submitted
BLUE Lake Archers were back on home territory this week after their successful expedition to the Great Southern Archers iron arrow event the previous week.
A more relaxed weekend produced a new winner for each of the three rounds contested.
Friday night the indoor venue had a pair of Australian 18-metre rounds on the cards.
The initial round had all three competing archers in good form, but it was Tamika Mullan who came out on top with a personal best score of 307.
Paul Freeman and Ben Kilsby had to be close to their previous best scores to keep Mullan in sight and try to head off her handicap score advantage.
The new PB pushed Mullan over the benchmark and put an eight-point gap to second placed Freeman.
The second round was a closer affair and required a tie-break to determine the winner.
The handicap system had reeled in Mullan slightly, but Freeman and Kilsby upped the ante as they fine-tuned their aim in a bid for the top spot.
Freeman kept his score sheet clean of any score less than nine points, with all his arrows landing cleanly in the maximum scoring yellow zone of the target face.
At the final tally the adjusted scores had Freeman and Mullan tied at 301 points, with the win deservingly going Freeman’s way.
Kilsby pulled up just short of making it a three-cornered tie break, completing his night just three points off the winner.
On Sunday the Corriedale Park outdoor range was used for a three-distance Perth round, with the stiff breeze adding a wild card factor to the day.
The round started at 70 metres and decreased to 60 and then 50, with 90 arrows scored during the event.
On the practice range coaching was also conducted for a keen beginner archer.
The wind adversely affected scores on the main range and made for a day which could be politely described as “character building” for the four archers competing.
Kilsby finally had his revenge in the frustrating wind conditions and topped the adjusted scores to edge out Mullan by four points, while Freeman and Peter Donhardt filled the minor placings.
This week will see an indoor event at Blue Lake Gymnastics Club today at 7pm and an outdoor round at Corriedale Park on Sunday at 12.30pm.
RESULTS
Australian Indoor 18 metre, round 1, handicap scored, benchmark 300 points: Tamika Mullan 307 (off the bow 277); Paul Freeman 299 (287); Ben Kilsby 296 (295).
Australian Indoor 18 metre, round 2, handicap scored, benchmark 300 points: Paul Freeman 301 (off the bow 289); Tamika Mullan 301 (271); Ben Kilsby 298 (297).
Perth outdoor round, handicap scored, benchmark 900 points: Ben Kilsby 879 (off the bow 839); Tamika Mullan 875 (739); Paul Freeman 831 (739); Peter Donhardt 695 (489).
