It has been an interesting week! Saturday was the Nonsuch Bowmen new members' day, where everyone shot at shorter distances so that the newer members have a chance to shoot with some of the older hands. This year, the club decided to seek sponsorship for the event in aid of the charity SeeAbility, who provide residential care for the daughter of two of our club members. The round for the day was a Short National, plus shorter distances. I was very happy to shoot a score of 417, which qualified me for my Third Class badge. Following the shoot we had a barbecue, with yours truly on burger-flipping duty and new and old members getting to know each-other. The latest count indicates that we have raised over £1000 for SeeAbility.
Tuesday started badly, but not as bad as it could have been. Shortly after dropping my daughter off at school for a GCSE exam, I had a collision with another car with the result that my car was a write-off. On the positive side nobody was injured, but I felt quite shaken. I was in two minds whether to shoot on Tuesday evening, but Mrs EA persuaded me that it would take my mind off things. The round was a Short Metric, which I find quite challenging, being 50m on an 80cm face, but I was glad I turned up as I was awarded my Third Class badge. We made it a family affair with EA jnr being awarded his First Class badge, and Mrs EA her Six Gold End badge. I struggled through the round, not enjoying it very much, but when when it came to looking at my total, I found that I had bettered my PB for the round by 40 points and shot below handicap. Strange how your mind can trick you sometimes!
Wednesday was a bit of an adventure for me. I had booked a day off work to shoot in the Take-a-Break competition, organised by Guildford Archery Club, and my first experience of shooting away from my home ground. My round was a Windsor and, being a shorter distance, was not eligible for any of the day's main prizes, but I was there mainly for fun and not for glory. There were another three gents shooting the same round. The club was well represented and Mrs EA was shooting at an eligible distance. It was nice to shoot with archers from other clubs, and discover the minor differences in things like calling scores and club organisation. At the end of the day I scored just below a third class score and just below handicap, which was fine considering the stiff wind and rain later in the day. The whole day was thoroughly enjoyable and it was an experience shooting with around sixty other archers of all abilities and I was to find out later that I had the best score for the gents Windsor, so can be doubly pleased.
Next weekend I plan to 'wind-in' the limbs on my bow to increase the poundage. I have been shooting the bow with the limbs set to minimum poundage since I first put them on and now that I have achieved my Third Class badge, I feel it is time to make some minor changes. My arrows were chosen with a spine at the stiffer end of the range to allow me to move up in poundage, so I am hoping that going heavier will have a positive effect on their flight. I would also like to start progressing toward longer distances, so gradually moving up in draw weight should help towards this goal.
Sunday is a non-shooting day for me, but I will be supporting from behind the line when Mrs EA and EA jnr take part in a friendly, local inter-club competition. The event will be tinged with a little sadness, though, as one of the coaches at the host club lost his life in a car accident last week. He was well known to many local archers and will be sadly missed.
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