GBR FIELD SQUAD SELECTION & JUNIOR TARGET SQUAD ASSESSMENT

Congratulations to Lauren who has been invited to attend the Great Britain Field Archery Squad. Training will take place at Lilleshall, Cheshire & Pentref over the coming months. Lauren also recently attended a Junior Target Squad assessment day, where she was 'put through her paces' by head coach Peter Suk. The day was very physically and mentally challenging and as well as discovering she isn't quite as flexible as she could be, Lauren also received a technical assessment, from which she has received some advice on areas she can improve upon.

It was the first anniversary of the infamous "I thought there were three lanes on the m54!" - yes, it was off to Lilleshall for the Junior National Indoor Championships and I don't think Hillary was looking forward to the journey 'ome neither

I was thinking of something to motivate Luke so that we could stay for the presentations so I said get to 570 and we'll stay….. I had the engine running after 3 dozen…..My main aim of the day was to not get caught napping - apparently I fall asleep at tournaments! Any way some good shooting took place by the twelve juniors who made the journey up and the results were as follows:

An excellent runner up in the under 18 boy recurve went to Chris Docker with a score of 574 - a new club record. Luke came 15th with a score of 542.
Under 18 girl- Annie came a creditable 11th with a personal best score of 500.
Under 16 boy recurve - Richard Lomas scored a personal best also with a score of 433.
Under 16 compound - Jake finished 4th scoring 568, Matt was 14th scoring 519.
Under 14 compound - Andrew scored 522.
Despite not fully fit Lauren finished 8th under 16 girls with a score of 532 and Megan not far behind in 11th with a score of 523.
I think the under 14 boys wanted to stick together as they finished 25th, 26th & 27th - Stephen scored 455, Sam scored a personal best 441 and Nick improved his seasons best to 406.

St Kingsmark Bowmen hosted the Gwent indoor champs at Beachley Army camp (under the old Severn Bridge) on Sunday 5 November. A total of 14 archers from Cleve entered, 13 of which were juniors (lets hope to see more seniors there next year!).

Most of our archers shot the morning session and then retreated to the Old Ferry Inn, just down the road where a delicious and very sociable Sunday lunch was enjoyed, followed by a stroll along the riverbank…. Some of you may remember Sue Docker taking a tumble there last year - well this year 'Docker's Drop' is joined by' 'Bunce's Bounce' - Young Master Bunce proved his footie skills aren't quite in the same league as his archery, when on the ferry slipway he tried kicking mud at Miss Hicks, missing the mud and launching only himself into the air - swift thinking saw him break his fall with his hands (thus preventing a mud splattered backside) - only to be chastised by Mrs Bunce as he could have injured his arms! Needless to say, the rest of those present found this just as amusing as last year's entertainment!

As Lauren retired after just 2 dozen arrows, we didn't stay for the awards ceremony. The results format doesn't indicate visitors from Gwent archers, so you'll have to rely on my ability to put the Welsh clubs in their correct counties - apologies if I get any results wrong (all awards are for visiting archers).

Megan Vaughan - 1st Junior Girl (Recurve)
Stephen Hardman - 1st Junior Boy (Barebow)
Andrew Docker - 2nd Junior Boy (Compound)
Matt Griffiths - 3rd Junior Boy (Compound)
Chris Docker - 1st Junior Boy (Recurve)
Luke Jones - 2nd Junior Boy (Recurve)
Jake Bunce - 2nd Gents Compound

Michael & Jonathan Hardman, James Smith, Nick Griffiths and Stephen Pillay completed the contingent from the junior club and although not in the medals on this occasion, shot well and were a credit to the club. Our sole senior representative was Chris Jones who was a very credible 4th shooting his compound bow!

I flew out to Mexico on Friday 13th October to shoot at the World Junior Championships representing Great Britain.

The luggage got lost and we had no clean clothes to wear or equipment. At the unofficial practice on Saturday we got our accreditations and as we could get on to the field, the Head Coach told us to go and stand on the line to shoot imaginary replicas of our bows. We even had to go up and retrieve our arrows from the target. Sunday was the official practice and our luggage had arrived by then!!

