The Junior Club Championships were held amid scorching temperatures at Greeba on Sunday. The best weather of the year so far saw three of the Club’s young archers go for glory in a Short Metric round differentiated by age, gender and bow type.
Sadly, with all the children in different age categories there was no direct competition but the quality on display was as high as the temperatures. Intermittent archer Brandon Gough overcame his natural teenage inertia to lift the u18’s Compound Trophy in a Short Metric 1 round. Shot over two distances of 50 & 30m Brandon put in a terrific display given his complete lack of range time. A handful of misses as he got himself dialled in meant that he fell short of the 600 barrier but his efforts impressive nonetheless and he was a worthy champion.
Erin Hainge and Lula Brown represented the Recurve side of things. Lula, shooting a Short Metric II – 3 dozen arrows at each of two distances – 40 and 30m picked up the u16’s Trophy. Shooting the distance for the first time, she recorded a personal best score as well as pocketing the silverware.
Erin Hainge put in a blistering display over the Short Metric III distances of 30 & 20m. Erin has spent considerable time and effort building up her strength after breaking her arm in a riding accident. Working her way up through various weights of limbs she is finally back to her previous form, and she took full advantage of the glorious conditions to post an excellent score that fell just short of 600. The youngster looks to be peaking at just the right time ahead of the intensive competition she will face off-island in July.
The adults also had fun in the sun although a low turnout meant that once again there was no direct competition. With Rhys Moore away on his honeymoon and Dave Moore busy elsewhere, Andrew Westmorland had the Compound division all to himself as he shot a full 1440 round (90/70/50/30m). Westie recorded a personal best score that fell just 5 points short of the qualification standard required for inclusion in the squad at next year’s Island Games in Orkney.
Pete Mumford, also Compound, shot the 50+ round of a Long Metric I (70/60m) to good effect.
On the Recurve side of things Richard Hainge joined Westie to tackle a 1440 round, the handful of misses he recorded saw him fall agonisingly short of the 900 mark but he was pleased with his efforts generally. Peter Howland attempted a Long Metric 1 alongside Pete Mumford but struggled somewhat.
Lone Lady Compound Marie Hainge took on a Long Metric (70/60m) for the first time and acquitted herself well in the company of Recurver Charlotte George. Charlotte had intended to shoot a full 1440 but a niggling injury forced her to pull out just before the end and had to be content with posting a score for the completed Long Metric distances.
The usual Barebow contingent of Colin Moore, Ralf Mitchell and Stan Gorry being absent, Johnathan Gordon was left to shoot a single distance 720 round on his own.
Results: Junior Championships- u18’s Compound-B.Gough 69/576/12/3. U16’s Recurve-L.Brown 58/328/3/2. U15’s Recurve-E.Hainge 72/592/14/4. Gents Compound 1440-A.Westmorland 144/1278/55/15. Gents Recurve 1440-R.Hainge 138/894/8/3. Gents Compound L/Metric I-P.Mumford 72/590/12/6. Ladies Compound L/Metric-M.Hainge 72/514/3/-. Gents Recurve L/Metric I-P.Howland 56/274/-/-. Ladies Recurve L/Metric-C.George 72/570/10/2. Gents Barebow 720-J.Gordon 70/436/3/1.
Isle of Man Archery Club 