27 December - Ironman
Thanks to all who took part in the annual Iron Man contest at Gordano on the 27th. Within the club, the results were:
Senior gents Paul Maines (712)
Senior ladies Nicky Solomon (576)
U16 ladies Chessie Crook (286)
Longbow Tim Mustin-Twells (128)
20 December - Christmas Fun Shoot
On Sunday we had a Xmas fun shoot organised by Tim, in which archers took part in barebow 'archery darts' and our first ever attempt at clout shooting! There were several different contests; first the individual challenge (combined scores of 2doz at 30y, 2doz at 20y with a dartboard face), the team challenge (combined scores of a team of 2, the winner being the first to reach a score of 501 or the highest score over 501) and the clout shoot.
Individual challenge 1st place Karl Day, 2nd place Nicky Solomon, 3rd place Mike Solomon
Team challenge #1 Tim Mustin-Twells & Mike Solomon
Team challenge #2 Paul Maines & Nicky Solomon
Clout Steve Harper
15 November - Somerset County Junior Indoor Championships
On Sunday 15th a team of 3 GVA juniors travelled down to Crewkerne with coaches Paul and Purdy to compete in the Somerset Indoor Championships. This is only the 2nd competition Gordano Valley Archers have competed in as a club. The winners were as follows:
Emily Taylor: Ladies U18 Recurve Champion, and also Ladies Recurve Champion
Chessie Crook: Ladies U16 Recurve Champion, and also recieved Lady Paramount's prize
Callum Day: Lady Paramount's prize
In addition to these 3 gold medals, GVA came second for the team trophy which is awarded to the highest scoring team, using the combined scores of the top 3 archers to determine the winner. Well done to the team and thank you to the coaches for their support. There are photos from the event in the gallery (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE - We apologise for any inconveniance)
Although our club has only competed in 2 competitions as a team - Somerset Interclub Championships, Somerset Junior Indoor Championships - we have quickly picked up an impressive number of awards. These are: 7 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze meal, 1 team trophy, 3 additional prizes (best gold, Lady Paramount's prizes). This is definately something to be proud of! So well done Gordano archers, keep it up.
25 August 2009 - Azincourt shoot (St Crispin's Day)
October 25th is the actual date of the battle of Agincourt so we tried something a little different. In the absence of willing volunteers to dress up in armour and be shot, we decided on two different set-ups.
The first shoot involved shooting at a mounted knight and some family shields set at 30 metres. Points were scored for different colours on the knight and horse, and also for the different shields.
The second shoot was a field style event with targets set up at random distances and animal target faces to shoot at. Scoring depended on the part of the animal you hit. We did this in a round-robin style, eventually shooting at each of the 7 targets three times. I think everyone agreed that it was a fun but challenging shoot - especially as the discipline was barebow, which many were unfamiliar with.
Winners:
Juniors: 1st Ethan Mustin-Twells
Ladies: 1st Nicky Solomon, 2nd Chessie Crook, 3rd Emily Taylor
Gents: 1st Nick Purdy, 2nd Paul Maines, 3rd Mike Solomon
Well done to all who shot and braved the persistant wind, and a huge thanks goes to Tim Mustin-Twells for organising the event. We hope to be able to run this compeition on an annual basis.
Photos from the event are now viewable on the website gallery. (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE - We apologise for any inconveniance)
13th September 2009 - Club Championships
A total of 23 GVA archers competed in this year's club championship shoot; 12 senior gents, 2 senior ladies, 5 junior gents and 2 junior ladies. It was a fun day full of competitive shooting, with rounds of York, Hereford, Bristol 2 - Bristol 5 (Burntwood), and disciplines of freestyle recurve, barebow recurve and longbow.
The winners of the day were:
Mark Renouf - Overall Club Champion (Gents) and Senior Gents champion
Tim Mustin-Twells - Longbow Senior Gents Champion
Becky Day - Overall Club Champion (Ladies) and Senior Ladies Champion
Emily Taylor - Junior Ladies Champion
Chris Maines - Junior Gents Champion
Ethan Mustin-Twell - Burntwood Champion
To see the full results, click here
6th September - Somerset Interclub Championships
On September 6th a team of 16 Gordano Valley Archers members travelled to Danesfield to compete in the Somerset Interclub competition. Although many archers went just for the experiance of shooting in a different atmosphere, we actually walked away with a significant number of prizes - some of which were a total surprise to the archer! Our members managed to compete in 3 of the 4 disciplines - recurve, longbow, barebow.
