The Bowmen of Adel-2007 News

Ironman - Saturday 29 December 2007

Bob, Chris, Guy, Nick and Helena arrived nice and early to set up for the Yorkshire leg of the AIUK Ironman Frostbite. Jobs to do - set up for 22 archers, gets drinks ready and make soup! By 10.30, people started to arrive, and as the pavilion overflowed, all eyes turned to a very surprised Cedric who had arrived totally unaware of the competition. Wind swept targets retrieved and sighters done, we shot from 11.30 to around 2.30 through howling wind, rain and the odd calm spot. Lunch was a mixture of chilli, soup, home baked bread, Pringles, Jaffa cakes and marshmallow flumps!. Congrats to 'Tiny Trunkles' (JG recurve), 'Little Miss Purple' (SL compound), 'Big Bird' (SL Recurve), 'Medoc' (SG compound), 'Trevor' (SG traditional) and our very own 'Bobcat' (SG recurve) for coming top of their discipline in our leg. Everyone received a certificate from AIUK for taking part. A great day was had by all and thanks to Bob for organising everything.

The alarm clock went off at 7am as usual- but plenty of time to get up as it was Saturday and lazily I thought there was not much to do. The weather forecast spoke about the "first storms of winter coming in from the Atlantic hitting Scotland in the morning but the rest of the British Isles by the afternoon" - so no rush to get up, just pull the duvet in a bit tighter - "but maybe hitting as far South as Leeds in the mid-morning". Crikey- Leeds in the South? And Blimey, haven't we got a Frostbite? Whe're me waterproofs?

Meanwhile....Bob was snuggling up to the duvet in his hotel room after the firm's dinner the night before. Sara looked at him fondly - at the handsome chistled looks in the soft glimmer of the London morning light. Was he going to race up the M1 to join his fellow club members? Was he eck? There was a cooked breakfast to be had in the hotel restaurant.

Back at Adel the small bunch of newly press-ganged members were wondering whether this was truly the most enjoyable form of archery which the hardened established members - such as Bob, still in his warm bed down South- spoke so fondly of. Innocent queries to the President on his arrival as to whether the shoot was still on was met by the bland statement that "there's no such word as no in frostbite" and "We're all here, so we might as well shoot". Everyone was reassured that everything would be fine if the targets were put out quickly and people didn't hang around. No-one had the gumption to ask what would happen if they did hang around.

So what if the rain was quite cold- 2 degrees above freezing - but at least it wasn't snowing. And yes the target faces did get ripped off by the wind- but don't exagerate it was a breeze hardly worth measuring on the Beaufort scale - they just don't make faces like they used to. And you were allowed to thaw out between each end thanks to the striling efforts of the 2kw fan heater that really belonged on the skip. And then the warming cups of tea and coffee. And then the warming glass of mulled wine.

Thanks to Lis, the scores were transposed onto dry paper and the record will show: Som 36-3-253; DOC 35-1-251; Chris 35-0-233; Nick 36-1-216; Paul 34-0-184; Guy 29-2-154; David A 24-0-116 and Cedric 15-0-89 giving the team a score of 1137

The afternoon session only just finished in time for the AGM which was well attended by new and established members. After the Chairman's address, The President was wheeled on to award the President's award for the member who had done most for the club in the last year. This was the first time anyone had been nominated for this award and it was well deserved for all the hours put in by John Mirfield. The burgeoning group of new archers is a testimate to his coachin. Two members received Second class badges and Chris Furminger was awarded a 550 Portsmouth for a score of 559.

The Treasurer, Richard Clarkson reported that the club was in an healthy financial state.

The committee was re-elected and four new members were squeezed into the two vacancies. We therefore have a very healthy committee and can look forward to some exciting events to celebrate the club's diamond jubilee. The members agreed to strike a commemorative medal and to hold a Club Dinner in October 2008 on the date of the first recorded meeting of the club.

It was agreed that the club colours should be a red top with grey trousers. Red was already one of the three colours that BoA has registered so that club members could wear red tops at events now and in the 2008 outdoor season. Members with blue tops can continue to wear them as well. Pete will be putting an order in for tops soon. Green and White tops will also be available.

The GNAS medal was awarded to Robert Finch and the junior club medal to Helena Beeson. The Toxophilist arrow for most improved beginner from 2006 season went to John Conyers who narrowly beat Stan Corney.

Bob Key won the Silver Box for highest York of the season and David O'Carroll won the highest longbow York, and Lis O'Carroll the highest longbow Hereford medals on a block.

Chris Furminger agreed to become deputy Child Protection Officer to assist the President in this role.

