SUNNY and calm conditions on a Sunday in winter are a rare combination for Blue Lake Archers, but they enjoyed an outdoor archery round to take full advantage of the weather on the weekend.
Having a change of pace from the usual fare of rounds put the World Archery 60/900 to the fore of the archers thoughts, the three distance 90 arrow event beginning at the 60-metre mark and dropping though 50 and 40 metres.
A smaller field of three archers were present over the long weekend.
A pair of perfect 60-point ends at 60 metres by Ben Kilsby set the tone of his day on the range as he streaked to a commanding off-the-bow score.
Len Bayley had not operated at 60 metres for a while but was soon back on track as his score picked up during the afternoon.
Graham Lock put a small dampener on Kilsby during the 50 meter range when one of Kilsby’s arrows was struck and damaged by one of Lock’s.
In the past the damage could have written off the arrow, but a system referred to as pin nocks was developed to allowed an incoming arrow to be deflected without catastrophic damage in most cases.
The small aluminium pin and the nock were written off but the arrow was repairable with new parts added.
Kilsby returned serve on Lock a couple of ends later with Lock losing a nock to one of Kilsby’s inward-bound arrows.
The day played out with Kilsby claiming the handicap adjusted score win for the day as well as the bragging right of the best off-the-bow score.
Bayley was not far off the pace in the adjusted scores, following Kilsby home just six points behind.
Indoor archery continues at Blue Lake Gymnastics Club, Malseed Park Friday at 7.30pm, followed by outdoor archery at Corriedale Park, 12.30pm on Sunday.
World Archery 60/900 outdoor round, handicap scored, benchmark 900 points: Ben Kilsby 904 (off the bow 876); Len Bayley 898 (712); Graham Lock 874 (818).
