Outdoor Archery Season, 1999

Summary

Fita average

 Dist	 Hits  Golds    Score   Low  High  S. Dev. Num
  90m   35.91   3.00   274.91   247   290  12.5369  11
  70m   36.00   7.18   307.09   293   322   7.2795  11
  50m   36.00   7.09   302.00   278   314   9.8719  11
  30m   36.00  17.90   337.50   330   342   3.5847  10
  All  143.90  35.70  1224.60  1184  1254  21.0533  10

Competitions

Arizona Cup, 16th-19th April

Given the lack of practice for this tournament, I should be satisfied with the result. I started out well, but shot worse during the 70m and the subsequent day in the 50m. Even though it was windier, dry and still very hot, 30m was a bit better. I qualified in the middle of the pack for the elimination round, and won the first round in a nervous match. In the second round I shot against Justin Huish, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist. I was leading after the first few arrows, but then slipped as I started to come down from a shot and missed the target totally. Even though he was not shooting well, Justin did not make any major mistakes and so beat me comfortably. I identified solidifying my bow arm and cleaning up my shot execution as major areas to work on.

Victoria Double Fita Star, 24th-25th April

At the start of this tournament, I was feeling good, and I shot very well in practice. The usual tournament nerves took the edge off my shot, so 90m wasn't great. The 70m was my best score for a couple of years, I really got myself together after a shaky start, and shot some great ends (including a 59, with one arrow only 1cm outside the ten ring). The 50m was consistent but not spectacular, and the 30m was tired and undistinguished. The second day the wind got up, and by 50m I was tired and just couldn't seem to produce a nice shot. At 30m I decided to have some fun, and swapped my bow for Greg Durward's compound. Surprisingly, I shot three 10's in my second end, not having shot a compound outside before! Overall, I enjoyed the weekend a lot, and will be shooting more in Victoria this year.

Victoria Double Fita Star, 1st-2nd May

The first day of this tournament was plagued by a blustery variable wind. Everyone was trying to convince me that this isn't normal for Victoria, so far the evidence I have is to the contrary! I had some alignment problems at the shorter distances, and was trying out a different sight pin (which did not work well for me), so the score was not very good. The second day's conditions were almost perfect, but I was having a few problems executing the shot. The score was quite good, but missed my target by a few points.

Cotton Boll, 8th-9th May

Third. There was a surprisingly strong and cool wind this weekend, which also varied direction quite often. I had problems with my Elan, and switched to shooting the Radian after a dreadful 90m and a poor start to 70m. Almost immediately my scores picked up a bit, but not enough to rescue me from a poor score. I was having trouble over-aiming as well, which I believe is due to the size of sightring I am shooting. I will be trying larger sight rings before the next tournament.

Victoria Double Fita Star, 15th-16th May

I had a cold the week before this competition, which I thought was receding. Unfortunately, it wasn't; if I'd known how bad I'd feel when I got up to Victoria, I probably wouldn't have gone. I shot a lot of nice-feeling shots on Saturday which I didn't feel that I was adequately rewarded for. After the shooting, I did some form work and identified my slow rhythm as a problem. On Sunday, I worked on either shooting the shot in three seconds or letting down. I must have pulled half as many arrows again. The score was better, but it took me too long at the start of each distance until I started hitting the middle. The 30m distance was intensely frustrating, I just couldn't hit the middle when I shot good shots.

Canada Cup, Burnaby, 22nd-23rd May

First. The weather was beautiful, with light or no wind and sunshine, but I did not perform well. I had been shooting very well during the week, improving my timing and rhythm, but I just couldn't seem to find the shot. I qualified first in a very small field, and won the elimination rounds, but only after a very tense final round in which I had to work hard to control the nerves and adrenaline.

California Cup, Sacramento, 11th-13th June

Fifth. The lack of outdoor practice (I did not yet have a car and couldn't get up to the archery range often) really showed. I found two forms flaws that had crept in undetected, one an alignment problem and the other a lack of follow-through on the shot. I shot poorly in the qualifying Fita, then very poorly in the round robins, but managed to get lucky in my opponents' misfortune. I won two single arrow shoot-offs, and made it through to the eliminations, where Hugh MacDonald of Canada beat me.

Victoria Double Fita Star, 19th-20th June

I enjoyed this shoot a lot, even though I shot a poor score. My shot rhythm was much improved on the previous week, but the alignment problem was not fixed. I only shot the first day, deciding that some practice would be better for me than another day of competition. The other reason I enjoyed the weekend so much was that it was the first time I'd flown myself to a tournament in another country, and the flights were textbook perfect.

Victoria Double Fita Star, 18th-19th September

This was a last attempt at enjoying the season. I had picked up the bow the week before after a four month layoff, initiated by the company I work for going into receivership (and eventually being bought). I was pleased with my first day's performance and score, and overall with the technique simplifications on which I was working. The second day's score, especially at 50m, was very disappointing even with the mitigation of tiredness. I took part in handicap elimination rounds after the Fita on both days, taking fourth in the first one and second in the second.

Washington State Archery Championships, 9th-10th October

First. I shot this competition on the spur of the moment, and since it was at my home range. I like to shoot at least one personal best each year (it makes me feel like I'm still improving ), and since I hadn't done that yet, I decided to shoot a round that I hadn't previously shot. I mistook the distances we were shooting; I had thought it would be yards, but the format was a Canadian 1200, which consists of 70m, 60m, 50m and 40m, followed by a Canadian 900, which is 70m, 60m, and 50m. On the first day, I was neck and neck with Brian Funston all day, falling slightly behind at the 40m. On the second day, I was the only one on the target to not fluff a shot and miss (even though I did get a couple of 3's), which made enough difference for me to hang on and win.