University of London Archers is holding a 'have-a-go' shoot this weekend to introduce any interseted 'Freshers' to the sport..... The shoot will be held in Kensington Palace Gardens (see map link on 'How to find us' page) from 2pm on Sunday afternoon until dark! Members of ULA will be teaching all day (please, God, let the weather hold!!!) and all levels of experience are of course welcome. Although this event is especially focused on giving beginners a taste of archery, it is also here to let more experienced archers get back into practice. The transport: The field is most easily reached by catching the tube to Notting Hill Gate station and then walking up Bayswater road towards Hyde park. The entrance to Kensington Palace Gardens is on the right hand side of the road (an archery target will be visible at the gate). The Damage: For insurance purposes (groan!) the shoot will cost £2, this covers the use of our equipment and the field. This is the only cost for the whole day, not counting the drinks that you may wish to buy at the bar afterwards! Extras: Membership forms will be available all day for anyone wishing to join the ULA, the cost of membership is £15 for 1 calender year. Cash or cheques are accepted! To join ULA you must have a ULU card (we need your ULU number for the membership forms) these can be obtained by taking a passport photo and your college ID to ULU reception during normal office hours. Any questions????? contact the captain on: snoopy@daisyhillpuppyfarm.freeserve.co.uk |
Here you can find reports on past events and club activities, and also information about coming events. Click HERE for the calendar. This page documents both sporting and social happenings within ULA. |
News and Events |
Here you can find reports on past events and club activities, and also information about coming events. Click HERE for the calendar. This page documents both sporting and social happenings within ULA. |
BUSA Indoors in Newcastle There were many jelly babies. Friday afternoon, 12 lunatics left the relatively warmer climes of London for Newcastle. The minibus ride was long and cold, having driven through several snow showers. Thanks to a brilliant stereo system, there was much singing along to cheesy music. Everyone also found it necessary to try Tim B's Terry Pratchett hat. We eventually made it to the guest house after overshooting the exit off the motorway at 10.30pm, too late unfortunately to meet people from other universities for a drink before war began the next morning. That night everyone debated on the team mascot and it was decided that Leo would be the perfect mascot having a diminutive stature (ability to stand up straight in the minibus and managing to clamber into the front seat while the bus was moving at 60mph) Due to the hall being booked for a disco at 8, we had a horrendously early start, 8.30 with sunshine and coldness. However this meant an early start in the bar. We all shot like demons and a mention must go to Paul for making both the IC novice and Recurve teams. The captain shot Compound first and was due to shoot recurve in a later session. However due to some misunderstandings, was told that the score would not count so we all retired to the bar and soon afterwards was informed that the score would count. So after some panicked preparation for the last session, the club mascot shot again with everyone up in the balcony cheering her on, waving banners saying "Take the red pill Leo!". The presentation took place in the bar, Cambridge were the overall team winners. Leo won the Ladies Bronze Compound medal and her score also counted in the Compound Home Nations match. With 120 gents, the final positions were Seb 11th, Gav 37th, Paul 61st, Matt 72nd, the Tim S. 82nd and 83rd, Keith 86th and Ben 94th. In the Ladies, of 56, Leo finished 11th, Veronica 15th and Yi Jia 30th. The IC novice team of Tim B, Ben and Paul finished 3rd out of 10. The IC Recurve team of Seb, Leo, Gav and Paul, with a combined score of 2102 finished 9th out of 21 teams. Unfortunately Rob couldn't make the competition and Mati (her college isn't a member of BUSA) couldn't shoot as a guest as the shoot was over subscribed. There was then lots of drinking and walking around Newcastle. We took all the kit back to the guest house and decided to walk back to the university campus without a map, in search of food, (all you can eat Chinese buffet) and then went on to the union bar to do lots of tequila slammers with RGU and Aberdeen universities. To everyone's credit, no one collapsed due to alcohol although there were many falls due to the snow and ice on the roads. There were many snowball fights, Seb being the main perpetrator having not drunk anything. Seb also decided it would be a good idea to do handstands in the snow, this lead to all sorts of drunken acrobatics! Meanwhile, Gav was deciding what to do with his newly acquired traffic cone. The police told him it would look best if it were to be placed where it had been originally, Chris dragged Veronica and Gav away before they could tell the policemen how uncreative they were! The Sunday morning was harsh for most people and only one didn't make breakfast; the true mark of a hero is to eat a fried breakfast after too much drinking. On the journey home, we bumped into Loughborough at a service station and arranged a match (which we shall win!). We had a fantastic time and as usual met loads people, made more contacts with other Unis, and finally met people we had chatted to on message boards. |
