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.

Monday 12th September 2011

@ Northern

Warm, Sunny, no wind of note, brief cloud period

3x 12 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

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

3x 12 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

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

Total 144

I tried to get in some strength and distance practice today, alternating between 12 arrow ends and 6 arrow ends, and I can say I definitely felt my back in use by the end of it.  I was finding that as I got tired, my hand was lifting off my face so I was losing my anchoring, so something to be aware of when shooting tired.

Sunday 11th September 2011

@ Northern

Some wind, a little gusty at times, warm, sunny

4x 6 arrow ends @ 60m, 122cm warmup

FITA900

Total 114

Felt good today, some very solid shooting, improving in terms of not shooting most bad shots and letting down, a few odd shots that might be anchoring related or something to do with finger pressure, but I was pretty happy overall with how the shoot went, good execution.

For the distances, I shot 264, 272 and 277, so a small creep in scores as the distances got shorter, to be expected when on the large face, moreso less 8's than more 10s.  Total score being a 813 which turns out to be a new PB for me by 7 points so very happy with that.

Saturday 10th September 2011

@ Northern Archers

Very windy, some sun, some cloud.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

12x 3 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm unscored

14x 3 arrow ends @ 30m, 80cm unscored

Total 96

I visited Northern today with the intention of getting in some light practice and to join up as an Associate member since my other club I used last financial year no longer accepts Associate Memberships due to 'political' reasons.

When I arrived though, I found that some guys from UNSW had started shooting a FITA90 practice for the State Open in a fortnights time.  So, I joined in with them, finishing off the shoot, but not scoring at all.  My 70m execution was a bit fiddly because the wind gusts were really kicking the buggery out of me in holding still, and 50m wasn't much better, but when we got down to the 30m, I was happy enough to finish strongly, shooting my way through and only dropping 1 arrow outside the gold into the 8 ring, so a very solid finish I felt.

Tomorrow is the Northern FITA900, so will see if I can get over the 806 I shot at the start of the year at Waringah.  My estimates put me at about a 810, so if I can make that, I'll be happy enough.

Friday 9th September 2011

@ St Pauls

Cold, light rain at times, light wind, not of note to shooting but to windchill, sunny periods at times generally cloudy and overcast.

1x 7 arrow end @ 60m, 122cm unscored

1x 8 arrow end @ 60m, 122cm unscored

6x 9 arrow ends @ 60m, 122cm unscored

5x 9 arrow ends @ 50m, 122cm unscored

5x 9 arrow ends @ 40m, 122cm unscored

4x 9 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

1x 9 arrow end @ 90m, 122cm unscored

Total 213

I wanted to get some practice in for the Northern FITA900 on Sunday, so put through some 60,50 and 40m practice.  But to bulk up my shooting fitness I put through 9 arrow ends instead of the six and pulled through okay.

For most of the ends, I was getting a good 7 or more arrows into the gold, so settings were pretty decent and form was in a good shape, with the exception of the 70m and 90m that was conducted at the end as someone from UNSW visited wanted to try them with their new bow setup.

Tuesday 6th September 2011

@ St Pauls,

Warm, slightly breezy but not particularly gusty or strong, sunny

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

17x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

1x 7 arrow end @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 181.

Was practising my longer distances for the State Open Championships since 90m scores always kill my FITA90 score.  I had a good 12 ends for 90m I felt, scoring consistently in the low to mid 40's, average score but the execution felt better.  The smaller pin allowed me to feel more relaxed as I could see more of the target than before, even though I still had obstruction from my stabilizer.

I moved up to 70m, and put down a extended session.  I had good ends, reasonable ends, and normal ends, putting in between 45 to 57, with a good half in the 52, 53 point range.  Consistency is still lacking as some ends will be quite tight, while others are ballooned out.  But on average, it is showing that there has been good improvement though in the last two months.

I have pretty much settled into finishing this year shooting wise, I don't see much point in me caring about national rankings anymore, or winning events, rather, returning to the feeling of enjoying my shooting, as it is paramount to me shooting long term.  The Northern FITA900 is on this weekend, then a fortnight for the State Championships, then in December the City of Sydney.  There are a few other QRE's in the middle that I may or may not go to, since it really doesn't matter anymore for me at this point, even if I have the same goal long term, but rather enjoy what I'm shooting, and slowly creep up in my improvements.

Friday 2nd September 2011

@ St Pauls

Windy to start, quite cool, settled down and turned warm late afternoon

7x 6 arrow ends @ 30m, 80cm unscored

7x 6 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm unscored

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

Total 120

Tested out the AAE pin today at standard distances, though it was hard to tell exactly since the wind was pushing me around quite considerably.  It made it hard to shoot so harder to gauge how the pin behaviour would affect my shooting as such.  I think shooting in the wind also has strained my shoulder a little bit as I am feeling somewhat from it.

30m and 50m in good light conditions, I was able to float the pin fine, though at 70m as light was fading a little and cloud cover appearing, the target shade went dull which made it difficult to aim as well with the brighter pin.  I would imagine though that a normal shoot conditions means closer at the end of the day, so it wouldn't be as much of an issue, at least for target shooting, not sure how it would be for field shooting.

