Eleven archers turned up on Sunday to tackle a Three-spot Portsmouth, shot as part of the Handicap League. Under this system the scratch score is added to an allowance, based on the archers’ individual handicap, which can be found in an eye-watering table provided by the sport’s governing body, Archery GB. It is the Records Officer unenviable task wade through these tables and produce the overall results. Handicapping means that shooters of all ages and disciplines can compete against each other.
In scratch terms Rhys Moore was again dominant in the Gents Compound division outscoring his only rival Pete Mumford by 25 points. Not quite in the form he had been the previous week Rhys found himself halfway down the table after the handicap was applied. Pete himself was fairly consistent throughout the morning but just couldn’t find enough 10’s to boost his score and finished seventh overall.
The Gents Recurve provided Johnathon Gordon with yet another scratch win over Richard Hainge and Peter Howland but, like Rhys, he wasn’t quite on song on Sunday and after the handicap was applied, he found himself down in sixth place. Richard Hainge on the other hand, shot a personal best score which earned him top spot after handicapping. Peter finished in a commendable third place overall.
There was a bit of confusion over which bow type Ralf Mitchell shot on Sunday as the Records Officer was not present in the morning session to witness his antics. Ralf normally employs a Black Douglas bow which has separate handle and limbs, making it a barebow. Trad bows comprise of a single piece of wood. Either way, he came second in scratch terms to either Stan Gorry (Barebow) or Bill Callow (Tradbow). Since the Records Officer could not find any evidence that Ralf had shot enough rounds to re-qualify for a handicap under the new system introduced this season, he could not be included in the overall results anyway. Bill Callow shot up a storm to come second after handicapping, while Stan found himself at the bottom of the table.
The Ladies Recurve featured the usual duo of Charlotte George and Barbara Harris and produced the usual result – a scratch win for Charlotte. Harris did manage to break the 500 barrier for the first time this year but this only gave her eighth place overall, with Charlotte sharing the last spot on the Handicap podium in third. Junior Erin Hainge, working her way back to fitness after breaking her arm, was unhappy with her performance and finished just ahead of Stan in ninth place.
Results Portsmouth Handicap: 1.R.Hainge 1495 (56/478/14pb), 2.B.Callow 1443 (60/469/12), 3.C.George 1427 (60/552/26), =3.P.Howland 1427 (57/472/10), 5.R.Moore 1422 (60/582/42), 6.J.Gordon 1418 (60/545/22), 7.P.Mumford 1409 (60/557/18), 8.B.Harris 1406 (59/505/11), 9.E.Hainge 1403 (56/461/11), 10.S.Gorry 1401 (60/454/8).
Isle of Man Archery Club 