New Kit

Right, it's the night before my next competition (King's Cup, chessington) and I've shot less that 60 arrows through the new kit.  This does not bode well for tomorrow.

Let's see what in the archery swag bag ...

First off we have the new SF Premium Plus 2014 riser.  For the observant among you will have noticed that it's almost identical to my previous riser.  Just about everything is the same except that it now has adjustable limb pockets.  I'll admit that it wasn't a feature I missed with my previous riser but it's good to know it's there if I need it.

I took my old customised grip from my previous riser and swapped it with the new one.  It's one of the reasons I stuck with the SF Premium range.  I knew the grips would be swappable and I was familiar with the way the riser behaves.  You can also see in the above picture the Spigarelli clicker and SF Ultima rest.  I shot with them on Tuesday and I have to admit, they worked great.  The rest was simple to adjust and the clicker did it's job perfectly.I will give a more detailed review of the clicker once I've shot it more.

I wasn't able to decide on what sight I wanted so I've borrowed the Decut 120 Click from The Ageing Archer.  In the short time I've tried it I was most impressed by it.  For the price (approx £45) it's good quality with all the bells and whistles you would need.

I've almost grabbed a Titan Recurve Sight from The Ageing Archer.  As you can see it's red.  We like red.  I got to shoot it on Tuesday and it was good.  I had originally planned to buy this a while back but couldn't really justify it as my original sight was working well.  My most recent equipment failure has spurred me on to reconsider this purchase.

So, will the new kit help with my comp tomorrow?  We'll have to wait and see.  Last year I managed only 470.  It's unlikely that I'll get anywhere near it as my form has dropped and I've shot less than half the hours I shot last year.  However, I will aim to get 500+.  If I achieve that I will be happy.

Another Comp and Battle Buddies

It's another weekend and another competition.  This time its the Essex Indoor Championship.  It's the last comp for my indoor season before I start preparing for my first outdoor season.

As usual, the day started with a trip to MacD's and then to pick up the TheAgeingArcher (Richard).  Richard was due to shoot in tomorrow's session but weekend public transport was going to let him down.  Instead he generously offered to accompany me to the competition to spot for me.  Trooper! Our destination today was the Sandon School in Chelmsford, Essex.  The journey wasn't too bad.  Approx. 1.5hours from Croydon.  The sports hall we would shoot in wasn't too shabby at all.  A bit smaller compared with some of the halls we have visited this season but still a good place to shoot.

 Not a bad venue at all

 Equipment line ... archery porn!

And this is how many archers there were in my session.  There are some dirty compounders on the right!

Pic courtesy of TheAgeingArcher

The judges at the comp were a bit more lively than some of the ones we have seen in Surrey.  During the assembly the judges lined up either side of the comp organiser.  But whilst he was making various announcement they are proceeded quietly further behind him ... did they know something we didn't?  Also, one of the judges required the use of a belt mounted voice box.  Although it is never appropriate to make fun of anyone for any reason you have got to admit it was different and set the mood for the day :)

This pic taken by Richard is worth it's weight in gold flecks!  It shows I'm leaning my neck to the string, body is leaning and right arm isn't straight!
Pic courtesy of TheAgeingArcher

The comp started badly.  For starters, I did not realise the targets would be set up 4 to a boss.  I would be shooting on the lower left target.  Immediately I had flashbacks of the troubles I had with the triple spots.  the lower target was never my strong point.  My first 6 arrows contained 2x5 and a 6.  I don't normally shoot those colours!  Oh did I mention these were 40cm targets?  Fortunately, with Richard's help I was able to continue battle my way through to 475.  Not bad really.  The last time I shot these targets was in the King's Cup and I only got 470.  I won't lie, I was hoping for more but when you analyse everything ... it's not too bad.  It's only the third time I've used my v-bars, I still have't picked up my practice hours and frankly ... I'm out of shape.  I could tell my string hand was wrong.  Richard could see my bow arm dropping and could hear me plucking the bow.  

Not bad at all

I should mention at this point that Richard was invaluable today for making sure I didn't slump any further.  It would have been too easy to focus on the negative and then dig myself deeper into the black hole.  Instead he was able to provide insight into possible areas of improvement and give the odd word of encouragement.  We've decided that where possible we might be able to spot for each other if we book into separate sessions.  One shoots the early session whilst the other spots and then swap over for the second session.  I like this.  Battle buddies!

And so comes to an end my first season of indoor competition.  And I must admit ... I loved it!  You can read through my previous blog entries to see how the other comps went.  I've made some good friends and I've been to places I wouldn't normally go (Essex hehe!) ... oh and \i had a quick chat with Brady Ellison!

Outdoors here we come!!

Middlesex County Archer Association Indoor Championship - Pt2

11.00am - Okay.  So its competition day again.  This time its the MCAA Indoor Champs.  One of these days I'm just gonna have a lazy weekend with nothing to do.  

The weather seems really good today!

1.00pm - I pick up Richard (The Ageing Archer) and set off on another road-trip.  We both seem in good spirits for this one.  The ghosts of Telford are long behind us.

 2.30pm - Where on earth is the venue?  We've arrived at the location according to SATNAV but all we can see are BP buildings.  Where are we?  Richard get out google Maps and fine tunes the directions.

2.35pm - We've arrived!  Though it's not quite what we're expecting.  Are we in the right place?  We're in a car park ... a flooded car park. Let's just park up and get indoors.

2.36pm - We spot a man with an archery bag!  Yup, this is the right place.

Next we spot a lot of people in purple shirts.  They look like they mean business.  They're busy taking photos whilst me and Richard set up.  I wonder who they are.  No time for that now.  These bows aren't gonna put themselves together on their own.

2.45pm - I bump into a staff member from Telford.  He remembers me.  He's a judge today.  Archery definitely gets you to meet new people and makes new friends.  It's not just about the arrows.  

We also meet an archer from CMO Bowmen.  It's a club me and Richard have been looking at.  He recommends it to us and re-confirms they have a shortage of recurve archers.  I think we're gonna have to take a closer look at them.  He also tries to win the biggest belt competition.  He has a US army water canteen and what looks like a radio pouch on a 3 inch leather belt along with various carabiners and archery goodies.  It's a good attempt but no chance buddy.  You're gonna need more than that to beat ma padded molle combat belt.  Better luck next time.

5.15pm - The session begins.  We're getting through our ends at a very fast rate.  Should be done in about 2 hours.

I hear murmurs about my 'Freedom' stance.  Hehe, 

Again the first 30 arrows go without a hitch.  It's looking good.  But just like Telford it begins to drop in the second half.  Fatigue sets in and I start hitting a few 7's and 8's.  When I get back to 2020 I'm gonna have to take a look at that.

My final score is 541!  That's not too bad.  I had hoped to get above 550 as my PB is 548.  Maybe next week.

5.30pm - Raffle time.  The organisers have laid on a raffle.  It's always good to support raffles at competitions.  The money raised either goes to the club to help fund new equipment or helps to lower shooting fees.  I manage to win 4 of the 6 prizes.  Oops.

5.55pm - Homeward bound.  Another weekend another competition done.  

Oh I found out who the purple shirts were - University of London.  Even though they all have the gear, only one of them looks like they know what they are doing (he's a really good shoot too!).  The purple shirt next to me mistook my arrows with his own when scoring.  He also managed to destroy 2 Easton Jazz arrows.

All this competition practice is proving useful. 

Next one is in 7 days!