Execution for 30m and 50m was pretty solid I felt, but 70m was a bit lacking, either just because I wasn't really happy with how the light was helping me not aim or just from being tired with the wind and cold.  Was scoring 54-57's at 30m, and 50-52 at 50m, and 45-52 at 70m, so while not terrible for 70m, probably mediocre really.

Thursday 1st September 2011 - AAE Gold Aiming Aperture

@ Sefton

Warm, average day

6x 6 arrow ends @ 8m, blank

Total 36

I received a new sight pin, so installed and tested it out.  The AAE Gold Aiming Aperture isn't cheap by most peoples standard, but it does come with a good array of features.  The pin has a similarly sized ring to the stock Shibuya pin that comes with the Ultima Recurve but the main 'feature' really is that it has a 0.019" (or 0.5mm) fibre optic pin.  The problem I had with the Shibuya is that their pin comes with a curled spring metal insert with an orange blob that was just simply way too big to be of any decent use.  It wasn't an overaiming issue but rather obscured vision too much for my preferences.  I had replaced it with the end of a tailors pin I put in, but this 0.019" fibre makes that look obese.

The fibre holder is very snug, and in the kit it comes with a pink/orange, blue, yellow/green fibres.  Up to you what you want to use, I switched out the defaulted pink to the green.  It has a soft plastic sleeve to thread the fibre into, and there are two attachment points for the sleeve that hold it quite firmly.

The quality of the fibre is also really great, it isn't a brittle fibre like the fibres that used to come with the Titan Scope that I have, quite soft, flexible and suits this application perfectly.  In average-moderate light conditions, its bright, and in sunny conditions, it looks like a LED light source.  Originally a concern that it might be too bright.

It seemed to be okay shooting at home, so will put it to the test out on the range.

Tuesday 30th August 2011

@ St Pauls

Warm, some light winds, turned overcast and cool

18x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

8x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 156

Worked some on 90m today, was roughly scoring low to mid 40's about normal, some reasonable group sizes at times, but not great consistency.  By the time I got to shooting some 70m, I was a bit tired after not having shot a high volume for nearly two weeks, but had some good ends in there, some good groups also, not fantastic day of shooting but just good to put the arrows down.

Monday 29th August 2011

@ Sefton

Warm, sunny, no wind

6x 6 arrow ends @ 8m

Total 36.

Just put through blank again.

Its hard to say exactly where I'm goal-orientated towards now.  While I am not going to make it for 2012, where exactly am I heading now.  There are a few QRE's still on the calendar, the Northern FITA900, the State Championships, and the City of Sydney too.  Without a week-day venue right now, its harder to practice properly, except for uni days.  I need more practice for 90m for a FITA90 score increase, so I guess I will have to focus upon that in the upcoming few weeks to the State Championships, and then assess the situation at hand.  I've had a good run, no regrets.  I've also had an email from my boss regarding potential work so I don't know what will come of it, and if it is an opportunity for me to have more career orientated movement or not.

One step at a time.  Though, someone I used to coach (since I haven't been around for two months, and even prior to me going overseas, they kind of stopped seeking development from me) has been shooting fantastic scores lately, better than me, so whoever is assisting them, great and I hope they keep up the improvement, since as a junior they have many years available to them upcoming.

Sunday 28th August 2011

@ Sefton

Warm, sunny

6x 6 arrow ends @ 8m, blank

Total 36

Put some ends down on the target at home, with the smaller rest break, since it takes almost no time to retrieve from 8m away, the 36 arrows were a little harder to shoot than compared to 70m shooting.

Saturday 27th August 2011

@ Liverpool City Archers

Overcast, warm, no wind of note

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

Woke up too late and not feeling top shape after my international flight in, so rather than trying to rush down to shoot the State Field, I decided to forfeit my entry.  Since SOPA no longer accepted Associate Memberships, I needed an alternative venue to practice at, with Liverpool being the next closest club, I dropped by to ask about their fees.  Unfortunately no-one was there who had the ability to help me, so I just put down some practice.

I didn't score, but the groups were reasonable size, just not centred well, though they would not have been as tight as Fridays shooting.  One thing that I am not a fan of for the Liverpool club is their target range is uneven and well, it is a challenge to shoot on for sure.

Friday 26th August 2011

@ St Pauls

Sunny, no wind of note, warm for a winters day

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 60m-10m in 5m gaps for sight settings

Total 72

I went from the airport directly to the field, the flight being delayed so I didn't have much opportunity to go home and come back out again as I had originally wanted to.

Putting my bow together after a week or so of not shooting, and put down several ends felt good, and for 70m, I had several good ends scoring 50, 53, 51, 57, 52, 50, which would have resulted in a 313.  Tight shooting especially coming off a 15hr flight that had been delayed 5 hours.  My field settings were good enough for my liking so I packed up and headed home as I originally intended to shoot the State Field Championships on the weekend.

Sunday 14th August 2011

@ Delisle Sports Ground

Overcast, slight breeze, moderate temperatures

5x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, warmup 122cm, sight settings check.

Matchplay

A-side 1st round: 15 arrows - Win

2nd round: 12 arrows - Loss

B-side 3rd round: 9 arrows - Win

4th round: 9 arrows - Loss

Total 75.