Early birders Bob and DOC were up at the crack of dawn filling up their sarnies and coffee flasks to take part in the NCAS Indoor Championships at Wakefield. Lis was in support but did not shoot and Sara was just pleased to not have Bob under her feet. The only time our BoA reporter was watching Bob he scored a perfect end but as soon as he was no longer under our watchful eye arrows were flung wildly into the nine zone and there are rumours of an 8. The same couldn't be said of DOC who was content to release arrows in the general direction of the target. A near perfect 10 was followed by one into the wall and an eight scored on the next target. His 80 for his first dozen would have assured him of 400 for the round and a chance of victory, but the reality was 56-4-358 (his best for the season) and fourth place. Helena came a creditable 3rd in the under 18s - not bad for someone only three weeks into this age group. Nick got 500- the first since turning 50 and first 500 in a tournament with his new bow; perhaps even his first 500 ever in a tournament.

Saturday 10th November saw a group from Lichfield Archers, Stafford Archers and Wolverhampton Co. of Archers, take to the motorway and head up to Leeds. They spent the whole day wandering round the Armouries, and then headed off to a Chinese Buffet for dinner and the rest of the evening in a bar called The Warehouse.Sunday 11th November, saw them heading up to the grounds of the Bowmen of Adel, arriving just in time to observe the 2 minutes silence.

"What a surprise we got. Firstly we were greeted with the most loveliest group of Archers, not only did they arrange a Short Metric Shoot, but Hannah also added a bit of fun to the shoot by throwing in a few novelty ideas (i.e. most whites), also this was done with 1 Staffordshire Archer shooting with 1 Adel Archer, and we had to make up Funny Team Names.

They really made us feel very welcome. We shot the 3doz @ 50m's, the weather was dry, but cold. Then they had fantastically arranged lunch for us, which was not only excellent, but a real surprise to us. After lunch we finished our 3doz @ 30m's.

The final surprise of the day was that they had amazingly presented medals for all the visiting archers, but also a trophy for the winning team, based on average of all the scores.

To our delight Staffordshire archers won this trophy (which whoops, I accidentally dropped and improved its design). I quickly mended it, as it
was just cosmetic.

So WE all from Staffordshire want to say a HUGE BIG THANK YOU to the Bowmen of Adel."

Bruce. David H & OC and Lis went with Alison in support to the first monthly shoot of the longbow indoor league at Keighley. David H getting a respectable 388. As the league is based on best three results we can discard this month's scores. Full results.

Many thanks to all those who helped with the setting up of the indoor range. Before The speed at which the target stand was rebuilt took our electrician by surprise and shooting had to start in the dark! After

Bob Key was the sole Adel archer in Penrith on a glorious sunny autumn day for the Autumn Nip Double Warwick Round . He came second 12 points behind the winner. Bob reports:

"There was a little mist on the top of Stainmore on the way to the shoot but the day could not have asked for better weather and a wonderful location at the edge of the lake district near Penrith. The shoot its self was small and informal and good to introduce beginners to, one to remember next year. (hopefully the weather is just as good)."

Summer spotted - 21 October 2007
The recent cold weather did not fool a number of Adel archers who put away their winter clothing to shoot in the sunshine on Sunday. The sun also attracted two new members- Rod and Carol- who previously shot at Bronte- welcome to you both.

Archery Interchange Official American Competition
There were results from this competition and Littlest Furface managed to win the Ladies Junior category. Bobcat came second and Furface beat someone. Do we know these people? For more information visit the Archery Interchange website.

The last club stalwarts were to be seen shooting on the last Sunday first at the side of the cricket field in the morning but then having to move the bosses to the archery range in the afternoon to get the longer distances needed for a final attempt at outdoor classifications [don't despair if you haven't achieved the classification you wanted as you can continue shooting outdoors until 31st December!]. If you think there are fewer bosses in the store romm- yest there are as two have gone down to HASSRA for Friday night shooting. Give Lis a ring on 254 6766 if you want to take part.

No news yet from those who went to the AIUK shoot in Lancashire on 29th September. Those who went to Barnsley Longbow Western brought back a silve medal for highest score by a lady- Lis O'Carroll and the Jack & Jill trophy for a couple Lis & David O'Carroll for the fifth year runniing- there is now a permanent mark on the mantleshelf where the trophy resides in between tournaments. This year the prize was closely contested.

Airedale Longbow League- Outdoor match - 22 September 2007
The Adel team was a bit depleted for this end of season match and we had to borrow a member from Aire Valley Archers to make up the team of four. Despite this setback we all had a thouroughly enjoyable shoot.
The league has a webbpage AIREDALE for more details.

