Tuesday 24th January 2012 - Decisions

I received an email today offering me a position on the NSW State Team for the 2012 National Championships, based off my performance in 2011.

I was pretty amused because I didn't expect to be given an offer as I was not in the top four of the state rankings.  In fact, I was 6th in the rankings, so obviously two people above me have already declined their invitation.  Probably why I was asked so late, and also why I only have just over a week to consider it.

I haven't been shooting seriously for a few months now, so thats an issue.  On top of that, its $220 entry fee for the event, plus ~$200/night for accomodation, so it will come to about $2000 for the week or so once you throw in petrol for driving down and food costs.

Is it worth it?  I have a few days to think about it.....  But I have to make a decision quickly it would seem.....

Meanwhile after I received the email, I went outside and put down a quick 8 ends at my target, getting back into good form as best I could remember, was starting to get a bit tired and compromising form at the end, but with a 8m range, I wasn't getting any rest period between my ends like I normally would in shooting distance.  I'll hope for good weather on Friday so I can ascertain better how I am going before I make a full committed decision.

48 arrows.

Friday 20th January 2012

@ St Pauls

Overcast turned sunny, slight winds at times slight gusts.

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm, unscored

Total 72

Having not shot my recurve for over a month, it was a bit of a struggle to get through.  I took rests every 4-5 ends, as through the end cycle, typically 4th arrow, I couldn't get through the clicker on the first attempt.  My bow shoulder was collapsing and unable to take the weight and strain, while my release fingers were getting a bit red from the pressure of shooting.

Still, it didn't go too badly, no misses, groups were that flash, but still putting in 40's in, so I haven't completely lost it.

31st December 2011

Its been a while since I posted, and to be honest, I haven't been shooting heavily in the last quarter of the year.  Once again I suffer motivational issues, since, while I haven't shot a 1200 in competition, having shot the 1200 in practice has been pretty solid for me.  1220 is just an arbitrary number really :P

This year has been great for me, I travelled a lot, met many great people, had a wonderful time shooting.  I also qualified to be a National Judge Candidate, and finally got my level 1 coaching certification.  A lot has happened.  I am at the crossroads of whether to continue to pursue competitive shooting, and I know that at my age, plenty of people are still highly competitive, but it really does get harder to play off against the continuing younger generations that pass through.  The other option that I also have which just suits me quite well, is the coaching and mentor side, providing my experience and what not to new archers.

Perhaps I can have someone I coach, live their dreams of being an elite archer, and if that is successful, then I too would be happy.

Happy New Year to you all, and good shooting for the year to come.

Tuesday 20th September 2011

@ St Pauls

Very windy, gusty, bright and sunny

6x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

2x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 48

Way too windy to really shoot terribly well, very gusty.  I was feeling a bit strained trying to shoot in the wind so decided to stop.  Not too long afterwards, my pinky finger knuckle on my right hand also started to ache, so not quite sure what was going on there.

Monday 19th September 2011

@ Northern

Warm, sunny, light to moderate winds at times

3x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

FITA90 practice

Total 162

Practiced a FITA90 today in preparation for the State Championships this coming weekend.  I shot straight through with only water and the time to move distance and change target faces, so no food or energy replenishment.

Was having some left/right issues, but my sight settings from uni were pretty good and spot on enough for me to put in good groups when my release action was clean

I put through an 1178 today, only 10 points off my competition PB and a bit better than the 1151 from the other week.

Distance scores were much better, though the disappointment for today was my 30m score, though I was shooting 6 arrow ends through 50m and 30m instead of 3 arrow ends.

The distance scores were 265, 296, 292 and 325.  The 325 did hurt quite a bit, and was pretty much what dragged it down somewhat since the 296 and 292 are really solid in terms of being at that 300 point, and the 265 is also getting close to the aim of a 270, 300, 300 and 330 breakpoint 1200 score.  It is encouraging though that things are slowing coming together when everything happens right.

Friday 16th September 2011

@ St Pauls

Sunny, warm, light winds

12x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

6x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 108

Did some practice at 90m and 70m today, but stopped early as my left elbow tendon was feeling a bit sore and didn't want to aggravate any kind of potential tendinitis.  Todays releases were much better and I had a better control over my shooting cycle and timing. 

For 90m, I was grouping better, averaging between 41 to 48, and for 70m, around 45 for the worst spray, up to a 56, but more around the 51 mark, so I was happy to be back where I expected my shooting to be.

I strained my right side rhomboid somehow and its still a bit sore and stiff, twinges in pain a little, so shooting the lower volume today probably wasn't the worst idea I could have had.

Tuesday 13th September 2011

@ St Pauls

Warm, interesting wind behaviour, bright.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

6x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm scored

1x 6 arrow end @ 70m, 122cm unscored

6x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

6x 6 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm scored

6x 6 arrow ends @ 30m, 80cm scored

Total 168

I tried to shoot a FITA90 practice today, and besides one hiccup, I got through the arrows, rather mediocre though.  I forgot to move my sight pin for the first shot of 70m, so just decided to use the round as a practice end for sight setting purposes.

I was a bit tired, didn't sleep so well, and had release problems all afternoon.  Poor releases sent my shots right and high regularly.  Being able to send shots down with very relaxed releases went straight, but the winds were playing up with switching left and right inconsistently.  Enough so at distance to be pushing my shots around quite far.

Score wise, I put down 248, 297, 286 and 320.19 10's and 6 X's.  Total 1151.

Looking at them score wise, they were all down across the board, though I was happy with the 297 at 70m as it was decent relative to how I felt they were shot.  90m was solid at least, though 50m and 30m were a bit ordinary.  I haven't shot a 320 at 30m for a while, usually up in the 330 area.  That said, a 1151 total isn't terrible either for how I felt I shot today.