Monday, December 17, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

2012 AGM & AWARDS NIGHT

Namoi valley archers rounded out a stellar 2012 year of archer prowess, when it held its presentation night recently at the Wandobah Rd range. The clubhouse was delightfully decorated with festive rows of tinsel and x-mas lighting, all contributing towards an enjoyable night had by all. The club has again this year, showed why it is such a dominant force in Australian Archery , with outstanding results in local, state, national and world events. The clubs executive remains the same with the president being Peter Stubbs, secretary John Clark and treasury being Stuart Dolbel, all leading the club into a year full of optimistic promise of future archery glory. This year’s awards night coincided with a sleep over at the range , followed by a novelty shoot on the Sunday, consisting of all rabbit targets on the boundary range, cunningly arranged by Bernie Hayne ,newly elected range captain, resulting in low scores and upsets being the order of the day. The 2012 awards presentations, saw Bernie Hayne receiving the coveted, club person of the year perpetual trophy for his tireless work at the club. The two other major awards are the Dave Dickson shield for most improved , which this year went to a most deserved recipient, Lachlan Boyd. The hotly contested party animal award went to Phill Greenwood. The shooting awards give bragging rights for the next full year of competition, and again this year Greg Donovan has taken out the hotly contested top male open division, edging out his son Sebastian, closely followed by Gordon White. The women’s open division was won by Denise Stevenson with Melissa Sinclair in 2nd place. Jarrod Stubbs did a David v Goliath feat by edging out Australian Representative Wade Hudson for the title of best male compound, with the perennial veteran, Neville White taking out 3rd placing. In the closely fought men’s traditional section, Darrell Hudson was 1st, Peter Stubbs 2nd and Phill Greenwood 3rd.These three have traded places all year, ensuring an intriguing battle for top spot. Karen Hudson returned to the top in women’s compound, squeezing out Anne Stubbs for 2nd with Wendi Murrell finishing in 3rd.In men’s Olympic , Mark Stevenson made it back to back wins with Ken Thompson finishing 2nd.Stevenson has been going from strength to strength since his most improved award last year. In the junior sections, boys open was won by Lachlan Boyd, showing that he deserves his most improved award, beating off close rival Zac Hayne, with Ethan Mansfield rounding out the top 3 spots. Sophie Donovan made it a family affair, winning junior girl open. In cub girl compound , it was an all Murrell show, with Haylee finishing first, just ahead of her sister Kaytlyn, with Emylie coming a valiant 3rd.Two encouragement awards were handed out this year, with the first going to Connor Wheatley and the second to Rhegan Jaeger, with both these little archers showing great potential for the future. Lastly , but certainly not least, Matt Sinclair has shown he is the most proficient hunter by taking out the bowhunter of the year award for the second year running. Mat has claimed some great trophies ,with the highlight being a buffalo recently shot while hunting in the Northern Territory.