There were a number of individual medals won and I would like to congratulate the following:
Mark Renouf - Senior Gents Recurve Champion
Robert Sapsford - Senior Gents Barebow Champion
Nicky Solomon - Senior Ladies - Bronze
Emily Taylor - Junior Girls FITA Recurve - Silver
Chessie Crook - Junior Ladies Short FITA Champion
Ethan Mustin-Twell - Junior Tiny FITA Barebow Champion
Nicky Solomon - Best Gold for Senior Ladies
Callum Day - Worst White for Junior Boys
Mark Renouf, Paul Maines, Nicky Solomon - Team Trophy
6 July 2009 - Club knockout championship
The inaugural knockout challenge was successfully contested on Sunday 21st June. 18 archers started the event, all shooting an Olympic round and all being given handicaps. In the first round, 9 archers were beaten and then contested the plate trophy, the winners contesting the shield. A series of rounds followed some closely and keenly contested (especially where parents were against their offspring or even siblings). Maybe some mind games were played at this point! In the end, both the Shield and Plate were won, the following being the order of merit:
Waterloo Plate: 1st Ethan Mustin-Twells, 2nd Chris Maines, 3rd Kris Robins
Waterloo Shield: 1st Steve Harper, 2nd Callum Day, 3rd Becky Day
3 of the 6 medallists were all from our junior sections, so well done there. Only one senior member made it to the semis of the plate before losing the 3rd/4th playoff. So, a really big well done to all those who ended in a medal position, it seems some of us "seniors" need to practice more, but shows the strength of our intermediate and junior sections.
The winner of the Shield, Steve Harper had never shot at 70m before and was expecting an early exit. However, he went on to win (by 2 points) in the final. So much for his negative thoughts at the start! Anyway, a fantastic effort - well done.
Callum (again one of our junior members), who just lost the finals for the plate, got to the finals for the shield by beating his mum, Becky. Not sure that was a good idea, but guess he has now got the bragging rights in the Day household, especially as he hammered his brother in the first round as well. Only his dad escaped him… well, it was Fathers’ day!
The winner of the Plate (Ethan), one of our youngest members at the age of 7 sent a shiver down the spine of all who had to shoot against him. Having a fairly large handicap tested all who shot against him, though he was beaten once in the first round by courtesy of not getting any golds. Anyway, dropping into the plate, he went on to beat 2 well established archers including Chris in the finals (much to his embarrassment). Again, his dad was also spared meeting him in any rounds (much to his relief). This was also the first time he had used a 20lb bow and did it to great effect. Could be one to watch!
Again, a big well done to our Kiwi archer Kris. She has now managed to get her 3rd class and the bronze medal before leaving us to head back home in the next few weeks. You'll be sadly missed, but at least you have something to take back and claim bragging rights over Sean.
Finally, thanks to all who took part and organised it, because without your participation it would not be much fun.
July
Dates for your diary:
1) Sunday June 21st - Club knockout championship.
This will consist of shooting an Olympic dozen at ranges based on age. All senior men will shoot 70m, all ladies 50, juniors 30 or 20m. A handicap system will be in place on the day. All those knocked out in the first round will go on to challenge for the knockout plate. Further details will be advised on the day.
2) Sunday 5th July - American with BBQ.
Weather permitting it is planned to shoot an American round. This is 2.5 doz at 60/50/40 yards, so all seniors will be able to compete. Juniors will do 40/30/20 or 30/20/10 age dependent. We have not shot this round as a club before so it is a chance to set some records and get bragging rights :-)
In a rash moment of bonhomie during the club initial shoot, our chairman, Paul Maines, said that the first adult to take out the 'x' at 60 or 50 yards would win a bottle of champagne. Mike Solomon has now taken this record and earned his bottle of champagne, so well done Mike!
