The IoM Archery Club met on Sunday Morning to shoot a Fita 18 round as part of the Club’s Scratch League. It marked the welcome return of Thomas Bott to the shooting arena.
After a slow start in the Recurve Division, Tony Hartley found his range and cruised to any easy victory. Thomas Bott was his nearest rival but a lack of practice was evident in his erratic scoring. The real fight was for third place between Danny Cowin and Rhys Moore. Danny had the better start of the two and was ten points up on Rhys at the end of the first dozen. Rhys cut the deficit to five points by the end second dozen, only to see Danny open it back up to seven points. Going into the last dozen Cowin still had a five point lead and looked to be home and dry. Unfortunately Danny’s habit of dropping his head toward the bow string and thus altering the draw length, began to take its toll on his accuracy. He put in the worst dozen he had had of the shoot, while Rhys put in the best dozen of his day to take the last place on the podium.
In the Compound Division only two archers elected to shoot the round of the day - Colin Moore and Joy Gough. Both archers shot solidly but were not up to their best.
Dave Moore, Pete Mumford and Billy Lightfoot are involved in a postal competition which required them to shoot a Portsmouth round, which they duly did. Only six points separated the three men, with Dave Moore taking the win.
The afternoon session was given over to the Annual Christmas Fun Shoot. This involved two teams vying for victory in a variety of games which included Black Jack, Connect Four and a Turkey Shoot. Young Toby’s excellent form on the dartboard target face enabled his team to make it round the board (including hitting the outer and the bull) in only 19 arrows. They claimed victory and the chocolate bars that went with it. The arrow balancing round was a close run contest but Sarah Rigby just took the win from Aalin George. The last game of the day was the ever popular Balloon Shoot. The object is to hit the target WITHOUT popping any balloons. Sounds easy but more balloons are added with each round so it becomes progressively more difficult. Barbara Harris claimed the chocolate for that round. A free for all in which everyone tried to shoot as many balloons as possible rounded off an enjoyable afternoon.
Results – Fita 18: Gents Recurve – 1. Tony Hartley 60 515 10, 2. Thomas Bott 60 493 13, 3. Rhys Moore 59 468 6, 4. Danny Cowin 60 448 5, 5. Bod Boland 59 397 3. Gents Compound- Colin Moore 60 536 12. Ladies Compound- Joy Gough 60 548 15. Gents Compound Portsmouth – 1. Dave Moore 60 570 30, 2. Pete Mumford 60 567 30, 3. Billy Lightfoot 60 564 24.