Oxford Open Indoor Portsmouth We rule... There were more jelly babies (real ones and not Tesco bleh ones), Pringles and lots of junk food. Sunday morning was miserable. At 7.30 in the morning, the mad people shooting both sessions of the competition loaded the car up at Leo and Mati's house. They got to Oxford with plenty of time to spare for a 10am start and proceeded to occupy a large space behind the equipment line. Leo and James (the only compound archers in the team) were surprised to find that the compound archers were given 3 spot targets (which are scary and difficult) so went and had a quiet word with the Judge but unfortunately, as it wasn't a record status shoot, the Judge couldn't do much about it. The first session was fairly quiet, everyone shot well, and Leo - club mascot and Captain - shot Recurve extremely well to achieve a competition personal best. At 12.15 the rest of the team arrived for the 1pm session. Leo shot Compound, Veronica the Longbow (after shooting recurve in the first), and Mati and James shot the same disciplines as before for the second session. Everything was fine and swimming along nicely until, when scoring the end of the 2nd dozen, Leo's boyfriend turned up out of the blue; he was supposed to be in Cosford shooting the National Indoor Competition. He completely distracted her for 12 arrows, but she did hold it together and shot another personal best. Veronica also shot a personal best with the Longbow, while Ian beat Seb by one point, after much gnashing of teeth and invocation of the dark side. James shot even better in the second session, scoring 574 as opposed to 571. Final results represented quite a haul for IC. James won the compound competition and Leo came second (ladies and gents were combined). In the Ladies Recurve, Leo also won silver and Mati came 4th. The Gents Recurve competition was much closer, with the top three spots only one point apart each. Ian ended up with the silver medal, and Seb the bronze. The Recurve team, comprising Ian, Seb, Leo and Dan achieved a massive team score of 2194 which would have been more than the ego boosting 2200 barrier had Ian and Leo not shot a 6 and 4 (like muppets Gonzo and Kermit respectively!) and came away with the gold team medal, beating Oxford again in triumphant fashion (previous time being BUSA indoors). As is becoming habitual, we went to the pub afterwards to celebrate. All the blokes (and Veronica) were fixated with the football, while Ian on the other hand was talking to lots of women! |
BUSA Outdoor Archery Championships 2001 The British Universities Sports Association Outdoor Archery Championships 2001 took place on Saturday 23rd June at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. The event, organised by Andy Somers (Cambridge University Bowmen) and Ian McGibbon (Scottish Graduate Bowmen), saw approximately 160 archers take to the shooting line. With the competitors fortunate enough to enjoy perfect weather for the shoot, a combination of the excellent venue and good timing made this one of the best attended BUSA competitions on record. Many universities arrived on the Friday evening, camping to take advantage of the practice field, the opportunity to socialise with other universities, and (perhaps most importantly!) to avoid the early start in the morning. For some it was a chance to catch up with old friends from around the country, while for others, an opportunity to meet new people and experience the atmosphere of a large scale competition. 37 universities from around the country took part; With 48 targets set up, 15 for the Ladies and 33 for the Gents. The Ladies shot the Windsor while Gents shot the Albion round. Competition for all categories was fierce, with most of the top university archers present to fight for the medals, and the coveted Davies-Rowe team trophy. Thanks to the efficiency of the scoring team, led by Tim Mundon and Ian Hawke, a leader board was run, updated every dozen. Between distances, while targets were checked and moved, full results were published detailing scores for both individuals and teams. On the Ladies line, Isla Lillie quickly took the lead for the Recurve category and shot solidly throughout the day to stay at the top of the leader board, while Claudine Jennings, Roz Bowen and Claire Brockett all had turns in 2nd and 3rd position. In the Compound Ladies discipline Tallah Brash, Julie Bancroft and Leo Lang all