The round of the day was the mind-bending Vegas for the those up to the challenge, while the Barebows and Tradbows tackled a soothing Portsmouth.
All eyes were on Rhys Moore after he was held to a draw last time out. It was an edgy start for Rhys, with only four of his first dozen finding the Compound 10. His second dozen wasn’t much better and although he picked up the pace with the final 36 arrows, he was well below his usual standard. Shooting in the morning session he then had to sweat it out while Steve Brew, the only man who had the form to beat him, took to the shooting line in the afternoon session. Steve hit the ground running and by the end of the third dozen was 6 points ahead of Rhys. It was then Steve’s turn to lose the middle and going into the final dozen his advantage had dropped to 2 points. It still looked as though he might end Rhys’ unbeaten 4 year reign, but his last four arrows dipped into the 9 and the result was…another dead heat. The Records Officer couldn’t even separate them on count back, the scores were identical. This year’s Club Championships will be interesting to say the least. The battle for the final place on the podium went to Dave Moore, while Pete Mumford, despite wearing his lucky underpants, had to settle for last place. Lone Lady Compound Aalin George, struggling with a stomach upset, still managed to put in a score that was second only to that set by Rhys and Steve.
The largest field of the day was provided by the Gents Recurve, with David Craine, Les Corran, Richard Hainge, Peter Howland and Johnathan Gordon aiming for glory. Johnathan had a less than auspicious start as, having forgotten to tighten the bolt that held his sight in place, he launched both the sight and his first arrow down the range. It didn’t put him off though and he went on to take the win by a comfortable margin. Richard had to settle for second place once again, but he did have the consolation of recording a personal best score for the round. After a decent start David Crain looked to be on course for third place, but he seemed to tire just as Les began to find a rhythm and it was Les who took the last place on the podium. Peter Howland had a nightmare of a shoot and was glad when it was over.
Barbara Harris was the only senior Lady Recurve to shoot the Vegas and had little expectation given her lack of practice. A miss in the first dozen did her no favours but identifying that the arrow was at fault not her shooting Barbara took it out of the rotation. Her score immediately improved but sadly she had left the duff arrow in her quiver and accidently shot again in the third dozen which resulted in another miss. The offending arrow was put back into her bow case where it could do no further damage, and she finished strongly but failed to break the 500 barrier. Erin Hainge was the only junior in action on Sunday. After a wobbly start she settled into the round and posted a personal best score. A poor last arrow cost her the chance of breaking 500 which was a bit of a disappointment for Erin.
Stan Gorry and Colin Moore went head-to-head in the Gents Tradbow Portsmouth and for the first time this season it was Stan who showed consistency while Colin struggled. Stan led from start to finish and was rightly pleased with his win.
The Gents Barebow was a one-sided affair with Chris Crompton showing Ralf Mitchell exactly how a Barebow should be handled. Chris finished the round 125 points ahead of Ralf, who in all fairness, put in one of his better efforts.
Also shooting were Catherine Irving Potter who elected to shoot a Portsmouth and Jim Woodall who opted for a WA18.
Results Vegas: Gents Compound- =1. S.Brew & R.Moore 60/574/34, 3.D.Moore 59/547/17, 4.P.Mumford 60/535/5. Ladies Compound-A.George 60/564/26. Gents Recurve-1.J.Gordon 59/523/16, 2.R.Hainge 59/497/13pb, 3.L.Corran 41/337/9, 4.D.Craine 42/320/2, 5.P.Howland 34/245/2. Ladies Recurve-B.Harris 58/491/11. Junior Girls Recurve-E.Hainge 49/496/9pb. Tradbow-1.S.Gorry 60/438/4, 2.C.Moore 60/421/2. Barebow-1.C.Crompton 60/515/10, 2.R.Mitchell 60/390/2.
Isle of Man Archery Club 