Chessington Bowmen - King's Cup 2015

Well, it went as about could be expected.  I managed 477 which is higher than last year, but not by much.

The day started off well when I picked up The Ageing Archer for our trip to Chessington.  Popped into the Chessington Oak for a quick bite to eat before the competition.  We were joined in the pub by Fadil, Bryn, Sarah and Roger.  Roger had already shot in the first session so was able to give us a lowdown on the day so far.  Sarah was mightily impressed by Matt Webb (the eventual winner of the competition).  So, refuelled and raring to go we made our way to the venue.

At this point we met up with Penelope from 2020Archery, Jeff, Trent and some of the gang from Sutton.  It was her first comp and she was teetering on that line between eagerness and nervousness,  I think you hardened competitors out there know that feeling.  At this point she was busy marking her arrows as she had not realised that your arrows need your name and a number.

With Penelope settled and the clock ticking away I set about gearing up.  It always amazes me how venues don't leave enough space for competitors to set up.  I managed to find some space behind the back row of seats and set about my task.

Tip No. 1 - If you have a bag with many many pockets don't change the location of any equipment the week before a competition.  Richard had already suffered the ignominy of leaving his sight at home last year.  For 15 minutes I had thought I had left my pressure button behind.  Turns out I had placed it in the tube with my top dampener.  Why?  Lord knows!  Anyhoo, once we had our kit setup we settled down to shoot the breeze with other competitors.  Competitions are a great way to make friends in archery.

 My gear ,,, waiting for the off.  It;s so red!

Hmm, where's the The Ageing Archer? 

Ah, there he is!  Oh and there's Sarah and Roger too!

But where are the Aquarius boys?  They arrive with about 30mins to spare(something about Yau's legendary trousers...)  They are the last to get their kit inspected by the judges.  Yau seems to have a slightly dubious serving but they let him get away with it.  It is at this point I should point out that I make special mention of the three from Aquarius (Yau, Huy and Kevin).  First off, they are former members of 2020Archery.  Second, this is their first competition.  I find this astounding as they have the skill to win competitions but have to date resisted the urge to compete on a large scale.  It please me to see them here. (My instincts are proven correct later ...)

Let's move onto the actual competition.  Today I shot a WA18 round.  For those who don't know, that's 60 arrows at 18m on a 40cm target.  For you 2020 folks, that's a Portsmouth but on a smaller target!  Unlike most club sessions, the shooting is controlled by a buzzer and a clock.  Here's a run down of the buzzer:

1. 2 beeps for first detail to approach the line
2. 1 beep for the first detail to shoot 3 arrows.  There is a clock on either side of the shooting line to count down 2 mins.  Fail to shoot all your arrows in 2 minutes and you're gonna kick yourself.  That's 40secs per arrow.  I bet you 2020 folks can do 3 arrows in 30secs!  That's ok for club shooting, but you really want to take all the time you have in a comp.
3. 2 beeps for second detail to approach the line
4. 1 beep for second detail to shoot their arrows
5. 3 beeps for archers to collect and score their arrows.

And repeat until you have done your 60.  Put in those terms it's simple.  And yet for some reason it never is.  I spoke to some archers and noticed others not having a simple shoot.  Perfect examples are Yau, Kevin and Penelope.  All three were participating in their first competition.  Actually, Yau and Kevin have done club competitions before but when it's your first award status competition in an open tournament ... well it's always a bit nerve racking.  Which brings me to my point, your first competition.  Yau and Kevin were suffering from target anxiety.  I think it's fair to say that they probably don't suffer from it a lot and yet it has reared it's ugly head today.  And what of Penelope?  From what I could gather from others she started off well but then had a dip in form.  I bet this dip in form coincided with a poor shot.  It's you're first comp and you're shooting well.  You're shooting on a smaller target so you're expecting to be in the blue a lot but instead you're hitting reds and gold.  Your confidence starts to rise.  But then comes a poor shot.  You start look inwards to find out what you did wrong.  For those in the know, it doesn't take much for this 'over thinking' to have an impact on your shooting.  Fortunately, Roger was on hand to lend some helpful tips.  One in particular was that she should go talk to other competitors.  It's takes your mind off the self doubt and relaxes the mind and body.  I believe Sarah performed a similar roll by punching me on the arm and telling me not over think it.  Roger's Jedi voodoo has clearly rubbed off on Sarah ...

And that's pretty much about it.  Oh, I probably should mention that I had to take a toilet break during my shooting but just got back in time.  I took a wrong turn and got lost!

So, what was the end result:

Well, I managed 477.  Higher than last year but still not over 500.
Richard managed 498.  Not what he was hoping for.
Penelope lands an 8th place with 452.  (Much applause!) - I think it's obvious she has the competition bug now.  Maybe she can spread that around and infect a few more from 2020 ...
The Aquarius boys brought their team home in 3rd place! (Applause)
Sutton came in 2nd.
Trent won the 3rd session award for compounds.
At this point I need to mention Roger ... strictly speaking he topped the scores for compounds in the 3rd session but he had already shot in the first session.  The rules dictate that only your first session will count.  Still, he did manage to prove that you can compete in a competition with a compound bow that costs less than an afternoon tea for 2 at the Savoy.  So here you go Roger, here's a round of applause for you *Applause*

With the awards done and everything packed away,  the night was completed by a trip to the nearest alcohol distributor.  It wouldn't be a 2020 reunion without some form of post shoot gathering :)

Let's see if I can do better at my next comp.

Read the next post for a more detailed analysis of today's events.