ABA On The Boundy Range

Thirty Five archers took to the Boundry Range in what could only be described as the perfect Autumn day for archery. The wind wasn't strong enough to make it through the forest and the previous days rain had the soil soft underfoot. Two rounds were shot across the one range and after 40 arrows Mens Open came in with the top three placegetters all with the same score.

Wade Hudson was in awsome form, I asked him at lunch how he shot the first round, "Wade howd you shoot the first round"..............Wade's only reply with a mouthfull of greasy BBQ sausage was a muffled "Awsome", if his first round was awsome than I don't know how to describe his second round which beat his first round by over 10 points, a 388 from a barebow compound shooter off the red peg is a score to be very proud of and something only a handful of archers have witnessed. Wade destroyed the old club record on the day and set a benchmark only a few will ever have a chance of beating.

Amy Stubbs also smashed the club record for her division in a blistering performance. Amy has been improving greatly over the last few months and will undoubtedly be a great compound archer as she gains more experience.

The next shoot to look out for is the invitational at Tuggerah this weekend and then after that the Inter Club Challenge between Tamworth Field Archers and Namoi Valley Archers on the 13th of May.

Following that there is a club IFAA shoot penciled in for the 27th of May leading up to the Australasian Championships at Sale June long weekend.

Scores.

Keegan Patrick 586 Boy Junior Compound
James Boxsell 318 Boy Junior Compound

Josh Dolbel 744 Boy Junior Open
Cameron Hill 588 Boy Junior Open

Christopher Patrick 476 Cub Boy Compound

Sebastian Donovan 730 Cub Boy Open
Shane Thompson 648 Cub Boy Open
Cameron Boxsell 642 Cub Boy Open
Jackson Howes 608 Cub Boy Open
Mathew Jauja 534 Cub Boy Open

Hayden Riordan 370 Cub Boy Traditional

Jackelyn Patrick 190 Cub Girl Compound

Sammy Patrick 194 Cub Girl Traditional
Imogen Carlin 164 Cub Girl Traditional

Amy Stubbs 506 Girl Junior Compound

Greg Donovan 762 Mens Bowhunter Limited

Wade Hudson 764 Mens Compound
Philip Porter 646 Mens Compound
Ken Thompson 582 Mens Compound
Ben Stubbs 530 Mens Compound
Ken Hill 486 Mens Compound
Jack Carlin 474 Mens Compound

Stuart Dolbel 786 Mens Open
Ben Ireland 786 Mens Open
John Clark 786 Mens Open
Matt Sinclair 680 Mens Open
Lloyd Jauja 366 Mens Open

Darrell Hudson 566 Mens Traditional
Michael Patrick 454 Mens Traditional
Peter Stubbs 448 Mens Traditional

Karen Hudson 478 Womens Compound
Shelly Abra 338 Womens Compound

Cassie Ireland 712 Womens Open

Ann Stubbs 326 Womens Traditional

Delta Targets

A small group of local archers enjoyed the tough and challenging Delta targets on the Outback range on Sunday. Delta targets are basically coloured photo type animal paper targets with score zones in the exact spot and size as the vitals on that particular animal. This means that a score zone for a 48mtr target could be the size of a tea cup, not exactly an easy target to hit.

A number of club records were broken on the day, maybe the new look before you shoot bino rule helped for these targets or maybe the quality of the field is just stepping up to the challenge. These targets are unforgiving, a number of them only allowing a "C" score for a 1" deviation from the "A" zone and some offering a miss for anything greater than that 1" deviation.

Steve Jaeger shot exceptionaly after a week of tuning his bow after some tips at the Nationals, closley followed by John Clark, Mr "Play it safe" and go for consistency.

The record breakers.

Greg Donovan
Wade Hudson
Steve Jaeger
Peter Stubbs
Sebastian Donovan
Christopher Patrick
Jacklyne Patrick
Meg Jaeger
Sammy Patrick
It should be noted that many of the second and third place getters on the day were also breaking the previous club record, fantastic shooting by everyone.