We started the qualifying round on the Monday with our long distances. I scored 290 for 70m & 318 for 60m finishing 29th out of 37. Tuesday we finished the Metric 1, with the short distances. I scored 310 for 50m & 335 for 30m, still finishing 29th out of 37. Wednesday was the individual elimination round where there were byes and I had to shoot in the first round where I knocked out seed 36. I went through to the last 32 where I got knocked out by the eventual winner by 3 points. I eventually finished 27th.

We shot Team Eliminations on Thursday where we beat India but then got knocked out by the Australians who shot 232 out of a maximum of 240 - This consisted of 2 dozen arrows being shot by three archers shooting 2 arrows each per end at 60m. Our team finished 5th.

In Mexico I learnt a lot of lessons to improve the way I shoot, this includes concentration levels and the rate and consistency in which I shoot. I had great fun in the hotel & pool when not shooting and in the main town and shops where there was a great atmosphere and everyone got on well. I was pleased with my results as I was nervous and the weather conditions were bad.

Following a triumphant return to this Championship last year, 14 of our juniors travelled to Oxfordshire on 7 October to compete in this team event. Chris, Luke, Megan and Thomas were runners up in the non-schools team trophy - being denied retaining the title by an agonising 2 points! On an individual level, Jake, Megan & Chris came first in their age groups and Andrew, Thomas & Annie came second in theirs. From the photographs it looks like it was a lovely sunny day and feedback from the juniors is that they had a great day!

Well what can one say? Next time take a kite!!? The weather was blooming awful (no rain but blowing a gale). But fair play to all the kiddy winkies for sticking it out until proceedings were brought to a premature end by the judges for safety reasons.

From the moment we got there we knew it was going to be difficult when we laughlingly observed parents trying to put up tents. Shooting commenced nearly on time (a few targets had to be re-positioned as the markings had been measured wrong) and despite the conditions some good scoring was taking place - not that I was paying attention 'cos I was taking cover in the tea tent or the loo, just anywhere to get out of the wind!!

Lunchtime came and us Dads (and a few Mums) grudgingly assembled our bows (except the compound shooters - you can't call that assembling can you? It's already there!) to join in the afternoon session / fun. Fun? Fun? You gotta be kidding. There were arrows going all over the place!! (and some of those weren't due to the wind!) And I think we were all relieved that it was stopped after two and a half dozen, except Gary but I think he was using magnets!

Anyway the scores were pretty much irrelevant but the awards went ahead using the eight and a half dozen scores and Cleve did pretty much okay with the following being county champions:

Luke - Bristol 1 recurve Jake - Bristol 1 compound
Chris - Bristol 2 recurve Megan - Bristol 3 recurve
Andrew - Bristol 3 compound George - Bristol 3 longbow
Stephen Hardman - Bristol 3 barebow Jonathan Hardman - Bristol 4 recurve

Other placings: Annie & Jordan 2nd Michael & Sam - 3rd Joe 1st Jnr National, Stephanie 2nd Short Jnr National

Best gold awards went to Chris recurve and Jake & Andrew tied the compound. Club team award went to Cleve - Megan, Chris & Andrew. County team award went to GAS - Megan, Chris & Andrew.

Finally there was the parent & child award which went to ………wait for it……. No, surely not………yes it was………..surprise, surprise ……….Those totally lucky blighters……….they would be nothing without the magnets…….Jake and Gary!!

The Club End of season Longbow Shoot was held at Up Yonder on Sunday 10th September. The senior archers shoot a Western (4 doz at 60 yards and 4 doz at 50yards); the junior's archers shoot a Short Western (4 doz at 50yards and 4 doz at 40yards.

We had a lovely hot day, much better than the senior end of season shoot the week before and there were about the same number of archers!!!