alternated positions on the board, in a closely fought competition. In the Gents Recurve section, competition was equally fierce, with several people enjoying fleeting appearances on the leader board. Andy Somers, James Keogh and Kevin Sheppard appeared early on, but eventually the top positions were taken by Chris Marsh, Atle Wold and Derek Burrough. Competition for the Compound Gents was initially extremely close, with no less than three tied places at various times, so Rich Wilkins, Tim Keppie, Marc Gascoyne, KC Wong and David Sewell all made appearances. The fight for the Recurve team trophy throughout the day lay between Edinburgh, Cambridge and Heriot-Watt, with Edinburgh's strong performance dominating the day. At the end of the longest distance a best gold prize was awarded, to Chris Marsh (Staffordshire Stafford). The prize was donated by David Howell, of co-sponsors of the tournament Arrowhead UK. Arrowhead UK was present with their mobile shop, while the other co-sponsor, Clickers Archery supported the event by various donations. David Sherratt, Chief Executive of GNAS was kind enough to agree to serve as Lord Paramount, while Lenny Barry, BUSA chairman, Ken Bearman a National Coach, and John Sullivan, BUSA representative were also all present for the event. Judging was in the capable hands of Anne Webb, Mike Evans and Dave Page, with Bill French acting as Director of Shooting for the day. Congratulations must also go to the archers who shot new BUSA records; Tallah Brash (Ladies Compound), Rich Wilkins (Gents Compound), David Lange (Gents Novice Recurve), Christine Kirchhof (Ladies Novice Recurve) and Derek Burrough (Gents Recurve). The shoot was follow by a short raffle and prize ceremony, and, perhaps more importantly, by festivities that proceeded far into the night. In the morning, while some universities made their way home, those left (and in a fit state to shoot!), took part in an informal head to head knock out competition. Under a cloudless sky, Glyn Ball (Edinburgh) shot consistently well to win the recurve final over Andy Somers (Cambridge), despite the taunts of the audience. Tim Keppie (Edinburgh) won the compound knock out in a close match over James Sinclair (University of East London). Despite being heavily involved in the preparation of the shoot, up until the introductory speeches at assembly, special mention should be made of Andy Somers, who put the stress of the organiser's role behind him to shoot for Cambridge's team. His determined shooting contributed to a well deserved silver medal placing for the team. Thanks must also go to the Lilleshall staff and various alumni and students who helped on the scoring/work party; David Spinner, Alan Stiles, Chris Moore, and Dave Crowe as well as Tanja and Jenny from the Imperial College party, and those who helped to clear up after the shoot Matt Hyland, James Folkard and Co. The shoot was also supported by those who helped from Cambridge University Bowmen, together with loans from Cambridge City Bowmen including the metal detector, signs and measuring equipment that ensured the work party were able to run the shoot. |
Northern Area Thistle and Rose (incorporating NA championships) England was in the midst of a sunny spell, gloriously warm beautiful archery weather, where else could an archer wish to be? Scotland of course!! As soon as England warms up the archery-nutters (Ian, Leo, Tim B. and Veronica) decide it would be a good idea to follow the bad weather up to Scotland! The journey up started badly as the chauffeur's (Ian) car had been clamped After an hours wait to be unshackled we then spent a less than pleasant afternoon sitting in the extensive traffic jams towards the airport. Tim B. once again revealed hidden talents, moving easily from DJ-ing to life as a demon navigator Despite the worst of the London traffic, a slightly rushed and stressed team made it to the departure lounge in time; to be confronted by the sight of a relaxed Andy eating an ice cream! As usual, archery equipment as luggage caused a few minor headaches for the airport staff, and it emerged on landing in Scotland that the baggage handlers had been less than gentle with Leo's newly acquired compound case having split open the bottom corner of the case, along the hinge line. Thankfully, her equipment had escaped any damage, despite the mangled case. After some careful packing who said a Rover 45 couldn't handle five archers with full kit? and a rapid drive north (aren't hire cars wonderful?) a weary team finally made it to Hotel de Sullivan. Saturday started with overcast skies and light breezes; many decided that waterproof gear was inevitably going to be required and put it on straight away as a precautionary measure. In addition to the large number of familiar faces on the shooting line, the tournament officials had a more familiar air than usual, with SGB's John Sullivan formally revealing his candidature as a Judge. Despite a promising start, the