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A NEW milestone was set for Blue Lake Archers during a recent indoor archery event.
A Sunday afternoon swap from outdoor archery to the indoor range was required due to the likelihood of inclement weather and a double round of Australian 18m was run by the small group of attending archers.
Round 1 was destined to be a watershed moment for Ben Kilsby.
On multiple occasions he has been close to achieving every archers dream, a perfect score for an event.
The possible off-the-bow score for an Australian indoor round is 300 points, while Kilsby’s personal (and club) record stood at 299 points.
Paul Freeman and Len Bayley filled out the rest of the small field and attempted to reel in Kilsby in the adjusted scores to secure the handicap score win.
As the ends ticked by on the score sheets Kilsby had not dropped a single point and the final end he was as nervous as a cricketer on 99 runs.
The nerves were even more stretched as an arrow score call for the final arrow was required to determine if the final off-the-bow score was 299 or 300 points.
After deliberation by the other two archers a nervous Kilsby was relieved to have secured a perfect round score of 300 points, which is also a new club record.
The score was also enough to secure the adjusted score win from Freeman by nine points.
The second round was reduced to two competitors with a still smiling Kilsby stepping aside from competing and instead assisting with scoring duties.
Bayley launched into the fresh round with a vengeance, ultimately finding an extra 20 points to take the match right up to Freeman.
A tit-for-tat round kept Freeman under pressure all the way to the end.
After adjustment to the off-the-bow scores to give the final result, both archers had achieved 297 points.
The automatic tie break in the electronic scoring gave the win to Freeman due to his superior tally of 10-point arrows.
Australian Indoor 18 metre, Round 1, handicap scored, benchmark 300 points: Ben Kilsby 302 (off the bow 300. Club Record); Paul Freeman 293 (281); Len Bayley 277 (236).
Australian Indoor 18 metre, Round 2, handicap scored, benchmark 300 points: Paul Freeman 297 (off the bow 285); Len Bayley 297 (256).