Woodworm Shoot and longbow handicap - 10 September 2007
For the second time running David Hood took both the Woodworm (for the postal shoot) and the Woodchip handicap trophy with an adjusted score of 1438.

BoA Open tournament - 2nd September 2007
The 2007 tournament saw the largest turn out for some years despite the looming rain clouds as we walked onto the field. And the weather didn't improve until the shooting was all over.

Marjorie Fox, an Ilkley resident, who turned 100 in May presided over the prize giving as our Lady Paramount. She took up archery in the 1960s and became a proud Bowman of Adel for ten years and was Chairman for a while.

The Recurve Team trophy was retained by Scarborough, the Longbow Team prize went to Bronte, and the Compound Team competition was won by Barnsley. Jack and Jill and Family trophies went to the Baker family of Aire Valley. Tracey McGowan of Bronte took the coveted Perris quiver (for best gold), while Mick Isaac of Panda retained the “Helping Hand” for Worst White.

For the full results please click on the results page.

Woodchip and Sundial Shoot-19th June 2007
Not a good turn out (only 6) for a breezy but otherwise pleasant evening for a handicap shoot. Shooting to handicap was not sufficient and DOC took the Woodchip with 1443, shooting a Long National and John Conyers the Sundial with 1474, shooting a National.

St. Georges AC Open-17th June 2007
The longbow team travelled up to Harrogate with the intention

of retaining the trophy they had secured last year. But after a hard afternoon's shoot they were pipped to the post by the team from Aire Valley seeking revenge on their humiliating defeat in the Airedale trophy over the winter (see Summer edition of Archery UK). After struggling most of the shoot, David O'Carroll David Hood

found his form in the last dozen but this was only good enough to secure him second place and the award for most hits a new trophy carved by one of the members of St.Georges AC.

David checking that his feet were still attached after a day's shooting.

Representing the club in Compound we had Andy Arnold (who now holds a national FITA record) and in Recurve Bob Key.

Woodworm Shoot-12th June 2007
The first shoot out for the Woodworm longbow trophy was held on Tuesday shooting a National round and was won by David O'Carroll with a score of 61-6-287. The Woodchip handicap trophy went to David Hood with an adjusted score of 1439.

Lis with the Woodworm trophy

The club had one of its lowest entries for many years. Medals were confined to the juniors. Helena scraped through to get her Rose award despite an injured wrist- well done! See YAA web site for results.

The teams have a different make up this month as DOC was meandering up in Durham and Nick's scores took a dive as he left early for taxi duties. Still, the scores were not to be sniffed at and we await the results of the opposing teams.The BoA results were:

Nine members braved the weather to shoot for the coverted Nocks. After setting out the targets we had to beat a retreat to the pavillion for a warming cup of tea as we tried to find a culprit for bringing the rain to Adel. Only one members had brought his tent and was wearing wet weather outwear. Before the guilty party could be determined the rain abated and a certain brightness appeared in the sky. We all trouped out back up to the shooting line to face quirky winds and sprays of rain which tested the skills and patience of the nine slightly damp archers.

The end result was a win for David Aikin taking the Golden Nock with 1400, followed by Stan Corney (1393) and Alastair Cameron (1386) who took the silver and bronze Nocks. James Devlin won the prize for best score by an archer without an handicap.

A front page article in the Ilkley Gazette this week reports on Marjorie Fox, an Ilkley resident, who has just turned 100. “When her youngest son flew the nest she took up archery and became a proud Bowman of Adel for ten years”.

The turn out was disappointing for the first postal shoot and we just had enough to meet our commitment of two teams. The evening started in sunshine but the shoot ended in gloom as the sun dipped behind the trees and the cold air kicked in. The final results were:

A team

Bob Key     72-594-17
David O'C    67-450-5
Nick      63-403-8
Team Total        1447
Team Predicted score 1280 (against Rutland B)

B team

Tony Hall 56-309-2
Helena B 54-304-1
John Conyers 57-272-1
Team Total 885
Team predicted total 1195 (against Llantarnam Juniors)

Jonathan Hill also shot 53-271-1

The longbow teams will shoot next week in the new competition. A National round for these more traditional archers. The longbow teams predicted scores are: 550 and 435

The first proper Sunday afternoon got off to a swift start at 2pm sharp as the field was cleared by junior football. Some archers lingered expectantly by the footballers' barbeque but eventually they joined the band of nine members shooting between 30 and 60 yards. Only two scored rounds were shot, the rest being content to practice on their first outing.Thanks to David Aikin who made tea for the traditional club tea break.
Target Captain: Leo Topp.

