Friday 24 January 2014
7.30am - It's an early start
today. Have to pick up Roger and Sarah from the station for a three hour drive
to Telford. Sarah's just texted to say they are running late as Roger has
forgotten his ID. The day is already off to a good start.
Half way
into the journey I have a sudden panic attack. Did I pack all my documents? I
know I have my GNAS card and photo ID on me but what about my entry ticket? Do
I turn around? Not likely. Professor Sarah wisely points out that we can check
at a service station. 20 mins later my worries are gone. I packed it after all.
I'm already a nervous wreck and I haven't even arrived at the venue yet!
12.30pm - Wahay! Mr SATNAV has not
let us down. We arrive at our hotels and the International Centre in one piece.
We've plumped for the hotels which are right next door to the venue. Sarah and
Roger are in the International which is about a 4 minute walk from the venue.
I'm another minute down the road in the Holiday Inn. The rooms are pricier but
it's so much more convenient. And the hotels are very well kitted out. There's
a bar, restaurant, gym and pool. I can see I'm gonna like it here. However,
check-in isn't until 2pm. So, what do three young archers do at their
first competition? They go shopping at the trade fair! Bring on the new kit!
OMG! We’ve just seen the targets
and the shooting line. The targets look
so small and miles away. What have we
got ourselves into? Maybe entering the
competition wasn’t a smart move.
12.45pm – New finger tab acquired.
Hello Fivics!
12.50pm – Bump into Claire Conner and Richard Poole. They are busy getting some arrows downrange
in the practice area. They are scheduled to be first in our group of intrepid
archers to shoot in the competition.
Claire looks relaxed. Richard … well I don’t think relaxed is the word
I would use. Only two nights ago we
found out that Richard had been assigned the target face between Brady Ellison
and Jake Kaminski. No pressure!
Hey look
it’s Fadil, another 2020
member. He’s not here to shoot but has made the journey to support us. Good man!
We do our best to persuade him to buy some gear. I think he’s got his eye on the KG Archery stand …
13.00pm – Brady Ellison! The man
himself has arrived … we’re all staring at him!
Ladies and Gents, we’re in the presence of an
Olympian and World Champion!
We also
spot Aida Roman of Mexico. Sarah is due
to shoot right next to her! No pressure
Professor!
As Claire
and Richard go off to the main hall others from 2020 start to arrive. Trent, Karine, Akos and others all arrive
with various levels of nervousness and trepidation. Well, maybe not Karine. She’s done this thing before.
My first
and only foray into the food offerings of the International Centre leaves me … hungry. Next time I’m bringing a stove and a wok!
2.00pm – Claire and Richard shoot their first arrows whilst we check into
our rooms. I must admit, I like the
Holiday Inn. The rooms are very well
specced and the facilities in the hotel are top notch. There’s even a spa and pool! It
was worth spending the extra money to be closer to the venue.
2.05pm - Danielle Brown! I swear I’ve just spotted Danielle Brown in the reception area getting a
beverage from Costa.
2.08pm - Rick van der Ven! On the way to the hotel we bump into Rick van
der Ven in the car park. He seems to be
in a hurry to get to the practice range.
Both me and Roger are showing unheard of levels of excitement at the
Dutch archer’s presence. Such a moment necessitated a fist bump!
I return
back to the main hall to catch Claire and Richard finish their sighting rounds
and start scoring.
That’s Richard sandwiched between 2 archery legends.
Rather
than sit up in the stands I decide to hover behind the coaching line and
provide moral or logistical support wherever I can. Both shooters seem OK. Richard is doing an exceptional job despite
his position.
5.50pm – The next session starts.
Sarah, Roger, Trent, Akos and Bryn are all up for their moment of
glory. Again I hover the coaching line
to add my support. Bryn is first to flag
me down, about half way through the session.
He needs chocolate. Unfortunately
I am not in my usual archery setup so I have none to hand. A quick visit to the food hall results in
water and kitkats for those who need it.
Then Akos throws a polite come hither at me. He needs a pen to mark his arrows. Again, my casual spectator setup doesn’t include a pen. In an
unusual moment of clarity I decide to visit the expo stands. Surely one of them has a pot of pens to give
away as a freebie … nope. Not a single one. We have wristbands and t-shirts but no
pens. Luckily Bow International save the
day and kindly donate a biro.
Wow,
Brady Ellison has come down to watch and support some archers. I find myself standing next to him … AWESOME! I even get to
exchange a few words with him.
I sneak
in a cheeky photo op with the big man himself!
9.00pm – The final arrow of the night is shot. I’m not there to see it as I
am at the station waiting for my beloved Ceri to arrive. The weather has moved on from slight drizzle
to heavy rain. Just another day in
Telford then.
That’s more than 3 hours for 60 arrows.
I’m beginning to feel
concerned as it usually takes me 2 hours at most to shoot my 60. And I know my own endurance levels will only
last for two hours. Thank god I am doing
no shooting today and have until tomorrow afternoon to gather my energy. I think I am gonna need it.
9.30pm – Dinner at the Beefeater is not what we hope for. With beef in their name you kinda hope that
they know what they are doing. Turns out
we were wrong. A handful of rib-eyes
turn up looking … microwaved. There’s no hint of heat on them and they look greyer than the sky
earlier today. Sarah and Karine are
vocal about their discontent and we manage to get both meals refunded. The beers are flowing thank god. We won’t be back here tomorrow night.
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