The Scores

Keegan Patrick 645 Boy Junior Compound
Matt Kersley 620 Boy Junior Compound

Josh Dolbel 945 Boy Junior Open

Christopher Patrick 625 Cub Boy Compound
Brody Waterford 545 Cub Boy Compound

Sebastian Donovan 950 Cub Boy Open
Mathew Jauja 930 Cub Boy Open

Jessica Sinclair 465 Cub Girl Compound
Jackelyn Patrick 295 Cub Girl Compound

Meg Jaeger 495 Cub Girl Open
Sophie Donovan 420 Cub Girl Open

Sammy Patrick 430 Cub Girl Traditional
Katie Taylor 325 Cub Girl Traditional

Amy Stubbs 435 Girl Junior Compound

Greg Donovan 955 Mens Bowhunter Limited

Wade Hudson 860 Mens Compound
Jack Carlin 615 Mens Compound
Ben Stubbs 520 Mens Compound
Steve Taylor 280 Mens Compound

Steve Jaeger 1070 Mens Open
John Clark 1050 Mens Open
Stuart Dolbel 990 Mens Open
Matt Sinclair 805 Mens Open

Peter Stubbs 625 Mens Traditional
Darrell Hudson 560 Mens Traditional
Michael Patrick 535 Mens Traditional

Karen Hudson 445 Womens Compound

Ann Stubbs 470 Womens Traditional

The next shoot is an ABA round on the 29th of April, THIS WEEKEND.

ABA National Titles Wrap Up

Namoi Valley Archers reputation as one of the most successful clubs in Australia was enhanced after an outstanding performance by the twenty two member team who attended the 2007 Australian Field Archery Championships held in Wagga Wagga over the Easter weekend. Two disciplines were contested over the four day tournament with over 350 competitors participating in the ABA National round which was held over four rounds and 280 competitors participating in the Australian 3D round which was also held over four rounds making this tournament the largest gathering of archers in the Southern Hemisphere in 2007.
Namoi Valley Archers returned with 8 gold and 4 bronze medals in the ABA National round and 8 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals in the Australian 3D round. Seven local archers finished the tournament with gold in both disciplines, the ‘magnificent seven’ include senior archers Wade Hudson and Greg Donovan, juniors Josh Dolbel, Cameron Hill and Katie Patrick, cubs Sebastian Donovan and Christopher Patrick.

Namoi Valley Archer’s status as the top club in Northern NSW was underlined with Wade Hudson, Ken Hill and Stuart Dolbel, being selected in the winning Northern NSW Branch ABA team, and Wade Hudson, Steve Jaeger and Jodi Dolbel being selected in the winning Northern NSW Branch 3D team.

Competitors at the Australian Championships rated the ranges used for the tournament among the most difficult and highly technical they had encountered with designers making every shot a real test of the archers mental and physical ability with competitors who competed in both events faced the exhausting task of shooting two rounds of ABA and one round of 3D on both the second and third day of the tournament.

ABA National Round
Wade Hudson scored a stunning win in the Compound A grade division winning his first Australian title as a senior archer with an incredible 130 point winning margin. Hudson was 2 points behind the leader after the first round then unleashed an incredible second round to leave the field floundering in his wake. Hudson built on his lead over the final two rounds to become the first senior barebow archer from the club to win the national A grade crown. With this win Hudson has stamped himself as one of the elite barebow compound archers in the country, a remarkable achievement for an archer still only 17 years of age. Greg Donovan scored his first Australian title in Bowhunter Limited producing a top class performance to grab the gold showing outstanding mental toughness in his first outing at a major tournament. The unassuming Donovan only took delivery of a new bow ten days before the tournament but quickly adapted to the new equipment and based on this performance has taken his archery to a new level. Michael Patrick called on all his experience to win the Recurve C grade crown turning a overnight deficit into a very narrow 8 point win in a gritty battle over the final two rounds.

Jodi Dolbel finished with the bronze in Ladies Freestyle Unlimited after a very tense battle. Dolbel was with leaders over the first three rounds with the top two only pulling away on the final round.

The club’s outstanding group of young archers turned in a superb performance to claim a swag of medals. Josh Dolbel led the way with a brilliant performance to win Junior Freestyle Unlimited shooting with incredible consistency to hold of a strong challenge from members of the Hunter Academy of Sport to grab a very well deserved win.

Cameron Hill showed his liking for the big stage scoring an impressive win in Junior Bowhunter Limited with a very consistent performance. Katie Patrick was never headed on her way to winning the gold medal in Junior Girls Recurve D grade while Amy Stubbs collected her first Austraslian medal with bronze in Junior Girls Compound C grade with an encouraging performance. Sebastian Donovan simply blew the opposition away scoring a massive win in Cub Boys Freestyle Limited. Donovan would have still won the title by a good margin even if he didn’t contest the last round such was his dominance. Christopher Patrick added to the gold rush with a good win in Cub Boy Compound C grade with Meg Jaeger, Cub Girl Freestyle Limited and Sammy Patrick, Cub Girl Recurve D grade also winning bronze medals.