RABBITS OUTFOX SHOOTERS

RABBITS OUTFOX SHOOTERS Namoi Valley Archers recently held their Christmas shoot, which was the final shoot for the year. This shoot was a novelty round, conducted on the morning after the awards night. Starting earlier than usual, in a bid to beat the heat, the entire boundary range consisted of rabbits, made up of both colour and 3D targets, they were placed cunningly by range captain Bernie Hayne to trap the unwary, or the over confident, at distances that some found hard enough to see let alone shoot. Scores for the shoot were low, as was to be expected from this type of round, but with some surprising results being recorded. In a dominant shooting display Karen Hudson beat son Wade in the compound division for family x-mas bragging rights. Wade is just back from the world IFAA c/ship’s in Argentina and was claiming he is still suffering from jetlag. Ann Stubbs was a close third. Sebastian Donovan must have taken exception to his father beating him out of top spot in the men’s open division at the awards the previous night, and proceeded to give him, and the other sighted shooter’s, an archery lesson, going on to win by a wide margin, better put some practice in over the x-mas break for next year Greg. Stuart Dolbel was just squeezed out, finishing in third spot. Darrell Hudson took out men’s traditional, easily accounting for his rivals, who will be hoping the new years shooting see’s a change of luck in store for them, as Hudson has been in the ascendency this year. While Mel Sinclair reversed her fortunes from the previous night’s presentations, beating out Denise Stevenson in a tough tussle for women’s open dominance. The club will now be in recess until next year when shooting will resume at the end of January. If anyone would like to find out about next year’s calendar, or the clubs activities in general you can contact the president, Peter Stubbs on 02 67431559. Sighted Div: Sebastian Donovan-615,Greg Donovan-575,Stuart Dolbel-565,Bernie Hayne-535,Gordon White-520,Matt Sinclair-515,Brad Mulherin-480,Mel Sinclair-330,Denise Stevenson-295,Lachlan Boyd-255,Brett Wheatley-105 Compound Div: Karen Hudson-410,Wade Hudson-330,Ann Stubbs-295,Gordon Harris-250,Jarrod Stubbs-90,Sharon Boyd-65,Kate Harris-30 Traditional: Darrell Hudson-305,Phillip Greenwood-255,Peter Stubbs-205 Ungraded: Craig Poeschl-390,Greg Capper-180,Andrew Poeschl-70

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Heatwave Conditions Prove Challenging

Namoi Valley Archers held a 3 arrow ABA round at their last club shoot with a big field taking to the Boundary range in extremely hot conditions . The club had originally scheduled a 2 round event but organizers decided to shoot only 1 round due to concerns about the excessive heat. Despite the extreme weather conditions some outstanding rounds were recorded. Greg Donovan turned in a superb performance to record a big win in the Sighted division missing the bullseye just 3 times over the 20 target round. Lloyd Jauja and Gordon White finished a thrilling tie for the minor placings. Wade Hudson was in a class of his own in the Compound event streeting the field to score a massive win with Karen Hudson taking second and Wendi Murrell third. Darrell Hudson was in top form dominating the Traditional contest after recording a brilliant round with Phil Greenwood doing just enough to grab second from Peter Stubbs in a close contest. Haylee Murrell won the Cub Compound division after a close battle with sister, Kaytlyn, with Emylie Murrell taking third to make it an all family affair. In other club news, John Finn and Lloyd Jauja scored the quinella at the Northern NSW Branch 3D tournament held at Singleton recently. Finn won the event by just 2 points with a great come from behind performance. The pair were level after round 1 with Jauja easing to a 4 point lead after the second round but Finn would not be denied in the final round doing just enough to score the win. Krystal Jauja also shot well to take the Junior Girl Bowhunter Unlimited title shooting extremely well. The club will be holding the AGM and presentation night at the range this Saturday with the AGM starting at 5.00pm. Sunday will see the final club shoot for the year with a novelty event to be shot. Further details can be obtained by ringing 67423220. Scores Sighted - Greg Donovan 394,Lloyd Jauja 382, Gordon White 382, Craig Mansifield 380, Sebastian Donovan 378, James Bush 378, Bernie Hayne 374, Nathan Murrell 372, Peter Bush 372, John Finn 370, Stuart Dolbel 368, Ethan Mansfield 368, Matt Sinclair 366, Brad Mulherin 364, Denise Stevenson 344, Mark Stevenson 332. Compound - Wade Hudson 376, Karen Hudson 338, Wendi Murrell 328, Ken Hill 276, Sharon Boyd 240, Amy Stubbs 232, Kate Harris 162. Traditional – Darrell Hudson 340, Phil Greenwood 282, Peter Stubbs 270, Alistair Wall 208, Bernice Hart 206. Junior Sighted – Krystal Jauja 338, Lachlan Boyd 336. Cub Compound - Hayley Murrell 338, Kaytlyn Murrell 330, Emylie Murrell 250. Little Archer – Connor Wheatley 328. Ungraded - Brett Wheatley 364, Ben Hope 344, Andrew Hope 194, Alisha Hayes 100, Rory Chambers 78.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Namoi Archers Attend 3DAAA Nationals