I think everyone enjoyed themselves, it was noted when everyone had packed up, there were a number of bows and arrows returned to Joe, (am sure he has enough equipment to set up a hire company!!) The results are:

1st Gent Trophy - Joe Rigby 1st Lady Trophy - Hillary Jones 1st Junior Shield - Chris Docker

Best Gold (box of chocolates) - Joe Rigby (This took two ends as the first attempt resulted in no gold's at all, so they all tried again!!)

Most Petticoats (box of chocolates) there were a tie of 5 petticoats; it was decided in the spirit of petticoats the archer with the lowest score won. The winner was Luke Jones.

Thanks to Richard Suter for providing the sherry, orange juice and biscuits before they started shooting.

Congratulations to the Docker family for organising such a fantastic Halloween Shoot! The weather was really kind to us, maybe a little too kind - it did seem a little surreal to see vampires, skeletons, witches and even a pumpkin shooting in glorious sunshine! The mouth-watering aroma wafting from the BBQ (very ably manned by Lesley Smith & Sue Docker) encouraged our archers to maintain a steady shooting pace and in no time at all the 3 dozen arrows were shot!

Prizes were awarded not only to seniors and juniors with the highest scores, but also those with the lowest (half the fun is not knowing what each picture scores until after the shoot!) The raffle proved very popular, particularly with young Master Reed, who thankfully won the longbow arrows that caught his eye - he did after all spend quite a considerable sum on tickets to put the odds in his favour….

The BBQ proved to be as delicious as its aroma promised, as did the mulled wine (Thank you for driving Mr Hicks!) The Halloween Shoot is our final day of shooting before the end of the outdoor season, so many thanks to everyone who helped pack our equipment away for the winter and to those who disposed of the bags of old foam/rubbish for us- a real team effort!

The Club End of season Shoot was held at Up Yonder on Sunday 3rd September. All experienced (!!!) archers shoot an Albion (3 doz at 80yds, 60yds & 50yds) and the novice archers shot Windsors according to what distances they felt comfortable at!! The day started out overcast with dampness in the air and although it didn't actually rain on us, the wind did not stop. It was so tiring, I thought that I had shot a double Hereford !?!?! The BBQ was the first Sue Phillips had done (hope we haven't put her off!!). Anyway there was plenty of lovely huge jumbo sausages and gateaux too, so well done to Sue !!! The results were: -

1st Lady Recurve & 1st Lady Recurve Handicap - Carole Brimfield
1st Lady Compound & 1st Lady Compound Handicap - Denise Bunce
1st Gent Recurve - Michael Holden
1st Gent Recurve Handicap - Andrew Rowe
1st Gent Compound - Gary Bunce
1st Gent Compound Handicap - Rich Suter
1st Overall Handicap - Rich Suter
1st Longbow - Joe Rigby
1st Lady Recurve Novice - Annette Tadman
1st Gent Recurve Novice - Peter Ellis
1st Gent Compound - Tony Lewis

Well done to everyone who attended, the weather forecast wasn't brilliant & it was lovely to see some of the new beginners taking part.

Jake travelled to Prague with the Great Britain Junior Archery Team last month and secured 9th place in the qualification stage. He went out in the 1/8 round, being knocked out by the eventual silver medal winner Segin Denis of Russia.

Jake followed up this solid performance competing in a shoot-off at Lilleshall and successfully earned a place in the Junior World Championships to be held in Mexico in October. Congratulations to Jake for a fantastic start to his International Archery career!

This new tournament took place at AXA's Sports Ground on 30 July and thanks to Gareth Vaughan's excellent organisation skills, went off without a hitch (well no major ones….). Hillary enjoyed the novelty of having electricity and hot running water at her disposal and provided a delicious variety of refreshments!! Chris Griffiths's parents sponsored trophies, as did AXA also sponsored the medals, so many thanks to them and all the parents/members of senior club who helped before and during the day. So how was the archery? For many of our juniors, this was the first opportunity they'd had to shoot this round and he feedback has been that they enjoyed the 9 dozen format, even if the day seemed a bit short (something their parents were grateful for….). Congratulations to all the juniors who took part. Our medal winners were: 1st - Luke Jones, Annie Burns, Chris Docker, Megan Vaughan and Andrew Docker; 2nd - Phil Bowen and 3rd - Emma Willison. Both team awards were won by Cleve Juniors; Recurve - Megan, Chris and Luke; Compound - Matt & Andrew.

