A busy late summer!
CLOUT
There was a good turnout for the rescheduled GAC Clout on Friday the 23rd August. The weather was great, with the regular bright sunshine and long shadows to contend with.
The field was laid out by Simon and Steve so that there were shooting lines for 180, 140, 120 and 60yards ready for everyone and with less daylight than normal to contend with, we had to get a move on!
We just finished as the sun went down and after a quick pack up and adding up of the scores, it was revealed that Sue Molloy had retained her position as the GAC Clout Champion – well done Sue!
I think a mention should also go to the Juniors who came along to give Clout a go (some for the first time) and who shot very well
FLAG LEG 2
On the Sunday the 25th, a brave band of GAC archers set off to Alton and FourMarks archery club to shoot the second leg of the FLAG competition, trying to retain the trophy. Unfortunately it was not to be, despite some clever dividing of the team to cover both the the Albion and Windsor rounds.
The weather was good, and Alton and Fourmarks were great hosts, with, only a slight distraction caused by the heroics of Ben Stokes at Headingly!
Our tournament-organising superstar and records officer supremo Kevin Molloy and Andy Cawte stepped up to assist with the calculation of the results which after the 2 legs meant that Woking took away the trophy – well done to them, and thanks to our friends and Farnham and Alton and Four Marks for hosting this year and making both legs friendly and fun competitions.
ACORN
A brilliantly sunny Bank Holiday Monday dawned for our Annual Acorn tournament and over 120 archers descended on GAC from all over the South East to shoot at our club.
A dedicated band of members had set the field out on Saturday, getting out the Atlas bosses and putting down the white lines, and returned early in the Monday morning to put on the target faces, numbers and flags, set up the barbecue, gazebos, and bins and to welcome the archers as they arrived.
Once everyone was signed in and set up, and had enjoyed their bacon sandwich, the Mayor of Guildford, Councillor Richard Billington welcomed everyone and shot the inaugural arrows (into the gold!)
Shooting then got underway, and with the sun beating down and the temperature rising, it was hard work for the archers and particularly for the dedicated GAC members who made up the field crew!
The heat meant that archers had to be kept hydrated and cooled and the pace of shooting was understandably a little slow, meaning that by the time the last arrow was shot, scoreboards collected, raffle announced, results calculated and awards made, it was into the early evening.
A HUGE ‘THANK YOU’ must go to the relatively small number of members who volunteered to help with setting up on the Saturday and who gave up some or all of their Bank Holiday Monday to ensure that our premier event of the year went off smoothly. There were not really enough of us, and for those that stayed for the duration, it was a very long, hot and tiring day.
I won’t list all of the names of those who helped for fear of missing someone out, but you all know who you are, and the club is extremely lucky to have members like you, and is very grateful for your time and help – you are all Superstars!
However, there were many very positive and and comments from the archers on the day and afterwards, and through the entry fees, food and drink sales and raffle, the event raised an amazing £1800 for the club!
GAC HEAD TO HEAD & SUMMER PARTY
On the Sunday following the Acorn, we held our annual Head to Head competition. 26 members turned out to shoot the ranking round in the morning, consisting of 3 dozen arrows shot over a distance and at a target size based on their age, experience and bow style – a bit complicated to sort out, but it all seemed to work out OK!
Having shot the ranking round, during a lunch break, the Head to Head knockout matches were worked out, and got under way after lunch. The Head to Head format is what is used in international and Olympic competition, with archers shooting ‘sets’ of 3 arrows and scoring them, with 2 points for a win and 1 each for a draw – the first archer to score 6 points is the winner (if scores are ties at 5 all, then there is a one-arrow shoot off, with nearest to the centre winning)
Unlike in international competition, where both archers shoot the same distance and target size (70metres, full size face for recurve and 50metres, 80cm face for compound), the GAC Head to Head has archers shooting at the distance and target face allocated based on their age, skill and experience, so in theory, everyone was in with a chance of winning!
The matches progressed very well and were enjoyed by all, and eventually finished with:
Overall Winner: Paul Tooley
Second Place: Richard Fitzgerald
3rd Place: Mike Evans
The Head to Head was followed by our delayed Summer party, and more members joined us to enjoy some Wand shooting, longbow tasters and a positive feast of food and drink for tea. The sun was out and a great time was had by all – thanks to everyone who contributed to the arrangements and/or bought food and drink to share with everyone.
OAKLEAF HAVE-A-GO
On the evening of Thursday the 5th of September, the club played host to a Have A Go event organised by FdK Design Consultants on behalf of Oakleaf, a mental health charity based in Guildford, who do fantastic work helping those who have suffered from mental health problems, to recover and get back into everyday life and work.
They are a charity, and rely on donations and fundraisers, and the event at GAC was attended by over 30 individuals representing local companies who had paid to come and learn archery and shoot against each other.
The weather was great, and although the shortening days meant that time was slightly limited, everyone had a great time and over £1100.00 were raised from the event!
It could not have happened without the dedicated band of GAC members and coaches who gave up their Thursday evening to help set up, run and put away – a HUGE ‘Thank you’ to you all!
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
The last event in this update of what has been happening at GAC during the last few weeks was our Club Championships.
This is the main club competition of the year, and is the opportunity for the best archers in the club to show us just how good they are!
A 12-dozen arrow round was shot; York for the Senior gents, Hereford for the Senior ladies and a range of Bristol rounds for our longbow, junior and novice members. The weather was very good and we spent a fabulous day shooting in the sun, and it was particularly good to see so many junior girls coming to shoot!
The final results and all scores can be viewed here, but many congratulations to our 2019 Outdoor Club Champions:
Gent Recurve: Richard Fitzgerald
Gent Compound: Paul Tooley
Gent Barebow: Tony Fry
Lady Recurve: Marian de Kretser
Lady Compound: Tanya Tooley
Longbow Gent: Simon de Kretser
Girl Champion: Heather Williamson
Most 5s Award: Kathryn Crossingham