Grantham Archers hold first Outdoor Championship for a good few years
Grantham Archers have held their first Outdoor Championship since the pandemic.
Sunday saw them gather on their home field at Walton Academy, with a special guest appearance of a stiff westerly wind to make the proceedings more challenging.
Eight contestants shot a total of 72 arrows, each at distances varying between 10m and 70m.
Due to the spread of distances available, most of the rounds were shot uncontested, but the main purpose of the day was to let newer archers have experience of a slightly more formal competition format.
Also the scores could count towards the national Archery GB Classification scheme, which requires scores from more than one competition to be tallied. Qualification scores for this scheme vary with age and distance.
Simon Lindley shot at 70m and 60m and scored 382, which completed his attempt to gain a Bowman First Class classification.
The next longest distance shot was by U18 Jake Carrington (50m and 30m) with a total of 380. Jake gained Bowman Third Class. It is worth noting that juniors shoot at smaller targets in this competition.
Amy Barnes, Ben Gliddon and Simon Hartley chose 40m and 30m. Amy shot 496 which is on course for an Archer Second Class; Ben shot 466, an Archer Third Class score; Simon scored 564 which is Archer Second Class territory.
Shaun Hewitt shot at 30m and 20m, and totalled 594. The predicted classification for this score is Archer Second Class.
Next was another junior, U18 Molly Meads, at 30m and 20m with a score of 402 and on course for an Archer Second Class.
U12 Charlotte Lindley shot 307 at the distances of 20m and 10m, which is Archer First Class level.
Special thanks go to Steven Eales who helped organise the event and acted as Field Captain on the day, also to Avril Harwood who was Lady Paramount and presented the medals.
The next big event for Grantham Archers is attending the Clout Collective’s 2023 Siege of Harfleur in early August. This will see them travelling to Derbyshire in medieval fancy dress to shoot arrows at mock-up castles and eat fish and chips! Why? Why not!