The UK Junior Field Archery Championship was at Ballyvalley Archers in Loughbrickland, Northern Ireland on 19/20 August. We flew to Belfast with 11 other juniors mostly from Wales. We travelled by Minibus in Ireland, that was fun with my Dad as driver and stayed in a cottage in the middle of nowhere! Unfortunately Lauren was injured so couldn't shoot and she wasn't very happy all weekend!! There were two courses, one for each day, both 'mixed rounds' - that means 12 targets had the distances marked on the pegs and 12 didn't (so you have guess or work them out!). The weather was mostly good and it only rained at night. I shot personal bests on both days and won the under 10 Junior Gentleman Recurve. Peter Mulligan, former World Champion in barebow presented me with my medal. It was a great weekend. I made lots of new friends and I won!!!!

Organising this event probably started the day after last years tournament, with most of us having no idea of what goes on in the background until we are asked to help set up the field on the weekend of the shoot! With the field already marked out, the equipment was taken in two very large vans to Yate on the afternoon/evening of Friday 21 July and it took until 8.30 pm to have the field all ready to shoot!

Saturday was my first FITA 720 (six dozen arrows all at 70m followed by a head-to-head competition) so I was pretty nervous - but a bacon roll before we started helped. There were 14 Cleve Archers shooting, 4 of us being juniors. The best results were Carole Brimfield 2nd (Ladies Recurve), Francesca Hawker 4th and Teresa Bridges 6th (Ladies Compound), Gary Bunce 6th (Gents compound) and Mike Holden 5th (Gents Recurve). Mike also got his 650 award! The Docker 'recurves' fought it out with Dad Steve only beating Chris by 3 points! Both got their 550 awards and Luke Jones his 500, beating his Dad Chris by lots!

After lunch was the head-to-head. The way this works it that everyone is ranked according to where they finished in the 720 - so the highest ranking shoots against the lowest etc. Twelve arrows are shot and the highest scoring of the pair goes through to the next round. In theory, the highest ranking should beat the lowest and go through - but Denise was right, it doesn't always work like that! Having not shot very well all morning I relaxed as I thought I'd be out in the first round - I had been ranked 12 out of 13 - and surprised everyone (especially me!) by not only winning my first round but going through to the semis and finishing 4th overall! Carole came 2nd in the Ladies Recurve, while Francesca just beat Teresa for the Gold in ladies compound! The highlight of the Gents Recurve was Chris Docker beating hid Dad in their match, but unfortunately was knocked out in the 1/8 round, as was Mike Holden, the only other Cleve Recurve gent who made it past the first round. Mike Bridges was knocked out in the Quarter Final of the Gents Compound, having beaten Gary to get there!

Sunday was the FITA Star and Metrics. In the Gents Compound, Mike Bridges got a GMB score with a score of 1331! He finished 7th overall. Chris Jones finished 2nd in the Longbow and Steve Docker got his 1100 Star award in the Gents Recurve, while Sue Docker claimed her 1000. Both Teresa and Carole just missed out on the bronze medals for the ladies. With junior rounds being shot, Luke Jones, Chris Docker, Matt Griffiths, Megan Vaughan, Sam Boyd, James Smith and I all won our rounds with Andrew Docker and Nick Griffiths both winning silver medals.

It was a GREAT weekend and could not have taken place without Denise's hard work and all the club members who helped before and during the weekend. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone!

The Bunces and Bridges were entered in the above tournament. Clophill is not far from Milton Keynes so a long drive there on Friday evening and a camping weekend.

Saturday morning we all shot the FITA 70M round and then in the afternoon the Head to Head knockout event. Jake, unfortunately was drawn first match with Gary.....but he won by 4 points - poor Gary !!!! Jake was then knocked out on his second match by 4 points by the eventual winner.