Being the FCA Open, it was matchplay using the WAF Set System, with qualifying rankings based from the FITA90 and the 720 rounds the two days before.  I was placed 7th in the rankings and so had to shoot my way through.  They ran an A side and B side, where the B side was where the losing athlete from the A side had an opportunity to win a 'consolidation' prize.  Two losses meant you were out.

My first match was a tight affair, 2-0,0-2, 2-0, 0-2, then 0-2 to me for a 4-6 point win.  My second match was against Canadian Olympian Crispin Duenas, where it went 0-2, 1-1, 0-2, 0-2 for my loss 1-7.  It was however the 1/4th round so I was pretty happy with that result anyway.

On the B side, I shot my first round with a clean sweep 6-0, before getting the same in return 0-6 to be bowled out in the Semi's.  The guy who beat me ended up winning the B side, while Crispin also won the A side, so I can't really complain at how I lost out.

Overall, the week of competition in Canada was a lot more relaxed in general though I had greater pressure from myself and expectation to do better in my scoring than I did in the WOAF.  Sadly it didn't happen but I still had a great time.

Saturday 13th August 2011

@ Delisle Sports Ground

Warm, sunny, windy gusts in changing directions

4x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored unofficial warmup

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored official warmup

72 arrow 70m/720

Total 114

I really had a hard time shooting today.  Everything I tried just didn't work or settle.  Tried to relax and work on my cycle, tried counting, tried to be more resolution, it just didn't happen.  I felt that I was straining my muscles and back a lot, everything felt really stiff and tight, so I hope I didn't really push too hard with it.

Not much to say, but it was just a horrible day of shooting so I was surprised when I did manage to put down a reasonable 584, which breaks down to a 293 and a 291.  Going back to yesterdays shooting for 70m, anything 290+ is still reasonable.

I will hope to just keep working on the problem issues at hand and grind my average up.  Peaks and falls happen, just hope that when I have a next important shoot, that I'm on a good day.

Friday 12th August 2011

@ Delisle Sports Ground

Warm, some winds, sunny

5x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored warmup

FITA90

Total 174

The day started okay, bit of time to warm up as usual, and having the 5 ends starting was helpful, while I had one miss at 90m, I still shot reasonably well I felt with a 252, solid shooting for me in terms of 90m, especially since my slower bow setup now means having to shoot with an obstructed sight pin.  My 70m round was pretty reasonable too I felt, with a 293, not as great as I had hoped with the 314 earlier in practice, but anything 290+ for me is a good range, just slowly raising the average.

I however had a bit of a meltdown at 50m.  We had no choice but to use the 5+ ring 80cm faces, and for really no good reason, I put three misses in.  I fought hard to recover from the poor shooting, but struggled through to put down a 259, considerably lower than the 298 I had in Yankton, I was fairly disappointed with it.  

To finish off the day, 30m was up, and having shot 30m comfortably for years, I felt I could finish well.  I had some points of struggle, being tired, and mentally trying to stay strong through the last distance.  I did manage to scrap in a 334, not my best, but at least kept it above 330.

Finished up with a 1138, definitely not my worse, just disappointed at the 50m result that dragged the whole result down somewhat.

Thursday 11th August 2011

@ Delisle Sports Ground

Sunny, light breeze at times, turned overcast

Official practice day

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

2x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 50m, 30m, 122cm and 80cm 6 sport unscored

Total 72.

Had problems executing today, was really struggling to get through the clicker, and didn't feel quite right with my shooting.  I hope that I can stay relaxed and not worry tomorrow, and try to regain my shooting sequence in focus.

Wednesday 10th August 2011

@ Thunderheads Archery club

Warm, sunny, no wind of note

2x 6 arrow ends @ 60m, 80cm warmup

24 Target Marked FITA Field

Total 84

Shot the Canadian National Championships today, finished up with a 300, which was pretty good for me I thought.  My last few field shoots were all sub-300 anyway, prior and after my form change at Easton Newberry, so being able to push through that 'barrier' to the 300 was a good feeling.  I had a few issues in getting my back into use again, and also just a few really bodge releases that cost me because I plucked them out to the 1 ring.  No real complaints though, it was a relatively easy course and finished quickly.

Tuesday 9th August 2011

@ Thunderheads

Warm, no wind, clear skies

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

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

Total 72.

Practice day for field.  Registered for the event, paid and picked up registration package and had equipment inspected.  Decided to not stand around to shoot the field course, which is very strange to me since no other place that I have ever shot field round lets you practice on the actual course to compete on during practice.  Seriously, wtf Canada.  Also, their scorecards do not contain boxes for 5+6s and 6s.  Rather, officials will do countback if there is a score tie.  So, I decided to shoot some 90m and 70m practice, and finished up with a 244 and 288 for a 532, not fantastic, but my last two ends for both 90m and 70m were where they should have been.

Just have to be aware of, finger pressure, bow cant, and confident execution.  I had some video assistance that was good in showing my clicker position was right on where it needed to be, so I should be more confident in knowing I don't have massive amounts to get through for the shot.

Tomorrow, will be the field championships, and regardless of how I shoot, I have a feeling I will place well.

Sunday 7th August 2011

@ Thunderheads Archery club

Very windy, sunny, cool.

1x 6 arrow end @ 10m, 122cm sighting check

1x 6 arrow end @ 15m, 122cm sighting check

1x 6 arrow end @ 20m, 122cm sighting check

Practice marked FITA Field, 24 target.

