There was a great turn out for the IoMAC Junior Championships on Sunday, two of whom had never even shot in the Sunday Leagues before. The Championships are shot on a Short Metric round adjusted for distance by age group.

In the U16 category ( Short Metric II - 36 arrows at each of two distances 40 & 30m) the usual suspects: Toby Young, Joseph Reaney and James Hill were joined by James’ older brother and Championship debutante, Blayne.Blayne never really stood a chance but he tried his best and set a benchmark for the future. James was shooting the round for only the second time. He did well not to let the pressure of the situation get to him by adding 10 points to his pb but had to settle for third place. Joseph Reaney, who has had a truncated season due to school/exam commitments, put in a terrific effort and added 36 points to his pb for the round but it Toby Young who took the overall honours. Toby led from start to finish and was never really under any pressure.

The U14’s (Short Metric IV – 20 & 10m) Jacob Brookes, Tilly Ashton and Nathan Kinrade lined up against one another. Nathan Kinrade, who had shot a pb for the round the weekend before, struggled to find any consistency at the furthest distance. He shot much better after the break but had to settle for third place. It was perhaps no surprise that Tilly Ashton, currently on the GB Talent Development Programme, proved to be too strong for her fellow competitors. In spite of carrying a shoulder injury which had caused her to pull out of the second day of shooting at the Junior National Championships at Lilleshall, Tilly put in a fine performance on Sunday. Tilly established a lead of 19 points over Jacob Brookes by the end of the first distance and then cemented the win by dropping only 12 points over the second distance. She added 33 points to her pb for the round to lift the Trophy in style and set a New Club Record into the bargain.

Lucy May Hill was the only entrant in the U12 category and like older brother Blayne it was the first time she had ever been in action on a Sunday. It was great to see her finish the round and we hope to see her in action more often.

Whilst it was really the Juniors’ day, several seniors also put in a round. In the Gents Compound WA1440, Billy Lightfoot put in a season’s best score to push Dave Moore down into third place, but could not touch Rhys Moore’s score of 1339 which was not only a pb but a New Club Record. In the Gents Recurve Danny Cowin shot a poor 90m and an average 70m to allow Carl Moon to go into the afternoon session with a 25 point advantage. This advantage had vanished by the end of the first dozen arrows of the afternoon and Cowin went on to take the win by over 40 points.

Joy Gough, Bronze medallist from the Island Games, thoroughly enjoyed the more relaxed pace of the club shoot. Barbara Harris, who was somewhat handicapped by Billy Lightfoot’s ‘Tales of the Allotment’, managed to stop laughing long enough to record a personal best score for the round.

Colin Moore put in an excellent mornings shoot to take the honours in the Gents Compound Long Metric, with Simon Musgrove in second place just 2 points ahead of Pete Mumford in third.

Recurver David Smith turned up in the afternoon to add 2 points to his pb for the Short Metric (50 & 30m).

Results: IoMAC Junior Championships – U16 1.T.Young 72/545/7/2, 2. J.Reaney 72/518/5/1pb, 3. J.Hill 68/414/4/1pb, 4. B.Hill 54/266/0/0pb. U14 1. T.Ashton 72/653/33/13pb,NCR, 2. J.Brookes 72/620/18/5, 3. N.Kinrade 72/553/6/2. U12 – L-M.Hill 43/170/1/0pb. WA1440 – Gents Compound – 1.R.Moore 144/1339/73/23pb,NCR, 2.B.Lightfoot 144/1296/47/22sb, 3.D.Moore 144/278/48/15. Ladies Compound – J.Gough 144/1259/47/12. Gents Recurve – 1.D.Cowin 140/987/13/4, 2.C.Moon 139/943/10/2. Ladies Recurve – B.Harris 143/1093/13/4pb. Gents Compound Long Metric – 1.C.Moore 72/584/10/5, 2.S.Musgrove 72/567/8/2, 3.P.Mumford 72/565/7/3. Gents Recurve Short Metric – D.Smith 49/255/2/1pb.

Thanks to Denyse and John Hill and Pete Mumford for running and scoring the Junior Championships and congratulations to all who took part.