petite lady) with very little command of English, was assumed to be Spanish until she acclimatised to the temperature and removed her fleece to display a T-shirt identifying her as Mexican. It transpired that she is currently rated 49th in THE WORLD.
The round was a Stafford, shot over 30m, which is rarely put on as the halls available are generally too small. Redditch is able to host this shoot by having the waiting line 4 feet behind the shooting line, and then only 6 feet is available behind the waiting line for all the archers and their kit. It made for cosy conversations!
With all this, we enjoyed the day, ending back at Somers to round off with our Frostbite accompanied by soup and crusty bread - most welcome.
Of the six shooting at Redditch, we came away with two medals and again were able to enter a team for the Compound section of the Garrington Cup, but we are still short of recurve archers willing to participate.
Clive Freeman
Droitwich Double Worcester
In early December a hardy group of SCOA archers descended upon Perdiswell to take part in the Droitwich Double Worcester Record Status shoot. As a group we were only interested in the single round as it contributed towards the Garrington Cup.
There were high hopes within the Compound section following the practice shoot the preceding Friday, but due to excesses of either food or alcohol, some amongst us were a little the worse for wear, whilst others were suffering with the uncommon cold. It was noticed that there was a sprinkling of GB archers participating, which added spice to the occasion.
In the event, we ended up giving a good account of ourselves, as from seven SCOA archers, we returned with five medals (not a bad haul) as follows:
Dates for your Diary
Junior Section
Just a note of welcome to juniors who have not tried indoor shooting ... there is plenty of space, it is dry and there is a net (whoever she is!).
Above all, you can take the opportunity to meet other members, get advice and get some practise. Indoor rounds may contribute towards the AAS badges - see below.
Score Sheets: When you feel ready to try shooting a round, please put your scoresheets in the "For Records Officer" box, or hand them to Derek on an indoor night. Derek will record how you are doing and eventually give you a handicap / classification. See below, for required details.
However, you do not have to do an 'official' round to qualify for an achievement badge. All you will need to do is 3 dozen arrows (or more) as your first distance. If you submit a score sheet which is not an official round, then you can post it to me via the envelope on the Junior Notice Board, or directly if indoors. Please indicate on it the following information : distance(s) shot, target face size and whether 9 or 10 zone scoring (ie imperial or metric). For example, "20 yards on a 60cm face, 10 zone scoring". Your date of birth would also help.
Enjoy your shooting.
Martin.
Records Report
New Records
Recurve - Club and County Records
| William Watts | Short Warwick | 141 |
| Peter Clarke | Ladies FITA | 1224 |
| William Watts | Bray 1 (U14) | 53 |
| William Watts | Worcester (U14) | 80 |
| David Mills | Portsmouth (U16) | 305 |
| William Watts | Bray 1 (U14) | 72 |
| David Mills | Portsmouth (U16) | 332 |
| Peter Clarke | 25m FITA | 552 |
| John Houghton | Stafford | 662 |
| John Houghton | Worcester | 299 |
| June Houghton | Portsmouth | 552 |
| June Houghton | Stafford | 608 |
| Bob Hanson | Bray 1 | 280 |
| June Houghton | 25m FITA | 485 |
| John Houghton | 18m FITA | 563 |
| John Houghton | 25m FITA | 560 |
| Roger Seabury | St George | 427 |
| Brian Richards | 18m FITA | 336 |
| Roger Seabury | St Nicholas | 606 |
West Midlands Summer Postals
I have now received the final results for this competition and we finished fourth out of six in Division Two. This means we will be in Division Two next year, unless a lot of teams drop out. Our straight scores are up to those of Division One, but we are let down by the handicap adjusted section.
Worcester Trophy
We were fourth out of five in this competition, finishing with 32 points, just in front of Redhill who scored 29.
The winners were Evesham, who had 110 points, followed by Droitwich with 103.
West Midlands Winter League
This is an indoor competition and will be based on the scores made during the B.A. Postals. We are in Division Two for this year, and there will be a team of five archers making up the straight score and handicap adjusted score sections and can consist of all types of bows. So we will need all our high handicap archers to shoot these rounds. Please try to encourage as many as you can to come on the postal nights. Compound archers will score as normal, using the inner ten.
At the time of writing we are third out of nine in Division Two.
British Archer Winter Postals
I have entered recurve and compound teams in both the Frostbite and the Portsmouth sections. We are in Divisions as follows:
B.A. Postals
November:
We lost to WFCA by 19 points in the recurve Portsmouth match, 2697 to 2716.
We beat Windsor Forest Bowmen in the recurve Frostbite match, 1374 to 1566.
We beat Walsall COA in the compound Portsmouth, 1123 to 1109.
We beat Canterbury Archers in the compound Frostbite match 680 to 649.
December:
We beat Kendal Bowmen in the compound Frostbite 676 to 279
We beat Pilgrim Bowmen in the compound Portsmouth 1112 to 1110.
We lost to Friars Gate Archers in the recurve Portsmouth, 2585 to 2699.
We lost to Evesham in the recurve Frostbite, 1304 to 1541.
Handicap Improvement Trophy and Medal
Won this year by Peter Clarke, with a reduction from 36 to 27, with his recurve bow - a reduction of 9 places.
Only five other members reduced their handicaps - John and June Houghton and Clive Freeman were joint second with a reduction of 2 places. The other heroes were Bob Hanson and Bob Cole with a reduction of one place. Nine members stayed where they were, and the rest went backwards, or did not submit enough rounds to qualify!
I have re-assessed the outdoor handicaps and the notice board will be corrected as soon as I have time. Meanwhile, there is a list on the noticeboard, should you be curious as to your new outdoor handicap.
Derek Peacock
Indoor
The Club Captain wishes you to be aware: You've had a nice long lay-off, but the indoor venue is still there, and we'd like to see you. We have bought a packet of polo mints, which we all stand round to keep warm. Perryfields have advised that they are upgrading the heating system!!
Archerix
If at first you don't succeed try doing what the coach suggested?
Dave's Quiz
Answers to Quiz No. 25
Quiz No. 26 (some of these answers have a festive theme)