Total 90

I was planning to do some more shooting at the target but the wind conditions were quite bad, so I decided that the best way to check off the sight settings from Accurate Sights was to go around on the field course.  Most of the settings were pretty sweet on, so long as I executed properly, and I am confirming more now that my biggest problem is finger tensions on the release hand.  The field course isn't as flat as it could have been, so it's nice to get some up and downs.  Only one target was really far off on the settings, which was target number 19, says its 20m but I would go as far to say it is closer to about 23m or so as the sight setting was getting close to my 25m setting.

I was pretty happy with how I shot the field course casually, it'd be good if I could shoot the same during the championships.

Saturday 6th August 2011

@ Thunderheads Archery Club

Windy, bright, sunny, comfortable.

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

FITA90

Total 162

The conditions didn't seem to be the best today for scoring, but I decided to score anyway as its important to get used to it, as thinking about scoring will often change your concentration during an event.  I tried to focus on engaging my back properly and letting down when shots were not getting through.  That said, there were still some shots that I stupidly yanked through and shot anyway, simply because I thought that I would have exceeded the 4 minute shot clock (even though I don't have one to check on my end timing).

I was still struggling somewhat at 90m, but did a bit better today with my focus on the back and finger tension.  Finger tension is so important, it is really the main cause of why my shots are not getting through.  Having a specific sideways draw sequence start helps maintain that finger tension.

In the end, I shot a 266, 314, 298 and 334 for a total of 1212.  What can I say, I'm really happy that I broke 1200 in practice, with a solid score, not like a 1201 or something.  In addition to this, the 314 for 70m is another PB too.  I just hope I can repeat the performance later.

Friday 5th August 2011

@ Thunderheads Archery Club

Sunny, warm, light breeze at times, nothing major of note

4x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

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

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

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

8x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 180

Tried to work on getting through the clicker at the higher arm position for 90m, and some 70m.  Scored the 90m to a 245, which was decent enough I felt, reasonable  But then when I started on the 70m scoring I discovered that the clicker mount plate was moving due to the sight block screws loosening.  I spent a bit of time fixing that up and I hope that it will not come loose again, if it does, I may need to go with superglue.  After that, just more work in shooting 90m consistently, push/pulling to get through and with controlled releases.

Thursday 4th August 2011

@ Thunderheads Archery Club

Sunny, windy, bright

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

11x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

18x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 180

Today was quite windy in gusts, making the longer distances harder to shoot.  I tried to work on 90m some but didn't really feel it working so well and moved up to 70m.  When the wind wasn't blowing, I was getting good execution, but once the wind picked up, I struggled.

I managed to get clean releases by 'reaching' out with my bowarm and not being too concerned about the release itself, will try it more again tomorow.  When it was executing well, the groups were pretty sharp, all within the 8 ring plus.

Wednesday 3rd August 2011

@ Thunderhead Archers, Delisle Saskatchewan Canada.

Warm, sunny, breezes at times.

25x 6 arrow ends @ 122cm 30m, 50m, 70m, 90m

Total 150 

First visit to the Thunderheads Archery club.  It's a bit of a drive and rather remote to the point where GPS co-ordinates are more useful than road names as on my GPS, it knows there are roads there, but they are unknown names.

Their club has a permanent field range, and a small target range that is normally not left set up.  They have distance markers on the ground but by the looks of it since they are heavily overgrown, most of their members are not target shooters, Gib Henderson who is the club contact told me that a lot of them are into 3D shooting.

I worked on shooting in my KSL Gold tab, and setting the AAE Micro Gold Clicker.  It shifted on me so I had to re-set the mounting screws so will need to recheck settings etc tomorrow again.

Saturday 30th July 2011

@ Easton Yankton

Hot, not too humid, light breeze, clear skies and sunny.

2x 8 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored warmup on unofficial practice range

3x 3 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm  warmup

6x 3 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm Matchplay (2 matches of 3 ends)

4x 6 arrow ends @ 30m and 70m, shooting new clicker and fingertab.

Total 67

Today was the Hoyt World Open matchplay event.  I was seeded 27th after the qualifying FITA90 yesterday.  My first match was against gt, one of the engineers involved in developing the Easton X10 arrow.  I won the match, and was then put up against Dan Schuller, who came 6th in the FITA90, so when I lost, it wasn't really a big deal.  In terms of execution, I did fine against gt, but lost it completely against Schuller.  I think it is because in the matchplay format there is such a long wait delay while other matches in other divisions happen and it was hard to stay 'warm' and concentration was pretty challenging.

Got to work on bowarm, hand pressure, finger pressure, and confident bringing through the clicker.

Friday 29th July 2011

@ Easton Yankton

Hot, humid a little, no real wind of note, very sunny

6x 6 arrow ends @ 50m and 30m, 80cm 5-ring unscored to check settings and warmup on the unofficial practice targets

3x 6 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm 5-ring official warmup

FITA Short distances.

Total 126

Shot the short distances.  I struggled a bit at 50m in expanding, and my clicker was still shifting backwards, thus making it harder to draw.  I am really looking forward to being able to set it solidly using the AAE microclick clicker plate.

At 30m however, I did struggle some too but really tightened and put pressure with the thumb to help with expansion and really put the shot through.  

