There was action both on and off the island for the Club’s archers this weekend. A group of four took part in a Double W1440 at Meriden in the UK, while half a dozen others tackled a WA 720 round on home soil.
Dave and Rhys Moore, along with Barbara Harris, braved the buckety seas of early Friday morning to rendezvous with Ethan Moore at Meriden near Birmingham to compete in a two-day event. Rhys was on a mission to get two more Master Bowman scores to retain his classification after picking up his first one of the season at York. (Archers are required to shoot three qualify rounds at recognized Record Status events in any one season to claim their Classification once they reach Bowman standard. Classification runs from Grand Master Bowman at the top, through Master Bowman, Bowman and down to First, Second and Third Class Archer).
The weather was chilly to start with, a ground frost on the second morning providing an eerie, misty atmosphere as it burned off under the sun, but temperatures rose quite quickly to provide perfect shooting conditions. In the Gents Compound division, Rhys Moore, looking very fetching in his new Sponsor’s shirt (white, collarless, with a zip neck) made a steady start at 90m but found a better rhythm at 70m. A decent, if unspectacular 50m left him looking good for a Master Bowman score, but Rhys made things difficult for himself by winging one into a 7 which left him scoring exactly what he needed – 1311. Too close for comfort! Dave was hot on Rhys’ heels after the first two distances, but a miss at 50 put paid to any chances of catching him and Dave had to settle for outscoring Ethan instead. The second day of shooting produced a change of fortunes, with Ethan leading the way as far as the Moore family were concerned. Ethan had an average 90m but motored his way through the remaining distances to end up just 2 points short of a Master Bowman score but was pleased with the result given his lack of training this year due to work commitments. Dave shot slightly better than the day before, but Rhys struggled from the beginning and put in a score that was well below his usual standard.
In the Ladies Recurve, Barbara Harris was just hoping to make it through the first day after a five week lay off from shooting. Her 70m distance was distinctly average, she put in a decent 60m total, then shot appallingly at 50m and was looking as though she would struggle to break 1000 for the shoot. Inexplicably she zoned in on the 30m from the first arrow and managed to drag her score up over 1100, ending the first day quite pleased but with it all to do again on Sunday. Stiff and rather tired from the previous day, Barbara nevertheless managed to add one or two points to each of the first two distance totals of the day before. She was much improved at 50m but found herself running out of steam at the 30m and lost most of the advantage she had gained over the longer distances. Barbara finished 8 points up on the previous day and was reasonably content with her performance.
Back at Greeba, Pete Mumford, Joy Gough, Jane Berry, Danny Cowin and Junior archers Toby Young and James Hill turned out for a WA720 round as part of the Club’s Scratch League. The round consists of 72 arrows shot at a single distance 70m for Recurve and 50m for Compound. It proved to be a day of mixed fortunes for those involved. Conditions were not as good at Greeba as they were at Meriden, with a gusting wind giving the archers something to think about. Joy Gough picked up a wrist injury during the first dozen but managed to complete the shoot, just – her last dozen arrows were a bit of a struggle. Pete Mumford enjoyed a very good shoot, adding 2 points to his pb for the round and was cock-a-hoop with himself.
On the Recurve side of things Jane Berry made a return to shooting after a ten week absence. Jane made a strong start but tired towards the end of the shoot and was a little down on her best. Danny Cowin, who had also missed a lot of practice faired slightly better, putting in a season’s best score. A miss late on annoyed him but it was a re-assuring return to form ahead of the Indoor Season. The only direct competition was between Toby Young and James Hill in the u18’s. James was shooting the distance for the first time. He made a good showing but had to settle for second. Toby, out of practice due to work load, was well down on his best score but it was only to be expected under the circumstances.
Results- Meriden Double WA1440 – Gents Compound: R. Moore 2594/101/33 (15th), E. Moore 2583/118/46 (16th), D. Moore 2563/102/31. Ladies Recurve: B.Harris 2238/39/14 (9th). Greeba WA720- Gents Compound: P.Mumford 72/649/23/8pb. Ladies Compound: J.Gough 72/604/4/3. Ladies Recurve: J.Berry 70/447/7/3. Gents Recurve: D.Cowin 71/514/1/0. U18 Gents Recurve: 1.T.Young 65/353/2/0, 2.J.Hill 65/338/1/0pb.
Isle of Man Archery Club 