A team of archers representing Gunnedah, consisting of Bernie Hayne, Peter Bush ,James Bush, Phil Greenwood ,Wendi Murrell, Nathan Murrell, Haylee Murrell, Kaytlyn Murrell and Emylie Murrell, attended the 3DAAA National archery titles over the weekend of 16 – 18 November, held at the picturesque ‘Pearlbrook ‘.The event was well catered for by the Vietnam Veterans MC club whose clubhouse and surrounding land was an ideal setting to host this prestigious event.The weekend was run by the Glenbawn Field Archers, with an excellent turnout of 216 archers vying for their respective top spots. The event was attended by Abbey Archery, with new bows and equipment on display for the adults, and a bouncing castle to keep the kids(and the not so young) entertained over the weekend. This style of archery is categorised by shooting at life like 3d feral animals over unmarked distances, without anything behind them to stop your arrow, this can result in your arrow disappearing or worse exploding on a rock , in a very upsetting way. The targets were set up in very challenging positions, with the very steep terrain resulting in some exhausted archers at the end of the day, shooting consists of 5 x 10 arrow rounds. The Gunnedah archers who attended the shoot were very impressed with the organisation of the event and the excellent facilities provided by the Vietnam Vets MC. Some of the Gunnedah archers shot very well with Wendi Murrell winning her barebow division with an impressive shooting display over the weekend , which resulted in her inclusion in the top 10 shoot off on Sunday, which was against all the divisions of bare bow archers. The shootoff is conducted in a pressure cooker environment with all the other archers watching the 10 shoot off. This shootoff was won by another Gunnedah archer Phil Greenwood. Phil Greenwood placed third in the mens recurve division, which was an excellent result considering he missed his first three arrows of the tournament. The Murrell girls again showed their future potential , with Haylee being crowned under 13 years national champion , with Kaytlyn a very close hard fought second, and Emylie only just out of the running with a fourth, from a competitive field of 8 cub archers. Bernie Hayne had a weekend he would rather forget, with the challenging target placement and difficult terrain resulting in several smashed arrows, and alot of frustration, shooting in the top division with such a large quality field is difficult even when shooting well. Nathan Murrell was well placed on the Saturday , being only 4 points behind third place, but one average round on the Sunday saw him drop to finish mid field, once again highlighting how competitive the shooting was. Peter and James Bush both shot well but finished out of medal contention also. All in all a very enjoyable weekend, showing again what a great family sport archery can be.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

3D Attracts Big Field

Namoi Valley Archers conducted a 2 round 3D event on Sunday with a big field taking to the range. Course designers ,Greg Donovan and Gordon White, crafted a superbly designed course with clever target placement making high scoring difficult. The range upgrade also included new catch areas for any wayward arrows minimizing arrow damage and improving safety. Fresh from his outstanding performance at the World Championships , Wade Hudson, stamped his class on the Compound division scoring an impressive victory with 2 quality rounds. Karen Hudson grabbed second place with Ann Stubbs in third. Greg Donovan continued his recent good form to win the Sighted contest shooting with great precision to record the win from Tamworth’s Ben McCulloch with Greg Scott also showing some fine form to grab third from hunting legend, Brad Smith in a very tight finish. Darrell Hudson showed his class in scoring a good win in the Traditional contest with Peter Stubbs and Phil Greenwood finishing in a tie for the minor placings. The next club shoot is on November 25th with registration at 8.30. Scores Sighted - Greg Donovan 776, Ben McCulloch 764,Greg Scott 754,Brad Smith 750, John Finn 746, Stuart Dolbel 734, Tim Hayes 730, Bernie Hayne 728, John Clark 726, Sebastian Donovan 724, Lloyd Jauja 716, Gordon White 712,Peter Bush 710, James Bush 710, Andrew Stubbs 706, Simon Taylor 686, Mark Stevenson 682, Brad Mulherin 642, Denise Stevenson 614, Nathan Murrell 378, John Hartnett 342. Compound - Wade Hudson 694, Karen Hudson 596, Ann Stubbs 530, Tracy Redgrove 464, Kate Harris 360, Amy Stubbs 252. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 594, Peter Stubbs 552, Phillip Greenwood 552, John Woolaston 278, Alistair Wall 210. Cub Compound - Gordon Harris 508, Hayley Murrell 330, Kaytlyn Murrell 328, Emylie Murrell 216. Cub Sighted - Jed Hayes 704, Krystal Jauja 576.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Indoor ..... Outdoor and Branch Indoor Titles