I was drawn to shoot my first match with a lady that I had been shooting with all morning, we managed to shoot the same score for the 12 arrow match, so we had to do a 1 arrow tie breaker. We both shot a 9 and had to do another tie-breaker. I felt so nervous but I eventually won!! I then went through to the semi finals but lost and ended up coming 4th (not too bad really!!)

Saturday night it rained a lot and Sunday morning didn't seem to be much better, Gary & Jake were the only ones who managed to get to the shooting line!!! Mike and Teresa watched from their caravan!!! The weather was extremely blustery winds and several showers. Both Gary and Jake had byes for their first round won their first matches but went out on the quarter finals.

We were away in time to get home to watch the World Cup Final and Jake had managed to get 2 qualifying scores for the Junior World Cup in Mexico in October.

It was that time of the year to pack the tent (or the credit card for staying at the Travel Lodge) and the kids, for the annual pilgrimage to Lilleshall to take part in the largest junior event of the year, the Junior FITA Star & Metrics on Saturday and the Junior National Championships on the Sunday. Luke, Jake, Chris, Andrew, Matt, Nick, Lauren & Megan shot both days and Alex and James (both first timers) joined them on the Sunday.

We arrived on the Friday evening to set up camp (we as in Luke, Chris & Hillary and Jake & Gary - really, the rest of you guys, you ought to try slumming it for a couple of nights, those comfy mattresses can't be doing you any good!) and Luke & Jake toddled off to put in some practice before heading off for a takeaway. During the practice the strands on Jake's bowstring started snapping. A visit to the Wales archery tent brought good news and bad news. The good news was a new string could be delivered but the bad news was not until the Sunday morning!

So after a good nights pasty & chips, burger, scampi and Raji specials (I won't mention the local girl), beer and sleep, it was up bright and breezy for a bacon butty breakfast (don't we eat a lot of junk) and a gentle stroll to the shooting line. Today was the Metric rounds, 52 targets and hundreds of juniors.

A good days shooting was had by all with PB's and club records galore:
Luke - Metric 1 -PB and club record - 971 - (15th place from 17);
Chris - Metric 2 - PB and club record - 1163 - (9th place from 29)
Jake - Metric 2 - PB and club & county record - 1285 (with a wonky string)- (4th place from 13)
Matt - Metric 2 - PB - 1212 - (8th place from 13)
Nick - Metric 3 - PB - 532 - (28th from 29)
Andrew - Metric 3 - PB - 1296 - (2nd from 7)
Lauren - Metric 3 - PB and club record - 1212 - (5th from 19)
Megan - Metric 3 - PB - 1089 - (11th from 19)

On the team front GWAS ladies finished 4th from 8 - Lauren & Megan were in the 4 lady team and the GWAS gentlemen team finished 5th from 8 - Chris was in the 4 man team.

In the evening some of us went down the road for some real food (and beer) outdoors in the sunshine (the pate and the lamb were yummy - sorry Lauren for nabbing yours!) And a very pleasant evening was had by all.

The following day was the Bristol rounds - even more juniors shooting with most targets having six archers.
Once again some good scores were achieved:
Luke - Bristol 1 - 883 - 11th from 14
Chris - Bristol 2 - PB & club record - 1142 - 8th from 39
Jake - Bristol 2 - PB & club record - 1242 - 5th from 17
Alex - Bristol 2 - PB - 1212 - 7th from 17 - 1200 Rose award
Matt - Bristol 2 - 1120 - 11th from 17
Nick - Bristol 3 - PB - 457 - 33rd from 33
Andrew - Bristol 3 - PB - 1230 - 2nd from 8
Lauren - Bristol 3 - PB & club record - 1198 - 1st from 28 - National Champion
Megan - Bristol 3 - PB - 1082 - 12th from 28
James - Bristol 4 - PB (by 130 points) - 881 - 800 rose award - 6 gold end - 14th from 23.