Overall, I had a really good shoot today, a 298 for 50m and a 346 for 30m.  Comes to 1188, so I was really happy with it :)

I had a pretty good time, just need to work on 90m more.

Thursday 28th July 2011

@ Easton Yankton, Target Range

USAA Target Nationals Day 1

Comfortable, overcast with light to medium breeze settled down to light wind of really no note.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 90m warmup

90m and 70m

Total 90

I was pretty unsettled at the start of the day, wasn't able to get into form and suffered for it.  I think also because the shooting is staggered into two flights, the time inbetween made it hard to stay in my usual shooting rhythm, so things were a bit off.  I had a terrible 90m, with a miss in the first two ends, suffering my score greatly.  I did come back with a 236, which is okay for me at 90m, but definitely a little lower than I was hoping.

In the 70m, I really tried to focus my shooting, and concentrated on the arm and fingers, especially finger pressure.  It paid off, and while I did have 5 or 6 bad shots where I just simply had held the shots too long, the rest were solid execution.  I was very happy with the result, much more confident and finished up with a 308 for 70m.  It placed me down on the list at 24th from 48 competitors, so a great place to be.

Tomorrow I am in the afternoon session, and I hope that the weather isn't too bad, and I can stay concentrated through it to finish strongly, a mid 1100 would be great.

Wednesday 27th July 2011

@ Yankton

Thunderstorm showers, light breeze at start of day, turned sunny and hot

4x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored warmup

28 target NFAA animal round

8x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 30m, 50m, 70m, 122/80cm spots sight setting checking

Total 100

First time shooting the NFAA Animal round today.  It was interesting shooting yardage at animal pictures with marked score zones.  I finished with a 551, with a 560 being a full round, but 588 being the perfect round.  Still a reasonably good score, but put me at 6th in the end.  It seems like it was a bit of a tight race for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, with only a few points between them.

I then went across to the target range after registration and practiced a little, made sure my sight settings were on the target reasonably.  I got to meet Kik-Sik Lee, after being introduced by David Rowson and Marie Hulbert.  My settings worked well enough I thought so I decided to not stay out in the heat any longer than I needed.  They are setting the shoot in two sessions, morning and afternoon, and rotating on the second day.  In addition to this, they are shooting two flights, AB and CD as the line only has enough space for 2 people at a time.  They seems to be over 70 targets on the field. so should be interesting.  I know at least one person on my target, Josh Hinson from Florida who I met during my time at Easton Newberry, so it should be interesting to see how we go against each other.

Tuesday 26th July 2011

@ East Yankton

Hot, light breezes, humidity rising, cloudless

2x 4 arrow ends warmup

Rushmore Range, Hunter Round

Total 120

Shot better today, felt better in execution but there were still weak moments during the round.  I made two separate mistakes today, one with using the wrong sight setting, and a shot after a premature click before I made it to anchor, simply just lack of focus, possibly due to tiredness and the heat.  I started in the morning not feeling 100% right, but not quite feeling sick, but was okay once we got around on the course.

In terms of everyone elses scores, I shot a 491 today, and caught a few points up from yesterdays points against some of the others as I saw a few of them shot 480's.  It means it might very well be a rather tight finish line tomorrow, with the Animal Round being last.

The hunter round target faces were white centres and black elsewhere, so a much smaller dot for focus, and in yardage marks of a variety, not necessarily in 10 or 5 yard marks at all.  I was making guesses at how much to cut to compensate for the lower angle (even though the whole course is rather flat) and I did okay.

Monday 25th July 2011

@ Easton Yankton

Hot, humid a little, light breezes at times.

4x 4 arrow ends warmup

NFAA Field Round

Total 128

I was assigned to the Badlands, one of three field courses they have here (Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse) in addition to the Dakota range that was at Gavin Point Dam.  The NFAA round consists of 4 arrows, on a variety of yard distances up to 80 yards including fans and walkups.  Their target faces are also different to the FITA versions in both size and style.

In any case, it was a long day since the NFAA round is 28 targets instead of 24.  I shot reasonably, but discovered that I wasn't engaging my back properly, and it was affecting the quality of my shot significantly.  I powered into the shot and improved somewhat in the second half, but I did lose quite a lot of points this way.

I ended up with a 471, though it should have been a 481 because my shooting group let me shoot two arrows on the wrong target face even though they even spotted them for me, since in NFAA, unlike FITA, first up on the line shoot the bottom targets instead of the top, and I stupidly shot on the top -_-..... oh well.

Tomorrow is the Hunter round with different faces and distances again.

Sunday 24th July 2011

@ Gavin Point Dam, Dakota Range

Cooler but still quite warm, not much wind movement.

Marked Field

Total 78

I didn't shoot very well.  I realised only afterwards today (Monday) that I wasn't engaging my back properly, which would explain why my sight settings were dropping low in a lot of the shots and I was rather shaky.  I attributed also some of it to being in the same shooting group as Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski.  It was really good to watch them shoot, very smooth actions, but it was also good to see that they were human, with poor shots, and lack of concentration with Brady using the wrong sight setting, and also shooting on the wrong spot on the 20cm target.

I finished with a lower score on the marked than the unmarked, but both Brady and Jake did too so I didn't feel so badly.  It appeared that their marked field course wasn't really set right in terms of distances.  Still, good experiences.