1 January 2008 - Club Championship
On 1st January 2008 we finally managed to hold our club championship. Thankfully the weather was good (although colder than is comfortable for some of us!) and we had an impressive turn out. After a good day of competative shooting, the champions were as follows:
Julian Kearsley (senior gents), Nicky Solomon (senior ladies), Chris Maines (gents U18), Charles Rigby (Burntwood round), Paul Maines (best unadjusted score).
We were unable to compete in the Junior Ladies category as only one competitor was present. A huge thank you to all who made this contest possible, in particular Paul Maines, our chairman and coach, and Dave Nicholson, who is also a coach. Many thanks also go to all who participated, supported, watched or helped organise the event, it really was an enjoyable day!
6 August 2006 - Club Championship
On 6 August, many of our club members enjoyed a sunny day of competitive shooting. The winners were as follows: Gents - Ash Hopkins, Ladies - Ginnene Pegg, Gents U18 - Chris Maines, Ladies U18 - Amy Pegg, Best Unadjusted Score - Max Nicholson, Chairman's Award - Denise Burgess. Thank you to all those who took part and helped organise the shooting and barbeque.
Considerable thanks go to:
Lady Paramount, Sharon Nicholson, who presented the trophies.
Paul Maines and Nick Purdy, who have both work very hard for the club with their continuous support and their excellent coaching.
The conditions were ideal for our first club championship, with bright sunshine, little breeze and plenty of shade available. We have a high proportion of very young members, and their sportsmanship, conduct and observance of etiquette and safety rules was a credit to themselves and the Club. All archers shot recurve bows. The rounds shot were Nationals (6 dozen arrows). However, our very young members, who could not yet manage to shoot 20 yards, shot a Burntwood Junior National instead. Full results (PDF: 35.2 kb).
The shield for Best Unadjusted Score was awarded to Paul Maines, with a score of 461.
The award for the junior member who is most true to the GNAS' motto of 'Union, Trueheart and Courtesie' was presented to eleven-year-old Hannah Porter, who personifies this motto. The winner is decided by the club committee, who were unanimous in their decision. Hannah's impeccable conduct both on and off the shooting line, her willingness to 'dig in', her unfailing cheerfulness and her undoubtedly considerable talent as an archer are a credit to herself, her parents and the club. Well done, Hannah.
Many thanks are due to:
Lady Paramount, Gerry Maines, who presented the trophies and also proved to be a dab-hand with the 'burgers and bangers' at the well-earned barbecue.
Tournament Organiser and Field Captain, Ginnene Pegg, also a wizard with a kebab and chicken-leg, who worked tirelessly throughout the tournament, despite being in considerable discomfort due to awaiting surgery.
Sheena McCullagh and Paul Maines who have worked wonders, coaching and encouraging by example. The club is young both in average age and existence, and a tournament this successful is a tribute to their dedication.
The Head Teacher of Gordano School, Mr Silverthorne, without whose kindness the club could not have formed, let alone staged such a good day.
All members and participants of our beginners' courses were invited to join us on a fun Christmas shoot/party with American supper. We met in the Sports Hall at 2.00 pm prompt because there was basic safety instructions first. Competition - Six trial arrows at a normal target (known as 'sighters') and then six arrows in each of three different 'fun' targets. Every entrant will win a 'medal' and the winners of each category will win a trophy.
Lady Paramount (that's the person who gives out the prizes) - Mrs Gerry Maines.
Party - If there is time after the shoot, we can have a short party, so please bring any CDs or tapes with you, don't leave it to me, or we'll all be doing the Birdie Song (joke)!
Don't forget the food and something to drink. For those who don't know, an American Supper is where each person brings a plate of food which is added to the communal table and everyone digs into everything, so don't all bring turkey sandwiches. You can eat when you are not shooting, so don't have too big a lunch.
Other family members are welcome to come and watch, share the food and maybe even have a go, however, please be aware that younger children need to be supervised at all times for safety reasons. Several experienced archers will be on hand to answer any questions you may have and a spare target will be set up where you can try out different types of bow.
A good chance to try out that new equipment that Santa brought you!