On the team front:
County Mixed Recurve: GAS 3rd from 20 - Lauren, Chris & Megan were in the 4 person team.
Regional Recurve: GWAS 3rd from 8 - Lauren was in the 4-person team.
Regional Compound: GWAS 2nd from 7 - Jake and Andrew were in the 3-person team.
Regional Mixed: GWAS 2nd from 7 - Lauren was in the 4-person team.

So a good weekend was had, shooting was good, weather was good, company was good. This was the largest group of Cleve Juniors to attend this tournament and I hope even more attend next year - so go on, put it next years diary now! And don't forget to bring your tents! That's T.E.N.T not T.R.A.V.E.L. L.O.D.G.E. or H.O.T.E.L!!! If you're not sure about going next year just have a word with all the guys who went this year.
CLEVE PREMIER EVENT & FITA STAR! - Sat 22 & Sun 23 July Report by Lauren Hicks

Organising this event probably started the day after last years tournament, with most of us having no idea of what goes on in the background until we are asked to help set up the field on the weekend of the shoot! With the field already marked out, the equipment was taken in two very large vans to Yate on the afternoon/evening of Friday 21 July and it took until 8.30 pm to have the field all ready to shoot!

Saturday was my first FITA 720 (six dozen arrows all at 70m followed by a head-to-head competition) so I was pretty nervous - but a bacon roll before we started helped. There were 14 Cleve Archers shooting, 4 of us being juniors. The best results were Carole Brimfield 2nd (Ladies Recurve), Francesca Hawker 4th and Teresa Bridges 6th (Ladies Compound), Gary Bunce 6th (Gents compound) and Mike Holden 5th (Gents Recurve). Mike also got his 650 award! The Docker 'recurves' fought it out with Dad Steve only beating Chris by 3 points! Both got their 550 awards and Luke Jones his 500, beating his Dad Chris by lots!

After lunch was the head-to-head. The way this works it that everyone is ranked according to where they finished in the 720 - so the highest ranking shoots against the lowest etc. Twelve arrows are shot and the highest scoring of the pair goes through to the next round. In theory, the highest ranking should beat the lowest and go through - but Denise was right, it doesn't always work like that! Having not shot very well all morning I relaxed as I thought I'd be out in the first round - I had been ranked 12 out of 13 - and surprised everyone (especially me!) by not only winning my first round but going through to the semis and finishing 4th overall! Carole came 2nd in the Ladies Recurve, while Francesca just beat Teresa for the Gold in ladies compound! The highlight of the Gents Recurve was Chris Docker beating hid Dad in their match, but unfortunately was knocked out in the 1/8 round, as was Mike Holden, the only other Cleve Recurve gent who made it past the first round. Mike Bridges was knocked out in the Quarter Final of the Gents Compound, having beaten Gary to get there!

Sunday was the FITA Star and Metrics. In the Gents Compound, Mike Bridges got a GMB score with a score of 1331! He finished 7th overall. Chris Jones finished 2nd in the Longbow and Steve Docker got his 1100 Star award in the Gents Recurve, while Sue Docker claimed her 1000. Both Teresa and Carole just missed out on the bronze medals for the ladies. With junior rounds being shot, Luke Jones, Chris Docker, Matt Griffiths, Megan Vaughan, Sam Boyd, James Smith and I all won our rounds with Andrew Docker and Nick Griffiths both winning silver medals.

It was a GREAT weekend and could not have taken place without Denise's hard work and all the club members who helped before and during the weekend. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone!

EXMOUTH DOUBLE FITA STAR - CLEAN SWEEP AND RECORDS GALORE!

A small, but determined contingent made up of Denise, Jake and Lauren shot this tournament on 3/4 June. Denise and Jake enjoyed camping on the ground, while us 'non-campers' crashed at the Holiday Inn Express! We enjoyed two days of glorious weather and the archers shot pretty well too, with all three winning their disciplines over the two-day event. In addition, Jake succeeded in claiming no fewer than SIX National records, while Lauren (shooting above her age group) claimed one National Record! Not to be outdone, Denise achieved her first MB score of the season (imagine what she could do if she practised?) Well done to all!