day's shooting was complicated by light rain (or drizzle, if those accustomed to Scottish weather were to be believed) and occasionally tricky wind. Andy also discovered that his fears concerning potential damage to his string were well founded, and spent much of the day struggling with that and other equipment gripes our tuning maestro finished the day well down on average, but with a list of equipment 'fixes' to carry out. Ian shot to form at 90 metres, but was let down by poor shooting at 70 and 50 metres; unfortunately, a mediocre 30 metres rounded off a below average score, although several instructive comments from his target companions led to a gradual improvement as the day moved to a close. The rest of the team faired much better, with Tim discovering the joys of arrows matched to the bow; his correctly spined carbons, bought only the day before and fletched in haste on John & Mel's games table late on Friday night, proving much more accurate than his previous club aluminium shafts. Leo also shot well, carrying a strong morning performance through to achieve a new personal best of 1213, claiming her 1200 (Compound) Thistle. The novelty of the FITA round didn't prevent Veronica enjoying this, her first such competition. With the benefit of newly acquired (i.e. during the tournament!) sightmarks, future scores should show a marked improvement. As ever, when in Aberdeen, the post-shoot celebrations (and inevitable post-mortem) ended up in the pub - with the added incentive of celebrating RGU's Jo Bathgate's birthday, and getting some free food, it was inevitable that beer would be consumed. With the added bonus of better weather, the more leisurely start on Sunday led to a relaxed and enjoyable morning for most, with Ian and Leo both shooting solid scores at their respective longest distances. Andy again struggled with equipment difficulties, but gradually improved through the distance. By lunchtime, much to his disbelief, it emerged that Ian was leading a good many of the Northern Area gents, although only by a narrow margin in some cases. With the very real prospect of a medal finish, the opening shots of the afternoon were marred by the increased tension, and an inaccurate sightmark. To make matters worse, Ian discovered half way through the distance that his sight was slowly vibrating itself loose, and it appeared that his fragile lead had not been sufficient, with both Billy Finnie and James Laing from Lethen leading into the final distance. However, with an extremely nervous, but relatively solid last two dozen arrows, Ian managed to pull ahead of both, finishing only one point ahead of Billy, and six ahead of James. With a score of 991, and despite only having 143 hits (yes, he missed, through a minor argument with the clicker at 100 yards), Ian claimed the gents recurve trophy SGB's first major individual success! Tim and Veronica both put in creditable scores for their first appearances in Northern Area (and Tim's first ever York round!) with Veronica claiming the first class medal. Although Leo emerged less cheerful at the end of the days shooting, she did go on to replace the cams on her bow, muttering about more speed. Having spent a large portion of the weekend in the company of Shetland archers, we wish them all the very best in defending their title in the Inter-Island Games, to be held at the end of this month on the Isle of Man. |
William Somner Tournament This tournament was postponed from the first weekend in September, due to the national fuel crisis. Two archers from ULA woke up too early for an October morning, and with a little brother and a coach in the form of a taxi in tow, set of to find William Somner. Directions led them to deepest Kent, passing towns like Thong and Bean on the way. On arrival, it was discovered that the Judge was Mark Davis, leading to much slagging off and joking about a certain Essex judge/archer, who just happened to be present at that very same shoot. ('We're talking about you, not to you') Mark also managed to rush everyone along (scared of losing light in the evening) and the York /Hereford was finished in record time (something like 5 hours inc lunch). Leo and Mati Lang, the two from ULA proceeded to shoot pants or so they said but then ended up shooting the pants off everyone else, with Mati winning the Hereford Salver, score 981 and Leo coming second in the compound Hereford, beating an old Essex rival (She Who Must Not Be Named) and claiming her Senior Blue Compound Rose to boot. |
