Namoi Valley Archers sent a 12 member team to Gloucester for the Pacific Region IFAA Championships which were held over 4 days. Competitors faced some of the toughest shooting conditions seen at a major tournament with the big wet soaking the ranges and competitors over the event with some areas of the venue resembling a quagmire by the time the event was completed. The International Field Archery Association (IFAA) competition is a very technical test of archery ability with competitors required to shoot 4 arrows at 28 targets each day at distances extending out to 80 yards.
Wade Hudson finished the tournament as the top barebow archer scoring a wonderful win in Mens Bowhunter A grade finishing with a 36 point winning margin outscoring his nearest opponent in 3 of the 4 rounds. This win confirms Hudson as the best barebow archer in Australia across all disciplines after winning the World Bowhunter title and the Australian ABA title earlier in the year. This is a remarkable feat given the difference in the 3 events and underlines Hudson’s ability to adapt to each different discipline. Ken Thompson has also enjoyed a fantastic year and scored a fine win in Freestyle Limited Recurve B grade shooting with great consistency across the 4 rounds with club mate Mark Stevenson taking second. Karen Hudson was another archer to perform extremely well taking the win in Womens Bowhunter B grade by a big margin with Ann Stubbs finishing with the silver in A grade after a tenacious performance. Jodi Dolbel was ecstatic with her bronze medal in the Freestyle Unlimited division returning to competition after an extended break. Dolbel thought her tilt at the titles was over after her bow failed in preparation for the event. Undaunted, Dolbel was fortunate enough to quickly source replacement and worked overtime to get the new bow ready for the championships. Phillip Greenwood showed great mental toughness to finish with a hard earned silver medal in a very competitive Recurve B grade contest with just 17 points separating the top four competitors. Junio,r Shane Thompson, rounded out the medal haul with a very well deserved win in Freestyle Limited Recurve B grade adding another medal to his overflowing trophy cabinet.
The next club shoot will be a Delta round set down for June 26th. Club members are advised there will be no indoor archery this Thursday as the PCYC hall is unavailable.
Copy of the scores here. http://www.ifaa-archery.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124&Itemid=271
