The weather if anything was too good on Sunday morning, with most of the archers seeking the shade of the trees to gain respite from the energy sapping heat. In a break with tradition there were two rounds of the day a WA 720 (50m for Compound/70m for Recurve) and a National. Both rounds were shot as part of the Club’s Handicap League and were dealt with separately.
Caravan guru, part-time fisherman and occasional archer Billy Lightfoot turned up and bumped into Simon Musgrove who is the only man who spends less time at the Club than himself. Billy, carrying a rugged drinks flask and plain lunch bag, clearly hoped to re-establish his manly street cred but his use of a fetching pink micro towel rather spoilt the effect. Mr Lightfoot’s shooting however, was above reproach and he added 10 points to his pb for the round. This put him in second place in scratch terms in the Gent’s Compound and secured him second place overall after the handicap was applied. Rhys Moore as usual took the scratch win in the Gent’s Compound but was clearly affected by the heat as he felt the need to change into non-regulation khaki shorts part way through the shoot. The Records Officer was not impressed by either his shorts or his legs. After handicapping Rhys slotted into fourth place. Pete Mumford enjoyed another of his relaxed shoots to come in fifth overall, while Simon Musgrove had to settle for sixth.
Equipment failure forced lone Lady Compounder Joy Gough out of the previous week’s competition, but she was right back in it on Sunday. Shooting exactly to her handicap Joy took third place after the handicap was applied.
As far as Recurve was concerned a ‘tired’ Danny Cowin made a slow start to the round but finished with an excellent last half dozen total to break the 500 barrier and take the scratch honours. Unfortunately, the alcohol induced tiredness meant that he was nowhere near his best and had to settle seventh place after handicapping. Dave Berry, who shot in the afternoon session, had to contend with the difficult wind conditions which developed after lunch and his poor showing put him in second last place overall. The two lady Recurvers Jane Berry and Barbara Harris had markedly different shoots. Harris, who has struggled with consistency, once again put in a disappointing round which saw her finish second to Jane in scratch terms and dead last in the handicap. Jane, put in a focused round which saw her add 37 points to her pb, take scratch honours from Barbara and out-shoot her husband, as well take the overall win after handicapping. Carrying on into the afternoon session Jane added 31 points to her pb for the Double 720 round.
A further seven archers took part in a National round shot over yards rather than metres; five of them shooting the round for the first time. Taking advantage of the dead calm of the morning session Ralf Mitchell shot a Short National (4 dozen arrows at 50y & 2 dozen at 40y) for the first time. Ralf was more accurate with his arrows than he was with his maths, knocking 100 points off his actual score – the Records Officer kindly put them back and Ralf took second place after the handicap was applied. James Hill did himself proud with his first attempt at a National (4dz at 60y/2dz at 50y) to take the handicap win by some margin. David Smith (Short National) was unlucky to have to shoot his first ever National round in the gusting winds of the afternoon but he coped well and secured fourth place overall. Nathan Kinrade and Jacob Brookes were also affected by the wind and they were nowhere near their best finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Tilly Ashton and Toby Young were the only Juniors to shoot all day and both were shooting their respective rounds for the first time. Toby put in a Junior Bowman equivalent score in the Bristol II (60/50/40yds with a 6/4/2 dozen arrow split) to take fifth place overall. Tilly put in a massive Junior Master Bowman equivalent score to take third place after the handicap was applied. Good luck to the Junior Club Members who are travelling to Lilleshall for the National Championships.
Results: WA 720 Handicap – 1.J.Berry 1465 (70/432/3/1)pb, 2.B.Lightfoot 1447 (72/652/44/9)pb, 3.J.Gough 1440 (72/612/12/1), 4.R.Moore 1434 (72/662/26/7), 5.P.Mumford 1432 (72/633/19/3), 6.S.Musgrove 1430 (72/612/35/5), 7.D.Cowin 1397 (72/507/5/1), 8.D.Berry 1378 (69/427/2/0), 9.B.Harris 1335 (69/417/1/0). National Handicap – 1.J.Hill 1480 (70/476/19)pb, 2.R.Mitchell 1450 (72/427/11)pb, 3.T.Ashton 1432 (144/1126/72)pb, 4.D.Smith 1394 (55/267/6)pb, 5.T.Young 1348 (141/955/40)pb, 6.N.Kinrade 1317 (72/428/16), 7.J.Brookes 1313 (71/489/20). Double WA 720 – Gents Compound – 1.R.Moore 144/1314/48/13, 2.P.Mumford 144/1237/35/8. Ladies Compound – J.Gough 143/1191/21/3. Ladies Recurve – 1.B.Harris 139/876/3/0, 2.J. Berry 134/792/4/2pb.
Veteran results from 24 June – 1.B.Lightfoot 144/1279/45/15, 2.P.Mumford 144/1273/36/13.
Isle of Man Archery Club 