Middlesex FITA Star, Greenwood Osterley 28 May 2001 ULA Results Ladies Rec Mati Lang 972 Ladies Comp Leo Lang 1207 Gents Rec Rob Neal 984 Dave Christie 970 (hanger on) The day started reasonably well, despite Mati and Rob completely missing the turning for the Conquest Club (the venue) and having to travel ages before they could turn around. Rob was driving, but Mati was navigating you can figure out who's fault it was yourself. Everyone decided that it was a good day, but then failed exploit the fair conditions (ok, so it was a bit windy). That is, except for Leo, who promptly shot her socks off, and needed major calming down at halfway, when she got told she was on for her 1200 compound FITA Star. Luckily for her, she kept her head reasonably together, and ended with a stonking PB of 1207. Mati decided that she'd rather gossip about Essex County Archery politics and forgot to shoot one end at 50 metres. She managed to get 2 arrows down to the target in 30 seconds. (Time limit is 2 ½ minutes for 3 arrows!) Rob shot like a muppet that he is and swore at the end of the day that he'd get his 1100 FITA Star later in the summer. A bit ambitious, aren't we Rob? Dave Christie, the only hanger on this shoot blamed his muppetness on lack of practice. No excuses Dave, but as you are on a ship, floating around in the middle of nowhere most of the time, we don't mind! |
Norfolk Double FITA Star and H2H Leo Lang and Rob Neal were the only ULA nutters to even attempt this murderous weekend, but it is believed that much fun was had by all. The weekend started on the Friday evening, with a hell of a traffic jam on the M25, on the way to Norwich. Saturday and Sunday were the double FITA Star; Leo endured a horrendous stomach ache to shoot two solid 1100s in the Ladies Compound (pants though, apparently) and Rob shot like a complete gimp on the Saturday. Sunday though, was completely different matter: gimpness ruled at 90 metres but finally, all agony suffered over the past couple of years was dispelled (eg Mati getting her FITA Star before him) and he just got on with shooting. True to his word, (see report from Middlesex FITA Star), Rob 'we worship the ground you walk on' Neal shot a smashing 1130 and claimed his first FITA Star. Well done, Rob. However, he still had to complain, saying that his 90 mtrs was cack and he could have qualified for the British Students shoot-off for FISU 2002 in Thailand had he shot properly. Can't please 'em all Monday saw the Premier Status Head to Head Round; 6 dozen at 70 metres, the round that they shoot at the Olympics followed by an elimination by straight knock out. Leo shot reasonably well scoring 555 but unfortunately lost her first match. Rob shot 553 gaining his next FITA Target Award (Black) and won his first match convincingly. Unfortunately, he then came up against the 3rd seed Jon Nott and lost. He claims that his coughing fits didn't help, cos he kept being blown off the line. Rob reckons he could have won. Maybe. Nevermind, good experience was gained as well as national ranking. |
William Somner Tournament For the second year in a row, two UL archers travelled down to Canterbury in search of the illustrious William Somner. Mati Lang went down to defend her Recurve Hereford Salver, and Leo Lang was after the illusive Compound Red Rose Award that she had hoped for last year.The day was similar to that last year, but without the potential light problems. Both Mati and Leo decided that muppet shooting was the way forward, and it worked. Kind of. Leo started off on the leader board in second place and it stayed that way until the last distance, whereupon she fell apart and dropped into third, but with a new PB of 1108 for a Hereford and claiming her Red Rose Award. Mati shot consistently pants for the first 5 ½ dozen at 80 yds but an unexpectedly good last end at 80 pushed her up on to the leader board at third. Her slot on the board was not relinquished and solid shooting and 60 yds re-enforced this. More muppet antics at 50 yds did not but she kept her third place until the bitter end. The Langs were forgiven by all for trundling down to Canterbury at an unearthly hour by bringing back some silverware. And nice silverware it is, too. |
Oakfield Western The annual Oakfield Western promised bucket loads of fun and antics to all those linked to Rob, Mati and Leo's home club Black Stag, if only by friends. Fellow UL archer Veronica Bray joined the Essex crowd for the day. The day started off on the wrong foot for Mati and Leo, who turned up in blue jeans, despite no prior notice given by the tournament organiser (She Who Must Not Be Named!) that greens/whites should be worn. Arguments ensued and unfortunately, friendships tested to the extreme. Leo and Mati eventually got changed into regulation gear (not really, cos Mati's jeans weren't exactly 'dark green') and the delayed shoot got underway. It is safe to say that everyone shot ok. OK? Rob made it his life's work to hold up everyone else on his target (and everyone else on the line!) by taking yonks and yonks and yonks on the line. Mati, Leo and V took it in turns to swear on the line, much to the amusement of everyone else. Veronica's swearing got worse as the day went on due to a dramatic worsening of her shooting, which was in turn the result of worsening health. She should have retired at 6.5 dozen when it became difficult to decide which of the three targets she was seeing