It looked as though the Club Championships might have to be postponed but the weather improved just enough for them to go ahead as planned on Sunday. It was soggy underfoot after the heavy overnight rain, but the early morning drizzle dried up in time for the start. The major problem was the wind coming across the field through the gap in the top right-hand corner, which tested the archers over the longer distances. It was however, quite sheltered on the shooting line. The Championships based on the WA1440 for both Recurves and Compounds (90/70/50/30 for the Gents and 70/60/50/30m for the Ladies) but the Barebows got away with just shooting a single 50m distance.
It was the usual sparring partners Colin Moore and Stan Gorry who contest the Gents Barebow category, with Colin having the better start of the two. By the half time Colin had a 33-point lead but the break did him no favours and the scoring began to swing Stan’s way. He clawed back 20 points with the next 12 arrows and by the time they went into the final dozen Stan was only 6 points down. Colin was having none of it though and he matched Stan point for point to maintain his slim lead and lift the trophy.
Given his form Indoors and so far this outdoor season, Jonathan Gordon was the odds favourite to take the Gents Recurve Trophy, but it was not to be. The wind battering it’s way across the field played havoc at 90m and, with his new limbs not bedded in yet, Jonathan struggled to keep his arrows in the centre. At the end of the first distance, it was Richard Hainge who found himself in the lead, 10 points clear of Jonathan, with Championships debutante Tom Rogers 3 points further back in third. 70m proved to be the crunch distance for all three men. Jonathan struggles continued and he slipped from second to third. Richard put in a solid effort, but Tom was on fire and he leapfrogged both Jonathan and Richard to take the lead by 4 points going into the afternoon session. Richard had a poor start at the 50m but Tom put the pedal to the metal to extend his lead to 30 points over Richard, while Jonathan languished a further 27 points back in third. A little over excited going into the final distance Tom dialled in the wrong sight mark and missed with his first arrow, but he recovered to take victory by 41 points and lift the Trophy at the first attempt. Jonathan made up some ground on Richard but still finished in third. Richard had the consolation of breaking the 1000 barrier for the first time, and there is always next year.
The Ladies Recurve was a straight face off between Erin Hainge and Charlotte George. Charlotte had been out of action so far this season with both bow and health problems. Going into Sunday’s Championships she had been unable to practice and was fighting off the after-effects of a migraine which left her weak down the left-hand side – her draw arm. However, Charlotte George at her worst is better than most at their best and Erin was not going to get a walkover. The wind did Erin no favours, but she kept all of her arrows on target over the longer distances. By the end of the morning though, Charlotte had carved out a 46-point lead. A miss by Erin on the small target faces at 50m effectively ended her challenge and even though Charlotte began to experience the onset of another migraine at 30m she gritted it out to take the Ladies title by 66 points.
The Ladies Compound division was a one horse race with reigning champion Aalin George taking the victory alone.
The largest field of the day came in the Gents Compound where Les Corrin joined Westy Westmorland and Dave, Rhys and Ethan Moore who was back on home soil ahead of next month’s trip to Orkney for the Island Games. For Les it was his first taste of the Club Championships but unlike Tom Rogers he couldn’t make any magic happen and ended up in last place. Dave shot solidly but had to settle for fourth. Rhys Moore naturally led from start to finish to retain his title and maintain his unbeaten run both Indoors and Out. The real contest came between Westy and Ethan in the fight for second place. By the end of the first distance Rhys was 14 points clear of Ethan with Westy 6 points further back. Rhys consolidated his lead at 70m, but Westy had a great time overhauling Ethan to go into second. Ethan and Westy traded banter and arrows at 50m and found by the end of that distance that they had matched each other and Westy still held a 2-point lead over Ethan. The honour of being first loser would be decided over the final distance. Westy held it together and manage edge a little further ahead to secure second place and break 1300 for the first time. It looks like the boys are in good form at just the right time.
Results Club Championships: Gents Barebow- 1.C.Moore 72/502/6/0, 2.S.Gorry 72/496/7/1. Gents Recurve- 1.T.Rogers 141/1072/24/6pb, 2.R.Hainge 141/1031/14/4pb, J.Gordon 142/1015/15/4. Ladies Recurve – 1.C.George 144/1126/21/4, 2.E.Hainge 143/1060/11/4. Ladies Compound-A.George 144/1321/60/18. Gents Compound- 1.R.Moore 144/1355/81/35, 2.A.Westmorlad 144/1325/59/18pb, 3.E.Moore 144/1320/58/19, 4.D.Moore 144/1268/41/14, 5.L.Corrin 143/1116/17/4pb.
Isle of Man Archery Club 