AC Delco 2009 Easter FITA

Simon Beach, William Martin and myself started off the Outdoor Season shooting a full Gents FITA at the AC Delco ground in Eastleigh. Sighters at 9:30AM meant an early start and as we travelled West the wetter it become. Shooting up until lunch was hampered by wet weather gear and we had a changeable side wind to contend with throughout the day. Within the Gents FITA were a number of Hampshire archers capable of 1200 points. On the day Dave Ferguson won the Gents FITA with a score of 1211, falling short of his County record of 1285 at the UK Masters in 2007.

This was Simon's first outdoor tournament and taking on a full Gents FITA was a brave challenge for someone who has been shooting for only 6 months. To add to the challenge, he had borrowed a set of carbons to achieve a 90m sight mark the afternoon before. Despite the poor weather and poorly adjusted arrows he racked up a score of 770, exceeding a 2nd Class Bowman score of 716. Simon was presented with the Lady Paramount for his sterling effort.

William was shooting 30m over his Metric II distance in his first full distance Gents tournament. He was not shooting his best and the high winds and wet weather made the 90m even more difficult. William still amazed fellow archers by consuming quantities of cakes and glucose drinks which would have given a buffalo a headache. Furthermore his sugar supply was later supplemented by the box of chocolates he won in the raffle and the Easter Egg prize for his U16 score. William ended the day with a respectable score of 924 smashing a Junior Bowman score of 774.

With the strong shifting side winds across the centre of the field I found I had to adjust my aim at every end. It became apparent that although I can cope with an indoor round I still don't have the necessary stamina to comfortably shoot as 12 dozen round. Struggling to pull through the clicker at the last distance I too had to succumb to the AC Delco cakes to finish the round. I ended the day with a score of 1033, falling 27 points short of a Bowman score.

Our scores on the day: -
Richard Cobden 140 hits, 4 X's, 9 Golds, 1033 scored
William Martin 131 hits, 7 X's, 19 Golds, 924 scored
Simon Beach 125 hits, 0 X's, 6 Golds, 770 scored