It really was unpleasant to shoot in and Stephen retired early. Luke wanted to pack up but gentle persuasion (a trophy was there for the taking!) And the fact that I was staying all day (I was shooting longbow in my second tournament and I was leading at the time!!) So he had no choice but to carry on. Megan also had thoughts of retiring but stuck it out and Joe had no thoughts at all of quitting!

The sun did come out for the last two dozen arrows (which dried the tents off a treat) and soon all wet weather gear was packed away and t -shirts put on. In the end Luke took the Bristol 1 trophy (yes he did have an opponent!) - Megan took the Bristol 3 trophy (and yes she did have an opponent as well!). And although Joe did not feature in the medals he did get a personal best score in the Bristol 4.

I was the only senior shooting from the club and I finished 2nd longbow - yahoo! There were no club records, AAS scores etc - just lots of rain -I'm going to go again next year, are you??

Yes, I know that many of you have been competing across the South West and further afield, but I can only report on events that I attend (and you really don't want to read only about field archery and junior tournaments?) or those for which I receive reports - It's a great shame that we miss out sharing on club members' successes - You are ALL more than welcome to submit reports and pictures- I know we had representatives at Dunster, Minchinhampton (Juniors won the overall team trophy), Bowmen of Burleigh (Steve Docker won gents recurve) and the Masters, to name just a few! So over to you archers!

CLEVE SPRING TOURNAMENT Report by Helen Norman

Sunday 7th May dawned fair and bright, with hardly a cloud in the sky - what a shame it wasn't to last, though with hindsight we were very lucky with the weather. One by one, shortly after 7 am, various members of Cleve Archers appeared at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex and began a complex and arcane ritual - vans were unloaded, targets stands and bosses put up, gazebos erected and bacon butties cooked. Yes, it was the Spring Tournament. The shoot had been full a week before the closing date, with the tournament organiser heard to mutter on several occasions "I could have filled 35 targets". It was not to be - 27 are the most that can safely be accommodated at Yate.

Thereafter, Yate became a hive of activity. Apart from archers bringing out all the excuses they'd been practising all winter, there was the fundraising stall (which attracted lots of interest), the caterers (loads of cakes), the raffle ticket sellers, the scorers and the field working party busy all day, as well as the Hon Secretary chivvying everyone! On top of that, Club archers also shot well, with Rich Suter, Steve Docker, Melanie Vining, Matt Griffiths, Chris Docker, and Megan Vaughan all claiming Rose awards.

Needless to say, the day wasn't entirely problem free. Your tournament organiser (being vertically challenged) couldn't reach the top of the leader-board and so had to borrow a certain tall, dark gentleman as sign-writer. Andrew Docker was struck down with tonsillitis and so missed the whole day (as did Sue, his Mum) and Jordan Hicks retired hurt. And at the end of the day, several long-standing club members did a very good impersonation of Mary Poppins as they tried to stop the catering gazebo being blown away in a squall. I'm pleased to say they all survived the incident, and were able to applaud the gracious presentation of the awards by our Lady Paramount, Jan Vaughan.

All in all it was a very successful day. Although the accounts are not yet finalised, it looks as though we made even more profit than last year! I have tried to mention all the activities involved in the shoot. If you contributed in any way to any of these, a big thank you from me as Tournament Organiser - I won't name names, but you know who you are!! Thank you once again for a wonderful team effort.

My first tournament of the season, the West Midlands FITA Star held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th April. Cleve Members that entered were me, Gary & Jake Bunce, Mike & Teresa Bridges, David Rogers, Rich Phillips, Adam & Alex Shaw.

We all camped with the exception of the Shaw's and my goodness it was cold on Friday night!!! It is so lovely though the next morning just to roll out of bed onto the tournament field but a slight shock to the system to shoot my first 12 dozen round as I hadn't picked my bow up all winter and had only practised a couple of times at the field beforehand, as you do !!!

