Middlesex County Clout Championship, Saturday 3rd November 2007

The usual suspects - Liz Bowyer, Jon Stafford, Graham Brown, Russell French and Rod Brown - trekked north once more last Saturday for the final tassel-status clout shoot of 2007: the Middlesex County Clout Championship. The venue: Grasshoppers Club, Osterley (home to Greenwood Osterley Archers). The mission: more tassels and more Sussex county records to add to recent hauls.

Once again our intrepid band of clouters was blessed with almost perfect weather for the shoot: blue skies, dazzling sun and a moderate wind, although that proved to be variable and occasionally tricky. It also proved to be a good omen.

The full results from the shoot can be found here but, in summary:

• in the Ladies Recurve, Liz Bowyer took first place with a score of 164 and with it the Sussex county Ladies single and double round two way clout records. Her closest rival, Jeanetta McLean of Brent Valley, scored 157, leaving the rest of the field trailing in their wake;

• following up his second place in the National Championships, Graham Brown took first place in the Gents Longbow with a score of 55; and
  

• in the Gents Recurve, a score of 149 was enough to give Jon Stafford second place in the Visitors competition and the Sussex county single and double round two way clout records. In the same section, Russell French (124) was third and Rod Brown (84) sixth.

All in all a very satisfactory conclusion to a successful season for the club's clout archers. Well done to you all!

Plans are in hand for the club's first open clout shoot to be staged in the early Spring of 2008. Anyone wishing to flex their muscles and give clout archery a try before then should contact one of the above archers. On any fine Sunday (and Wednesday and Friday evenings in the summer) you'll find them at the far end of the field.