A small but select group of archers turned out at Onchan to take part in the last Sunday shoot before the Christmas break. The round of the day was a WA18 triple face shot as part of the Club’s Handicap League. The scratch scores are adjusted according to an individual archers handicap using a fiendish set of tables which allows all bow types/genders/ages to compete against one another. The tables are such that if an archer shoots exactly to his/her handicap the score will be adjusted to 1440. A score above or below 1440 gives the archer some indication of how well or poorly they are shooting.  The Juniors and beginners were allowed to shoot on a single face target which scores from 10 down to 1, whilst the triple face only scores as far down as the 6. It is the round least favoured by archers.

As far as the scratch scores went in the Gents Compound Rhys Moore again recorded the highest total but had to settle for joint second place after the handicap was applied. Joy Gough put in another consistent score but finished in ninth place after handicapping. Joy found some consolation in the afternoon session when she broke her own Club Record for the New Bray 1.

The highest Recurve score of the day went to Danny Cowin who put in some superbly high scoring ends but faded a little as the shoot progressed. Barbara Harris started poorly but finished strongly and after handicapping came in joint second. Harris carried on shooting in the afternoon and added 22 points to her pb for the Double WA18 3/spot round which was also a new Club Record.

The story of the day however came from newcomers James and Beth Aldridge who, having recently completed the three rounds needed to acquire a handicap, were shooting the dreaded WA18 round for the first time. Beth tackled the challenge with her usual calm good humour and set a benchmark pb that was good enough for equal second place after the handicap was applied. James Aldridge posted an excellent first time score which saw him take the win by a considerable margin after handicapping. Congratulations to both of them for their commitment and hard work.

Toby Young was the only Junior Gent to turn up on the day. His round was a little uneven and he was some way off his best.

The Indoor Season provides the archers with an opportunity to take part in the Rhubarb Shoot. The Rhubarb came about as a result of a conversation between then club members Alan and Chris Munro and Pete Mumford wherein Alan said a good archer could use a stick of rhubarb as a bow. Chris painted a beautiful watercolour of the said Rhubarb bow and this along with a bowl of rhubarb crumble and custard is the prize for the winner of the Rhubarb Shoot. The shoot comprises a Portsmouth round (largest target face at 20 yards) shot using one of the Club’s fibreglass bows. Everyone is allowed two attempts during the Indoor Season but no practicing is allowed in advance.

On Sunday Dave Moore and Pete Mumford laid down a serious challenge for the trophy, while Rhys Moore provided some comic relief. Rhys hit the safety curtains, the boss and the wrong target a total of 38 times. Of the 22 times his arrows found their way onto his own target they mostly hit 3’s and 4’s which is the black area of the target. The Records Officer cheerfully pointed out that that was a good thing since very few people managed to stay in the black over Christmas. Rhys managed a grand total of 101. Unbelievably this is not the worst Rhubarb score he has ever posted. Dave Moore is currently in the lead with a score of 407.

Results WA18 Handicap – 1.J.Aldridge 1493 (60/372/2)pb, 2.B.Aldridge 1436 (29/122/2)pb, =2.B.Harris 1436 (60/502/11), =2.R.Moore 1436 (60/567/28), 5.D.Moore 1432 (60/557/22), 6.D.Cowin 1427 (60/517/12), =6.T.Young 1427 (60/505/10), 8.P.Mumford 1423 (60/551/12), 9.J.Gough 1408 (59/523/6). Double WA18 3/spot B.Harris 119/1011/509NCR,pb. New Bray 1- J.Gough 30/274/5NCR,pb.