was the one she should shoot at!! Instead, absolute stubborness prevailed and she compromised, spending time inbetween ends with her head between her legs and ignoring the shouts of "die quietly!". Claire's target companion, Matt Webb (dirty minded, and got on with V like a house on fire) decided, with the help of Leo that the missing compound archer on his target needed a score to submit at the end. So, throughout the day, Matt and Leo had a fun time deciding how many 9s and 7s (and a 1 for good measure) to give the poor bloke. Finally, at the end, Matt signed the score sheet in clear, legible writing as Mickey Mouse, with Minnie Mouse as Target Captain. And submitted it. Presentation: Black Stag and Friends had a field day. UL coach John Neal (aka Old Bloke) won the Gents compound trophy again for the third time running, but only after Mickey Mouse nearly had his hands on it. Close behind was Tom Nochi, another gent from Black Stag. Ladies Compound was won by Claire, scoring 784, who will no doubt make an interesting debut on to the student scene when she starts Uni next year. Third in this category was Leo, with a score of 740. In the Gents recurve, Rob came second and in the Ladies Recurve, Mati Lang scraped a third with 684. Veronica Bray scored a creditable 601 (Cough! Cough! walking pneumonia was to blame). A great day was enjoyed by all. |
ULA HAVE-A-GO SHOOT - SUNDAY 21ST OCTOBER |
University of London Archers is holding a 'have-a-go' shoot this weekend to introduce any interseted 'Freshers' to the sport..... The shoot will be held in Kensington Palace Gardens (see map link on 'How to find us' page) from 2pm on Sunday afternoon until dark! Members of ULA will be teaching all day (please, God, let the weather hold!!!) and all levels of experience are of course welcome. Although this event is especially focused on giving beginners a taste of archery, it is also here to let more experienced archers get back into practice. The transport: The field is most easily reached by catching the tube to Notting Hill Gate station and then walking up Bayswater road towards Hyde park. The entrance to Kensington Palace Gardens is on the right hand side of the road (an archery target will be visible at the gate). The Damage: For insurance purposes (groan!) the shoot will cost £2, this covers the use of our equipment and the field. This is the only cost for the whole day, not counting the drinks that you may wish to buy at the bar afterwards! Extras: Membership forms will be available all day for anyone wishing to join the ULA, the cost of membership is £15 for 1 calender year. Cash or cheques are accepted! To join ULA you must have a ULU card (we need your ULU number for the membership forms) these can be obtained by taking a passport photo and your college ID to ULU reception during normal office hours. Any questions????? contact the captain on: snoopy@daisyhillpuppyfarm.freeserve.co.uk |
Brunel Indoors As one of the largest student archery gathering outside the BUSA championships, Brunel's open tournament was the perfect debut for the new ULU club. ULA's team composed of Veronica Bray, Leo Lang (shooting both recurve and compound), Mati Lang and Rob Neal. Imperial College sent a separate team composed of Tim Bond, Keith (Sai) Khunpha, Tim Sheldon and lead by Gavin Simmons. Both teams had been training hard, taking time out from their science/engineering subjects to practice and Rob taking time out from, well, whatever medics do! After a slightly rocky start (i.e. we were slightly late) due to London underground services running 'normally', most archers shot well, with several getting personal best scores. Stamina began to waver after about 3 dozen arrows and 'The Sacred Jelly Babies of Power' were called for, and would you believe it, your friend and humble narrator (ehem) was accused of leaving them on the kitchen work top! Although we soldiered on and did well without, we would have *obviously* won if they'd been present! Leo, Veronica and Mati came 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively (with scores of 539, 537 and 523) out of the 22 University Lady Recurve archers present. Rob scored 555, attaining 4th place out of 51 Gents. Leo also came 3rd in the Ladies Compound category. Competing against 9 other universities from around Britain, ULA shot strongly to attain 4th place with a team score of 1631 compared the 3rd place score 1631 (teams being top 3 scores regardless of discipline) IC came 7th with a combined score of 1603. Congratulations must go to the Imperial College novices who came away from their first ever competition with the titles of 1st & 2nd Lady novices (Laura Borrer-Closs, 477 and Angela Ko, 437) and 1st novice Gent (James Thatcher, 482). |