Saturday 23rd July 2011

@ Gavins Point Dam,Yankton SD, USA

Hot, humid, some breeze at times depending on location, lots of insects and mosquitoes.

1x 3 arrow end @ 20m warmup

Unmarked FITA Field

Total 75 arrows.

First time shooting an unmarked field course.  I had quite a bit of advice and help from the people around, very friendly lot, and proceeded to shoot my way through the standard 24 target course.  The ground is fairly flat in this area for most part, but there was a somewhat hillside that half the range was set into with up and not that many downhill targets.

I lost a lot of points either in the 6 misses I had completely, or in 2 or 3's because I lack the distance estimation skills that the others have, before aiming off or correcting to put my last arrow into the 6/5/4 rings.  I was quite pleased with my end result of a 287, since it isn't that far off my personal best for marked field, a 310.  Tomorrow will be the marked field so it will be interesting to see if I can do better lol.

Friday 22nd July 2011

@ Easton NFAA Yankton

Bright hot, not too humid, slight winds.

About 42 arrows, variety of distances to check sight settings

Today was the first day I got to shoot since I left Gainesville Florida. I did some Shot Trainer and tube work in Minnesota during the time I spent with my brother there.

The sight settings were pretty much spot on in terms of height with the right brace height, but there was some left position drift. I wasn't sure if it was the wind or if something I did, so will have to see in the morning if there is any change.

The events for this entire week aren't really that important, but especially for the field events, my competition field is rather small, I believe 8 is the most, so I won't do so badly lol, but the target event is what will show me up some.

Saturday 16th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Very humid and hot, overcast, some wind but hard to determine due to no flags out, but turned calm in the afternoon.

8x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

2x 6 arrow ends @ 90m, 122cm unscored

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

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

Total 132

As my final day here at Easton Newberry, Coach Turned wanted me to do some scored 90m to see how I would do after a week of changes.  I had some warmup shooting at 70m before a bit of sighting at 90m and away I went with scoring.

It was really hot and humid, and my strength was already quite low since it was the end of this long shooting period, and I was having difficulty executing as well as I had yesterday. In terms of a end by end scoring, I had a poor start as my execution was quite poor, starting with a 35.

35, 46, 51, 45, 46 38.  For a 261.  For me, 261 is actually quite reasonable since I have a rather large variance, and if I could manage a 261 in competition consistently it would be a huge improvement for me.  I had to have an aggressive draw to anchor with a confident anchoring point as I could expand into the clicker well after that.

The 70m wasn't the best I have shot but the group size was very very solid for me.

43, 46, 47, 49, 50 and 51.  For a 286.  While its a little low, it being close to 290 is good for me, with my sights a bit on the low side and me trying to wind them back into the middle.

The proof though is a picture Coach Turner took on his phone:

I put 5 arrows into the 8-ring at 90m.  The group size is amazing for me, so if I can put that down again, a few more times, it'd be brilliant.

I hope I can keep this confidence up for the rest of the year ^_^

Friday 15th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Very hot, humid, storm weather, then cool breezes, then rain, then warm overcast.

Shot a variety of distances to get settings check on sight marks after using Accurate Sights.  Shot some indoor also during the rain.

Total 222.

The weather really hasn't been the most helpful during my stay here but I've been told its pretty much how Florida always is in summer.  I was pretty happy with my group sizes, especially with the 70m, when I had solid timing down, I was getting gold-ring sized groups consistently, they might not have been grouped in the gold but the groups were pretty good regardless.  My timing issues are still there, but when I really set my shot down well, and without fatigue, I can now get a 4-5 second cycle, but once it goes over 8 seconds, I usually am unable to complete the cycle execution well if I do so, rather than bringing it through the clicker and letting down to develop clicker control.

The string brace height dropped again, it was at 8 and 5/8ths  but now it is back down to 8 and 3/8ths.  I only discovered this after shooting the distance settings, so after I re-twist the string back up tomorrow, I will need to go through them all again quickly to ensure that the settings are still fairly viable.  While I am not expecting a massive score change or jump in the next bit of shooting in Yankton, I do feel my shooting has come a very long way in the short timeframe I have spent here with Coach Turner's attention and experience so I am extremely happy that I made the choice to come here for the training opportunity.

Thursday 14th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Warm, somewhat humid after rain periods, breezes at times.

Assorted ends at a variety of distances ranging from 5m blank to 90m, totalling 240 arrows.

Worked on shooting form some today early on before the serving on the 20 strange Majesty broke on the top loop serving, so switched over to a 1825 20 strand string that Coach Turner made.  After shooting it in quickly with virtually no stretch, we did some tuning checks by shooting bareshaft and fletched shafts at 18m and 25m.  A few nocking point changes were made as the group was pretty good.  We went outside and put down six ends at 70m, where I clocked in a 305, which was really great since the third end was a 42, otherwise it could have been around a 310.

After this, I shot some more alone to see if I could get my timing and expansion by myself without Coach Turner watching but it didn't go as well, possibly because I did do 140 arrows by then  so was already somewhat tired.  After that, I got some 90m and 50m settings set in before packing up for the day.

