A combination of illness, Father’s Day, off island competition and the lure of Ed Sheeran at Wembley meant that the turn out at Greeba on Sunday was very low. The round of the day was a WA 720, that is 72 arrows at a single distance, shot as part of the Club’s Scratch League.
The conditions were perfect, warm and sunny with a pleasant breeze until, with 18 arrows left to shoot, the rain set in. Danny Cowin and Dave Berry faced off at 70m in the Gents Recurve division and at first it was nip and tuck between the two. Danny opened up a 5 point lead after the first dozen, which Dave manage to overturn to take a 1 point lead by the end of the second dozen arrows. Unfortunately for Dave that was the only time he was to be in front, for although Danny never really caught fire his shooting was consistent and he took the win as usual. Lone Lady Recurver Barbara Harris had a very bad day at the office, sending 8 arrows wide of the target and recording a season’s worst score into the bargain. Even Danny and Dave’s Laurel and Hardyesque repartee couldn’t cheer her up and her mood did not improve until Germany lost to Mexico in the first round of the World Cup.
Pete Mumford found himself alone on the shooting line in the Gent’s Compound category 50m on an 80cm target. Pete shot in his usual relaxed manner but a loss of concentration after the halfway break put a dent in his score.
It was nice to see James Hill in action again after exam commitments and he joined Toby Young in a 122 50m shoot suitable to their age group. Toby, who was shooting the distance for the first time with his new bow, struggled to find a sight mark and notched up several uncharacteristic misses. James fell just short of his pb for the round and took the win by a clear 50 points. Tilly Ashton shot a 122 40m round in between bouts of sneezing brought on by her hay fever but she still put in a decent total.
Ralf Mitchell (Recurve) and Colin Moore (Barebow) both shot a Standard bow round, that is 72 arrows at 50m on a 122cm target. Neither man had attempted the round before and were therefore guaranteed personal best scores. The rain forecast for the afternoon arrived early resulting in soggy archers and even soggier score sheets. The afternoon session was cancelled.
Across the water Rhys Moore joined older brother Ethan at the Netherhall and Peacock Archers shoot in Cambridge. The event was held over two days, with Saturday being dedicated to a WA 720 in the morning with head to head rounds in the afternoon. To reach the Cambridge shoot without being too exhausted Rhys travelled by air, but since most of the islands airlines refuse to carry archery equipment he was forced to use spare kit which Ethan had taken for him. This naturally affected Rhys’s performance and his score of 644 saw him ranked 17th for the head to head rounds. Ethan faired better, recording a pb of 677 to be ranked 4th for the head to heads. Rhys was knocked out in 1/16th round and Ethan fell at the 1/8th round.
Sunday was a WA 1440 (90/70/50/30m). Rhys had a good 90m and Ethan had a steady start so that by the half way mark they were in fourth and sixth place respectively. The wind began gusting in the afternoon which made things more difficult. Both men shot steadily at 50m but Rhys had a poor 30m distance and dropped points and places. His score of 1308 put him in sixth place. Ethan maintained his composure to record his first Master Bowman score of the season and finished fourth overall with a total of 1311.
Results Greeba WA 720. Gents Recurve – 1.D.Cowin 72/513/2/0, 2.D.Berry70/470/4/1. Ladies Recurve – B.Harris 64/356/3/0. Gents Compound – P.Mumford 72/624/12/4. Jr Gents Recurve – 1.J.Hill 70/492/7/3, 2.T.Young 67/440/4/0. Jr Ladies – T.Ashton 71/541/6/2. Gents Std Bow – C.Moore 70/458/6/3pb. R.Mitchell 68/389/6/2pb.
Isle of Man Archery Club 