Green Dragon Portsmouth / Bedfordshire Fita 25m University of London archers, Dave, Leo, Mati and Rob went to the 31st Green Dragon 500 tournament in Stevenage on Sunday 25th November. Unfortunately we didn't have enough archers to make up a recurve team. However individual results were excellent. Dave, despite complaining his inability to shoot straight came away winning the Gents Compound competition. Leo and Mati who were both in the process of adapting to changes in technique shot well enough to claim the bronze and 4th place medals respectively in the Ladies Recurve competition. Rob shot well in the very competitive Gents Recurve to end in the top 10. After the Green dragon competition, glutton for punishment, Leo dashed off to the Bedfordshire World Record Status FITA 25M. This involved a madcap 20-mile drive in the rain, find parking space & set up equipment in 20 minutes. She did make it in the nick of time with the help of Matt Webb's MR2, and the judges being very accommodating - asking her (but not Matt) if she was ready to shoot. After another 66 arrows, Leo came away with a new personal best, 5th place and a Black FITA target award. |
Imperial 'Internal' Competition 8th December As an excuse to delay going to pub and getting completely hammered at 12pm, Imperial Archers ran a small friendly competition (Hah!) It was really a SUSF reunion in disguise, as ex Scottish uni archers, Dave Christie, Ian McGibbon, Paul Rennie and Paul Williamson invaded the club, there was also a small contingent of other hangers on from other unis; namely Andy, Leo and Veronica. In the beginning there were 21 archers. Then there 22 and one awkwardly didn't score either. Everyone shot a half Portsmouth for the ranking round then Andy ranked everyone, then picked teams on the basis of the scores and the rankings in a really logical way (honest). In the end there were 8 teams, 7 teams of 3 and then Andrew in a team by himself. Well, he didn't score and didn't mind and this did make the elimination matches easier to sort out. The knockout matches were the highlight of the afternoon as they were held one at a time, so that people were available to heckle, shout abuse, encouragement or whatever they saw fit to say at that point in time to put any archer off. Paul Rennie's contribution was his confidence in the shots, shouting 'It's a ten!' even before the arrow was shot. The final was between the 2nd and 5th ranked teams, lead by Dave and Leo respectively. The difference at this stage was that because Andy wanted to change the rules, match play was decided on instead of 18 arrows between the team. So each of the team members were matched in terms of ability against the other team. The pairs for this round were Shaun and Yiannis, Laura and Thierry, and Dave and Leo. Each pair shot twice and the winner received one point. It was well matched all the way so the final culminated the one arrow shoot offs between the captains, the first was also a tie, each shot a ten. Then, as Leo blew it with an eight, Dave found his form, even under the pressure of 100% of the club heckling, and shot many tens. Ever the modest winner (Huh?!), Dave shared his chocolate prize with the club...although, it is suspected that he was just doing it so he could watch his weight! Everyone had a great time and then it was pub time; the team decided to forego food and drank even more. Suddenly we were all at Ian's, then drank even more and some played Goldeneye on N64, whilst the more adventurous among the party played chess. After whipping everyone on Goldeneye (dispite being very drunk), Ian played Paul R 4 times, N. Ireland 4, Scotland 0, following some shockingly bad moves from Paul, best of 9 then? |
London County Indoor Championships Feb '02 Champions: Ladies Recurve - Leo Lang (University of London) Gents Recurve - James Craig (Enfield Archers) Ladies Compound - Leo Lang (University of London) Gents Compound - David Bright (Bromley Archers) Recurve Team - Imperial College (Tim Sheldon, Tim Bond, Chris Green, Laura Borrer Closs) Proficiency Cup - Laura Borrer Closs (Imperial College) Honorable mention to Tim Sheldon, bronze medalist on golds. |
This page was last updated
on: March 12, 2002
Oxford University Open Indoor Tournament March '02 On Saturday the 9th of March, a group of illustrious ULU archers competed in the Oxford University Indoor Tournament - a Portsmouth. Everyone shot reasonably (but not as well as they could with Jelly Babies in their stomachs), resulting in a 1st place for David Spinner (compound) and Leo Lang (ladies recurve) from QM and UCL respectively. Mati Lang (ladies recurve) from SOP managed a 2nd place medal, and Veronica Bray of UCL came 4th, beaten by one point by the third place lady. Also shooting was novice Helen Tonge from King's who scored well in her first tournament. The ULU team, consisting of Rob Neal from Barts and the London, Leo, Mati, and Veronica were beaten into 4th place by BUSA Indoor favourites Cambridge University by one point and the team also came 3rd in the universities present. As many universities from the south were present, this competition provided a warmup to the coming BUSA Indoor tournament on the 16th of March. |
