Newsletter - National Field Archery Society

Ladies
Frances Versluys Belvedere 456
Morwenna Dunstan Westcombe 454
Anita Gibson Arms Of Old 342
U12 Boys
Hector Dunstan Westcombe 604
LONGBOW
Gents
Kim Manuel Ind 546
Steve Bastyan Lamberts Castle 458
Mike Winter South Wilts 456
Ladies
Juliette Harrison Toad Hollow 446
Gill Winter South Wilts 302
Jo Manuel Ind 254
PRIMITIVE
Gents
Richard Hornsby Westcombe 454
Norman Tucker Cranmore 420
Steve Devlin High Cross 410
Ladies
Brenda Boulton Toad Hollow 398
U12 Boys
Christopher Brown Buzzard Bowmen 390
CROSSBOW
Gents
Paul Marshall Bicton 724
James Rigler Ind 706
Ian Boulton Toad Hollow 688
Ladies
Kay Marshall Bicton 516
Tea Tent Tale - The New Boy
by Alex Tyler
MY GROUP was stopping for lunch at the champs. Behind me, Mike called out and waved across the clearing to
where another group was just heading out to start the next circuit.
“That was my lad. His first champs…” I didn’t catch the rest, but you could hear the pride.
I’d not met Mike before, but I certainly heard all about his son as we shot the second half. Like the first time
he touched a bow, aged three. Mike had been in his garage and the kid had come wandering in, heading straight
for the bow in the press. Thinking about little fingers getting caught in cams and a sticky face poking into the
sight, Mike said he’d yelled so loudly his son cried. To make it up, Mike had bought the kid a bow of his own,
bright green plastic, with three yellow sucker arrows. This time, it was Mike’s wife that yelled and the pair of
them were bundled into the garden.
Target 25: steep downhill to a standing bear. That started Mike off on another story about his son’s first 3D
shoot, aged five, with his new bow, the same height as him. This was long before orange pegs, so the arrows kept
hitting the ground, but Mike said the kid never gave up and kept trying until, on the last target, he managed to
hit a standing bear. Then came the day’s only tears, because he wanted to take it home.
I was delighted to finish with twenty-four on a sneaky pheasant. After handshakes and thanks, I got my scorecard
back and was pleasantly surprised. I knew I had been having a good day, but with conversation and focusing
on scoring someone else’s cards, I hadn’t thought about my own total. I calculated carefully. Overnight, I had
been in second by eight points (though one of the juniors was nearly fifty points ahead of all of us). This might
be enough. We emerged from the woods back at the tea stop, to start the final walk down the track.
Cards in, boots off and gear back in the car. Mike was having a word with admin, then gave me a wave. A few
people asked me if I’d had a good day, ‘not bad, not bad’. Found out a couple of other scores, and, so far, I’m still
ahead. I can’t stop watching the admin cabin, waiting for someone to emerge with sheets of paper.
Here we go. Third – yes, I’m well ahead of that. Second? What? But that’s me. But who…?
I shook hands with him of course. He’s the same height as me. Turns out Mike had put his son down as a junior
on the entry form because his 16th birthday was only last week and then had to dash to admin to change it. He’d
been shooting red pegs for two years apparently. Still, I’ll get him next year, because by then he’ll have discovered
girls!
Alex Tyler
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