The Royal Armouries Golden Arrow was won by Julia Madelin (from Woking) which is a hat trick for lady archers as for the first three years of the tournament the magnificent trophy has evaded the grasp of gentlemen archers. Full story on the tournament pages.

Panda Bowmen held their 17th longbow tournament at Adel. Panda have thanked Adel and all its members for hosting the competition whilst their ground is being revived. We were in luck with the weather and everyone had an enjoyable time. The following BoA archers took part:

        C Abbott       23-75-1
        D Aikin        62-276-4
        D Hood          63-236-5
        B Knights     38-148-4
        D O'Carroll     69-317-2

Club Indoor Championships -18th March 2007

Eighteen members of the club contested the Indoor Championships on March 18th, shooting a Portsmouth round in two sessions. There was a tricky wind blowing in from the doors at the back of the hall, which accounts for the low scoring. There were three incidents of equipment failure: one string on upside down (KT); one limbs on upside down (LT); one exploding sight (JH).

The results were as follows:-

                    Score    Handicap Score (position)
Junior Boys recurve
Jonathan Hill    426    1450(1)
Leo Topp        328     1388(3)
James Devlin    311    1440(2)

Gents recurve
John Armitage    504    1406
Robert Finch    467    1417
Keith Topp    465    1445(2)
David Aikin    464    1444(3)
Glynn Jones 442    1392
Harry Daniel 411    1378
Cedric Abbott    227    1363
Nick Beeson   Retd

Gents longbow
Bruce Knight    409    1417
Geoff Gaunt    387    1447(1)
David O’Carroll   384    1351
David Hood    358    1382

Competition was always civilised, with Bruce cheering every time Geoff’s arrows pierced the gold, and their contest was not decided until the last dozen. Other contests were less close. It was as well that John retained his title, as he had only found the glass stopper of the trophy to return. Sadly, the Bracken Chalice appears to have suffered from the elements, as a green blemish has appeared on it, resistant to Brasso, that, in a good light, could be mistaken for Geoff’s face. Six archers shared a sumptuous feast of Hot Cross buns, pizza and crisps.

Airedale Longbow League Finals- 11th March 2007

The grand finale of the league was held as usual at Aire Valley Archers. Everybody arrived on time signifying this was something special. Everyone had the chance to improve on their previous scores and their overall position in the league as only the best scores counted and poorer scores could be discarded.

Bowmen of Adel had secured an unassailable position in the team event despite having missed the February match when only two archers made up the team - but with the discard rule this did not affect their position. The individual competition for men was a different matter with at least five contenders and for the ladies a fight for second and third places was on the cards.

The archers chose their targets at random and it was clear from the start that matters were being taken seriously as the inner ten was penetrated during sighters. Longbow being what it is, there where whoops of joy followed by dark mutterings of grief as targets were inspected and scores recorded. Even though scores for each dozen were recorded on the results board and it was clear that Robert Powell and David Hood were challenging each other for the honours of the day, it needed a computer to work out who would be the outright winner of the league and with a press of a key the computer revealed that two points separated the top three scorers with the tie for second and third place being decided by the score on the final day.
Full results on the results page.

The shoot suddenly became a bit more earnest as Jonathon started to whack his arrows around the yellow spot far too often for the comfort of more established archers. The tea break enabled equilibrium to be re-established and his final score of 450 does not do justice to the scare he gave his elders. John Armitage and David O'C had a private competition which ended 518-516 in DOC's favour....had there just been one more end the positions would have been reversed.

Indoor Tournament 7th January 2007
The Bowmen of Adel Indoor Open Tournament took place on January 7th at Quarry House, in conjunction with the HASSRA Leeds Archery Club. For the first time, both sessions were fully booked (though some archers did not shoot). This caused some consternation among compound archers, who, despite using triple faces, managed to damage arrows from the start. Our Field Captains, David Aikin and Cedric Abbott, juggled target faces around, and peace was restored. Under the watchful eye of Helena Beeson, the organiser, with help from Bob Key (and Sara), Phyl Abbott, Alastair Cameron, Lis and David O'Carroll, and Robert Finch, the competitors all seemed to enjoy themselves. The raffle, which wound up the day, had a huge supply of prizes, with something for everyone.Nick Beeson just about coped with the scoring. Our Lord Patron was Mick Winsett, of Dearne Valley, who impressed everyone with his transformation in the afternoon.
One of the Raffle prizes was a free entry to our outdoor tournament in September - so that has to go ahead now! See you there.