Any way my aim was to finish the round, which I successfully completed, so well done me!!! Most people seemed happy with their scores for Saturday with the exception of David who didn't realise that Jake had shot a Gents FITA and scored 54 points more than him with a whooping 1221 !!! Anyway we had a good time at the pub that night, Rich practised some magic or some unsuspecting locals and we had some drinks in the bar to finish!!!

Sunday morning came around so quickly and I must confess that I didn't feel like moving from my lovely sleeping bag, so I didn't!!! Instead I got up late morning and much to everyone's delight took photos of them shooting, obviously without them spotting me!!!

The weekend was very cold, hence Adam's groovy hat, we did have quite a bit of wind on Saturday and a few sunny spells on Sunday. Sunday everyone's scores were a bit higher as the wind blew less, Gary & Adam shot a GMB Score and Teresa and Mike shot an MB score.

On Easter Monday a fantastic 17 juniors took part in Cheltenham Archers charity Easter Bunny Tournament. Luckily the rain stayed away and although the wind tried it's hardest to blow our arrows back to us and the afternoon was a bit chilly, everyone had a great afternoon and shot some good scores. So congratulations to everyone!

Our medal winners were:

James Smith - 3rd in Short Junior National
Andrew Docker - 2nd in Junior National (compound)
Nick Griffiths - 1st in Short National
Emma Willison - 1st in Junior National
Chris Docker - 1st in Short National
Matt Griffiths - 1st in Short National (compound)
Megan Vaughan - 2nd in Short National
Annie Burns - 3rd in Short National

Well done to the 11 juniors who got Personal Bests!

**** James Smith **** James Beavis *** Annie Burns **** Sam Boyd****
****Stephanie Rawle**** Chris Docker****Nick Griffiths***Stephen Pillay****
****Andrew Docker****Ian Goddard****Emma Willison****

It was nice to see lots of parents shooting the National round, so well done to all of them especially all those who were shooting in a tournament for the first time. The parents taking part were: Sue & Steve Docker, Tracey & Adrian Rawle, Tricia Pillay Mike Beavis & Stuart Boyd.

Thanks to all the parents who did the scoring, again the first time for some who all coped really well - good practice for our shoot on May 7th! See you all there!

Lauren Hicks
Junior Representative

Firstly I would like to say that there was a great turn out for the club and how well everyone did for making the journey to the county and open indoor championships, but there are a couple more people that need to come and take part and win those trophies.

The Personal Bests!!!
Megan Vaughan has smashed the old county record and made a great score of 545. Annie Burns gave it a good effort with a score of 469, Chris Docker shot superbly and got 518. Michael and Stephen Hardmen Michael got 423 and Stephen got 376 so well done! Sam Boyd got a stunning score of 381, Nick Griffiths just behind at 375. Thomas Van Raalte did well at 249, James Beavis made a good effort at 150, and James Smith had a brilliant score of 351. Alex Shaw had a super sore of 529

The Results
Megan Vaughan did well taking the title of 1st county girl under 18s recurve with a score of 545 just behind her was Annie Burns with a score of 469.

In the section of the under 18 recurve boy, Luke Jones was just behind first place with a score of 549. Another Cleve boy was Chris Docker with a score of 518 coming 3rd. Doing the club proud was Michael Hardman.

The compounds under 18, in first place were Matt Griffiths with a great score of 535 Alex Shaw in second with another great score 529.

Girls under 14 recurve, in first place was Lauren Hicks with a score of 529 unfortunately Emma Wilson couldn't make it.

Recurve under 14 boys Stephen Pillay, Sam Boyd, Stephen Hardman Nicolas Griffiths, Thomas Van Raalte and James Beavis did extremely well and making the club very proud.

In the under 14s compound boys coming first was Jake Bunce with a brilliant score of 541, in second place was Andrew Docker with 516.

Our only under 10 recurve entry from Cleve was James Smith came 1st with a score of 351 so well done to him!

I would just like to tell you how important it is to warm up properly or you can seriously hurt your self, also a quick reminder to score at the club even if it is a bit rubbish because its bound to go towards something!

Over all it was a superb turn out from Cleve!

Andrew Docker
Junior Rep