Confidence in the shot and mindset is really important for me.  I need to know that I have a very good setup, and be smooth in my action to a strong anchor and bow arm, that will allow me to maintain consistent strong finger tension, that will translate to good transfer and release action.  I need to just set into that very consistently, and ensure that I don't cant my shots to the left too.

Wednesday 13th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Warm, humid with a rain spell, windy in the afternoon, very sunny

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

7x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

1x 6 arrow end @ 70m, 122cm unscored, watched by Coach Turner

5x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

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

1x 3 arrow end @ 18m, 60cm unscored

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

Total 243

Started shooting as usual today and Coach Turner returned from California where he had been for the JOAD Nationals.  Had a brief talk before he watched me shoot, and mentioned the things to keep strong in mind.  Solid hand position, strong bow arm, good head position, strong finger pressure, and everything else should just happen with those aspects.  He said I had a really solid base, it was just a matter of strength and practice to get those elements right.

He got out the 1000fps highspeed video they had, a much better larger one than my Casio, and took some videos of my shooting to see what I was doing.  First thing of note was my arrows were too weak in spine, they were flexing way too much to get good clean groupings.  Secondly, on my clicker, I sometimes have a slight forward creep before release, meaning I lose my back engagement.  The action is so slight that without the highspeed, it would be pretty much impossible to pick.

After that, he made a new string using 20 strange Majesty, with also longer end servings to slow down my bow so the spine would stiffen up some, which it certainly made a difference to the bow speed.  The brace height also went up to 8 3/4", but with stretch it'll come down about 1/8th supposedly.  My sight marks dropped from 77 to 82 for 70m on the rack.  Unfortunately it was too windy outside to tell if my groups shrunk noticeably and I was tired already from shooting a good number of arrows to execute cleanly.

It was a pretty solid day of training though afterwards, my wrist was aching some and I have somehow strained the tendon in my left wrist.... highly unusual since it isn't really something you normally use in shooting at all.....

Tuesday 12th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Hot, a little humid, very bright, some breeze.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

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

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

2x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm unscored

20x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm scored.

Total 226

Shot a 584 70m round.  Not too bad with a 291 first half, and a 293 second half, so getting there slowly I think.  I decided to not score in the second round I shot as I wasn't feeling my execution just wasn't the same. I had lunch and cooled off before doing the 18m round, scoring a 560, up from yesterday.

I am still physically tired and strained, from shooting 1180 arrows in the last several days.  But I feel that my form is solidifying.  Hopefully.

Monday 11th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Breezy at times, switching between overcast and very sunny, quite warm but not as humid as Sunday.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

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

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

2x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm unscored

20x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm scored

Total 226

Kept working on the new form, and it seems to be settling down, though shooting so many arrows without much of a rest period is probably fatiguing me somewhat.  Releases are iffy depending on setup, though I do seem to have a better sense of timing when everything clicks.  I shifted my clicker position a fraction out, though will need assistance to check that it is in a good position.  After that is better confirmed, a tune will be in order to ensure the bow is going to shoot as best as possible with my form.  My fingers are a bit sore, though I'm not really sure what can be done about it exactly, though I might be using the wrong finger position, will have to wait and see.

Sunday 10th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Very hot, very humid, some wind at times

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

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

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

2x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm unscored

20x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm scored

Total 222

The very hot and humid weather made things quite challenging to shoot in.  I felt like my energy was really taxed and drained very quickly.  My fingers are still a bit sore, but that was to be expected with the higher volume of arrows.  My outdoor rounds was a 559 with 17 lower than 7, a 530 with 19 lower than 7.  My indoor round was also a 530 with 18 10's (didn't record X's), so nearly a third were 10/X.

Saturday 9th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Hot, humid, slight breeze at times

14x 10 arrow ends @ 70m unscored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m scored

Total 212

Shot a solid day of 70m.  Still using the different draw setup, and I think I have it down fairly solidly now.  Still not 100% of course, but am able to settle into it fairly well now.  I was able to shoot decent groups early on but shooting the 10 arrow ends tired me out quite fast, and also my fingers were quite sore today, so I might be back doing something not quite right with my finger position on the grip.  I hope to get some good rest tonight and do better tomorrow, perhaps start with some scored shooting first.

In terms of the scoring, I only managed a 545, a bit low in contrast to the 590 I shot the other day, but it was after already 140 arrows shot so it didn't quite compare to had I scored a fresh 70/720 round.

Friday 8th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Outside conditions rainy, slight winds at times otherwise rather calm

12x 6 arrow ends @ 18m, NFAA 5-spot indoor face, unscored

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

24x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, NFAA indoor face

Total 216

Tried to see if the pre-load draw setup advocated by Coach Bob would work for me.  From my experimentation indoors, it seems to be okay, though I may be muscularly weak to shoot with it properly for now, though perhaps over the next few days I will develop sufficient strength for it.  That said, I was getting quite reasonable groups to my regular shooting at 70m even though the groups were not in the middle.  Using the technique indoors had similar good groups except when I held too long and wasn't able to expand through the clicker sufficiently in time and fudged out the release and execution.  Hopefully my body can keep up with a high arrow shooting volume to see if this will pan out for WOAF.  If thats even still on with the flood worries....

Thursday 7th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry Sports Complex, Florida

26x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 60cm, unscored

Total 78.