The Australian 3D Round

Wade Hudson scored his second gold medal for the tournament with a hard fought win in Compound A grade. Hudson held the lead after the first round only to slip behind after round two but a fine third round had Hudson back in the lead. Showing maturity beyond his years Hudson then shut the gate on his opponents with the best barebow round of the competition to storm to a brilliant victory. Hudson has made the difficult look easy making an effortless transition from the Junior ranks to the Senior ranks and left many seasoned competitors stunned with his performance these Australian Championships. Greg Donovan also scored his second National Title with another very consistent performance across the four rounds in Bowhunter Limited. Amazingly Donovan scored three rounds of 370 and one round of 362 to leave the field in his wake with a superb performance.

Jodi Dolbel showed fantastic mental toughness to score a very hard fought win in Ladies Freestyle Unlimited. Dolbel had to fight off a very strong last round challenge fro 3D specialist, Linda Wagner to claim a very cherished Australian Title in a memorable performance. Darrell Hudson was another archer who toughed it out over the final two rounds to grab a bronze medal in Recurve B grade while Michael Patrick grabbed silver in Recurve C grade. Ken Hill turned in the performance of his life to grab the bronze medal in the always competitive B grade Compound division with a very consistent showing across the four rounds in a wonderful result on the national stage.
Josh Dolbel blitzed the opposition to grab his second gold for the weekend in Junior Freestyle Unlimited with his trademark consistency while Cameron Hill also achieved the double winning Junior Bowhunter Limited with a top class performance. Katie Patrick finished with her second gold in Junior Recurve D grade as did younger brother Christopher in Cub Compound C grade. Amy Stubbs shot extremely well to finish with a bronze in Junior Compound C grade. Sebastian Donovan was unstoppable as he stormed his second gold in Cub Freestyle Limited in another high class exhibition of archery with Jackelyen Patrick grabbing a silver in Cub Girls Compound D grade with a determined showing. Sammy Patrick won the silver in Cub D grade Recurve and Meg Jaeger the bronze in Cub Girl Freestyle Limited. Special mention must be made of the performance of Steve Jaeger who has only made the switch to the ultra competitive Freestyle Unlimited ranks. Jjaeger shot extremely well to finish sixth in the ABA event and fourth in the 3D event and as he gains more experience in this division he will become a major contender at future National tournaments.

ABA, Before Nationals

A small group of local archers took to the Wondobah Range to get some last minute practice in before the Nationals at Wagga this weekend. The Boundry Range was chosen for an ABA paper target round and proved favourable for a couple of the locals.

Greg Donovan shooting his new Prestige was in blistering form in the first round shooting a 388 before lunch, Greg's second round let him down leaving him just short of the club record.

Karen Hudson was another in great form smashing the old barebow club record for ladies.

Ben Ireland came up with a convincing win in the open division and should help him gain confidence and form for the Nationals.

Namoi Valley Archers will be sending a strong team of shooters to the Nationals this year and will also help represent Branch E in the hotly contested branch team event.

Father and sone team Darryl and Wade Hudson also won their respective divisions putting them in good form for what is usually a very hotly contested division at the nationals.

Scores

James Boxsell 458 Boy Junior Compound

Josh Dolbel 778 Boy Junior Open
Cameron Hill 576 Boy Junior Open

Christopher Patrick 416 Cub Boy Compound

Mathew Jauja 722 Cub Boy Open
Cameron Boxsell 690 Cub Boy Open
Sebastian Donovan 526 Cub Boy Open

Jackelyn Patrick 168 Cub Girl Compound

Imogen Carlin 234 Cub Girl Traditional
Katie Patrick 124 Cub Girl Traditional
Sammy Patrick 56 Cub Girl Traditional

Greg Donovan 740 Mens Bowhunter Limited

Wade Hudson 700 Mens Compound
Jack Carlin 574 Mens Compound
Ken Hill 484 Mens Compound
Ken Thompson 358 Mens Compound (one round only)

Ben Ireland 786 Mens Open
John Clark 778 Mens Open
Stuart Dolbel 776 Mens Open
Lloyd Jauja 692 Mens Open
Matt Sinclair 604 Mens Open

Darrell Hudson 580 Mens Traditional
Peter Stubbs 486 Mens Traditional
Michael Patrick 414 Mens Traditional

Jessica Sinclair 222 Ungraded

Karen Hudson 544 Womens Compound

Jodi Dolbel 728 Womens Open
Cassie Ireland 666 Womens Open

See you at Wagga