NEWS FROM 2005

BoA Christmas Party 18th December 2005
We were pleased to be joined by two stalwarts of Panda Bowmen at our christmas party where they joined over 25 of our members in the festivities which included team darts and novelty faces. Winners and losers were rewarded alike by a fantastic spread of food.  

Aire Valley Christmas Cracker 11th December 2005
BoA swooped on the Chrismas Cracker. Fifteen members took part one wearing a novelty hat for the crazy hat competition and others sporting their new green, bright red or bright blue club tops. This was enough to dazzle most of the competitiors which allowed the club to sweep up SEVEN medals more than doubling the tally of medals won this season.

Medal winners in order of seniority were- David O'Carroll [1st longbow], Lis O'Carroll [1st longbow], Andy Arnold [3rd compound], Matthew Arnold [1st u18 compound], Helena Beeson [1st u16], Jonathan Hill [2nd u14], Tim Arnold [1st u12]. The recurve team, which came third were made up of Alastair Cameron,Tim Arnold, Peter Thurlow and Nick Beeson. Also shooting were David Aikin,Richard Clarkson,Robert Finch, Mark Lynch and Amrik Manku. Full scores available on the Aire Valley Archers website.

Dozen archers brave elements for the Icicle 10th December
The recurve archers were in short supply to shoot the frostbite but the longbowmen abandoned their sticks to save the day; still a dozen members turned up to shoot on a cold but sunny morning with a hint of a breeze to take them by surprise. Top three were David O'Carroll (275), John Armitage (270) and Nick Beeson (267). Helena won the Iciclette.

Panda Clout Experience 17th September 2005

Bowmen of Adel archers were outnumbered by Panda archers who put on an impromptu competition for the visitors. Clearly their begiiners are far more adventurous than our own and far more determined to enjoy themselves.

A fine noon start with a coffee break mid-clout meant that we had an enjoyable afternoon and three more BoA members are now qualified to shoot at clout competitions.

Bowmen of Adel Open Competition 4th September 2005
The Open was a huge success this year with over FIFTY archers taking part and all events contested. This more than made up for last year's cancellation.

Although we had a misty start the weather soon picked up and sweatshirts were being stripped off after two dozen arrows. Many thanks to John and David who judged the event and Jackie (nee Abbott) who returned to her old shooting grounds to be a very able Lady Paramount.

Pomfret 60 3rd September 2005
The Pomfret 60 once again attracted BoA longbow archers for the annual bash in Pontefract Castle. The event consists of two rounds of 60 arrows at 60 yards as well as a speed shoot,a wand shoot and a poachers arrow.

Bruce Knights shot an excellent 471-101 hits-9 golds to come 6th and David O'Carroll came 7th with 437-78-12. Lis O'Carroll came 10th in the Ladies with 243-60-4. David Hood came 20th and Phil Scarfe brought up the rear in 34th place. Well done to them all!

Club Champs 29th August 2005
The club championships were once again held on Bank Holiday Monday and it was a shame that so many couldn't make it. The weather was poor to start with and some had even brought their waterproofs. This seemed enough to bring out the sun and by the end of the first six dozen it was a very pleasant day for a barbecue. Thanks to the cooks David, Helena and Jamie who wrestled the sausages from the flames before they went black.

The men's recurve York was closely contested- Alastair Cameron winning with 543 and Glynn Jones and Peter Thurlow only being separated by two ponts. David O'Carroll narrowly missed a first class score for longbow with 301 (a pb) and Helena Beeson scored 858 for a Junior Bristol which included a near perfect gold. Lis O'Carroll retained the Ladies' longbow trophy and wrestled the worst white wooden spoon from Helena who had kept it for three years' running. Phyl Abbott retained the Ladies' recurve. Most welcome was the participation of some of our newest members of whom Richard Biernacki won the newcomers cup. Jonathan Hill and Catherine Vernon both improved their handicaps- well done!

YAA Longbow Tournament 13th August 2005
The BoA longbow team successfully defended the team trophy on a very dismal and wet Saturday. Everyone was struggling to get their arrows on the target and the deceptive Panda ground defeated many.

The successful team was made up of David Aikin amd Lis & David O'Carroll. Lis also won the medal and trophy for most golds in the double National round and David O'C won the medal and trophy for most golds in the York round.

The final results were tight with Lis winning the ladies medal for most hits (58-1-198)and David O'C the third medal for most golds gentlemen (87-11-431) and £3.50p in the Gold Sweep for 5 arrows in the inner gold.

European Junior Cup 2005 13-15 July
Matthew Arnold came a very creditable second in the Cadet Boys Compound in the European Junior Cup held from the 13th-16th July in Cles, Trentino, Italy- Dolomites to you and me. He was beaten 144 to 111 by Mikkel Norgaard of Denmark

Full results and pictures of the competition can be found on the web site.

Helena Beeson was never going to be in the race for medals, up against internationals two years older than her, but shot PBs on both days, with handicap ratings at her best ever level. As usual, her most obvious contribution was making the judges less nervous, plying them with Jelly Babies, and generally putting them at their ease. Which they did all appreciate.

Not to forget Sue and Rosalind, who were both volunteered as score runners, a job they carried out with swift efficiency, gaining the respect of both archers and, more difficult, the scores tent.

Independence Shoot 6th July 2005
There were ten stalwart members who turned out on a dismal evening to play head to head darts with beginners bows one of which has seen better days and was shooting to the left or was it just all over the place. The shooting was soon over and we got down to the real business of the evening, the barbeque. That is, once it had been taken out of its flat pack and put together. Estimates of six hours for completion prooved very pessimistic and the food was soon merrily burning.Thanks to Lis for organising and all those who turned up and enjoyed themselves. 

St.George's Archery Club Open

It was disappointing that only four BoA members made it up to Harrogate to take part in our closest neighbouring club's open competition- and we wonder why our competition is badly attended. Despite the dire weather warnings there was a full turnout. The key to survival was constant intake of fluids. This did the trick for David O'Carroll who won the gents longbow with a pb and Lis O'Carroll who came third in the Ladies longbow. The longbow team Lis and David O'C and David Aikin were close runners up to Bronte.

YAA Championships

The Bowmen of Adel were represented in compound, recurve and longbow by the Arnold, Beeson and O'Carroll families on Sunday 5th June for the York, Hereford and Bristol rounds and by the Arnolds on the day before for the FITA rounds. Best results were in the Junior Compound- which Matt Arnold won and Gents Longbow which David O'Carroll was nudged into second place by the current county champion having chased his scores throughout the day. Both Lis and David won gold medals in the Civil Service regional tournament which was held as part of the YAA event.

The Nock

The annual Nock handicap competition was held on the Whitsun Bank Holiday. It is rumoured that some members were practising the day before.

The weather was favourable and we all enjoyed shooting Western rounds. After the first distance we broke for sizzling sausages from the world renown butchers of Ilkley. Thanks to Lis for organising with help from Nick and the Arnold family. Ros arrived after the second sessions had started having walked the 14.2 miles from home in Ilkley.

The winner of the Gold Nock was Robert Finch.

BLBS Welsh Meeting