Drove up from Orlando to Gainesville and visited the facility for the first time.  The weather seemed to be a bit on the turbulent and stormy side, so decided to put in some indoor time.  In the 26 ends I only shot 2 into the 8 ring, the rest were all gold, so I was fairly happy at that result.

I had a bit of a discussion with Coach Bob Romeo, the former head coach of the facility, who is leaving on Sunday to pursue other things as Robert Turner is now the head coach, but is away at the JOAD championships this week.  He suggested a change to my setup, with a pre-draw load so that the lift of the bow action meant the hand was already closer to the face and anchor, reducing movements made by the smaller finer muscles.  It is different obviously to what I have been doing, but apparently it is a shift in Kik-Sik Lee's teaching due to them finally getting around the language barrier of what they thought he meant, to what he actually meant.  I will see if I can try it a bit some more today and determine if it is something that will work and is suitable for me or not.

Sunday 3rd July 2011

@ Northern

Cool morning, odd light breeze, sunny afternoon warmer with also odd light breeze

QRE

4x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm warmup

70m/720

3x 6 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm warmup

50m/720

Total 186

I was pretty happy with the overall result of todays double QRE at Northern. I was struggling at the start somewhat, and then Rob told me that I should consider not a continuous expansion while trying to hold steady, as I was holding way too long, but instead, if my clicker is set correctly, I could float into the middle and actively "pull" the tiny 5mm through the clicker and release. So I tried it. Usually not something you should do in the middle of the shoot, but I figured now was as good a time as any since it was only just a QRE.

Well, I put down a personal best 70m QRE score for a 6 end session of 304 (53, 47 50, 52, 54, 48) with only 6 blues (5, 6 and 6). Unfortunately something didn't quite go right in the second half of the 70m QRE, putting in a 286, with one end being a horrible 43 (9 9 9 6 5 5). Other than that, it was not too bad (50, 48, 49, 47, 43, 49), so I think it's just a stamina and strength issue.

The afternoon session was 50m on the 80cm, and after having an hour break and some food, I powered into it in similar fashion to the 70m, actively trying to pull through deliberately rather than a continuous expansion. Dropped in a 302 (49, 50, 50, 55, 49, 49) with 2 6's. Pretty solid I felt, another QRE PB. Then to finish the day off, I put down a close shave 299, definitely flagging with stamina and strength issues (50, 48 48 54 53 46). Totalling the second half with a 601.

So, a 590 and 601, puts me at a total QRE ranking PB of 1191, my first 600 QRE score and also three really solid scores at that 300 line. Now, to just keep pushing that line up and up.

Friday 1st July 2011

@ St Pauls

Breezy, cool but sunny

23x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm, unscored

Total 138

Put in a solid set of shooting in preparation for the QRE on the 3rd, as it will be the last QRE for me before I head overseas for the two month period away.  I had good groups I felt, but need to work on being patient and also letting down sooner than later when things weren't working.  Was getting roughly between 47-54 point ends, so in the ballpark I am happy with.  I have attempted to improve the mental aspect of my shooting by focusing upon the sensation of the shot release I want during the expansion and release phase, so that upon the clicker reaction, I will obtain the same sensation.  What I am trying to 'feel' is that 'wow' release as if I had just taken the shot trainer off, with the full engagement of my back etc, and while I didn't quite manage to achieve that, I felt it did help in expanding through.

Tuesday 28th June 2011

@ SOPA

Light to medium winds, overcast, quite cool

20x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

Total 120

Sunday 26th June 2011 - State Short Course Championships

@ SOPA

Bright, Cold morning with constant wind for the early morning, sunny and turning warm todays midday

State Short Course Championships

4x 6 arrow ends @ 60m, 122cm unscored

FITA900

Total 114

Shot the competition, the cold weather in the morning was quite challenging for me as I couldn't feel my fingers even with 4 ends of warmup.  I was told by someone it was about 8 degrees without the windchill, definitely not great for shooting.  I felt like it was a bit of a struggle all day long, but I did seem to pick up somewhat with warmer weather as my release cleaned up since my arrows starting climbing up in height (I had to adjust initially as my arrows were grouping low for 60m and half of 50m).  

The ending result was that I finished with a 778, 20 points down from my Friday practice score, which placed me 5th, though 3rd was a 781, and 4th place was a 780.  So, the gapspace was only 3 points between the 3.4 and 5.  I did shoot some 5s and 6s sadly in the event as I had some I punched through due to not functioning properly, which cost me surely.  That said, at least I didn't manage to run out of time.  One of the guys shooting on the target next to me sadly wasn't able to get through the end and only shot 5 out of the 6....

I asked to get the electronic scorecard for the event, and from looking at it, it was indeed a pretty interesting result.  I only shot 4 blues.  Had they been 7's, I would have come 3rd.  Oh well.

Session: 1 ( FITA 122cm at 60 metres )

1  = 51  51 2  = 48  99 3  = 52  151 4  = 45  196 5  = 53  249

Session: 2 ( FITA 122cm at 50 metres )

1  = 50  50 2  = 53  103 3  = 50  153 4  = 53  206 5  = 54  260

Session: 3 ( FITA 122cm at 40 metres )

1  = 56  56 2  = 55  111 3  = 52  163 4  = 50  213 5  = 56  269