Namoi Valley Archers has been focusing on Indoor archery over the last few weeks holding an IFAA Indoor event at their last club shoot with some good scoring on the day as members warmed up for the Northern NSW Branch Indoor Titles at Inverell. Stuart Dolbel recorded the highest score of the day missing a perfect score by just 2 points as he dominated the Sighted contest with Greg Donovan just edging out his son, Sebastian, by 1 point in the battle for minor placings. Wade Hudson was the dominate Compound archer in his final hit out before the World Titles in Argentina, scoring a comprehensive win from Karen Hudson with Ann Stubbs in second place and Sharon Boyd in third. Peter Stubbs showed the benefit of some recent Indoor competition to score a great win in the Traditional contest with Darrell Hudson in second and Alistair Wall in third. Scores Sighted - Stuart Dolbel 298, Greg Donovan 290, Sebastian Donovan 289, Gordon White 285, Mark Stevenson 252, Brad Mulherin 196. Compound - Wade Hudson 268, Karen Hudson 239, Ann Stubbs 210, Sharon Boyd 174, Amy Stubbs 154, Kate Harris 66, Alisha Hayes 30. Traditional – Peter Stubbs 228, Darrell Hudson 222, Alistair Wall 37, Bernice Hart 34. Junior Open – Lachlan Boyd 243, Junior Compound – Gordon Harris 100. Mark and Denise Stevenson returned from the Northern NSW Branch Indoor Championships with gold medals in their respective divisions. Mark won the Freestyle Recurve event shooting personal best scores while Denise Stevenson won the Freestyle Limited event also recording a PB on her way to victory. The Stevensons have been regular competitors at the Gunnedah PCYC Indoor competition which is gaining momentum and attribute their good form to the experience gained under competition pressure at these monthly events. The focus returns to field archery this Sunday with the very popular 3D targets in use with a 2 round event starting with registration at 8.30am. Course designers , Greg Donovan and Gordon White, have been hard at work revamping the range and installing new back up butts on the range. There will be a sausage sizzle lunch and a club meeting will also be held on the day.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Wade Hudson To Test The Best In Argentina

Gunnedah archer, Wade Hudson, will fulfill a long held dream when he flies out of the country early next week headed for Argentina where he will represent Australia at the 2012 IFAA World Field Archery Championships. Hudson has been in stellar form over the last couple of years and has been selected in the official Australian seven member team to contest the Team of Nations event at the World Championships to be held in the city of Mirimar, Argentina. Mirimar is located 450 kilometre’s south of the capitol, Buenos Aires along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular tourist area in Argentina. The week long event commences on October 28th and finishes with the medal presentations on November 3rd. Australia won the prestigious Team of Nations trophy at the 2010 World Championships held in Dahn, Germany for the first time and will be seeking to repeat the effort in Argentina. Hudson who will be competing in the Bowhunter Compound division will be chasing team glory as well as looking for individual honours in his first taste of archery on foreign soil. Over the last few years Hudson has proven himself Australia’s best Bowhunter Compound archer at Pacific Region and Australian Championships and is looking forward to the challenge of taking on the world’s best field archers in Argentina. The International Field Archery Championships are a true test of archery ability and stamina with the event conducted over five consecutive days with archers required to shoot a minimum total of 476 scoring arrows. Each day will consist of 28 targets set in natural bush settings, with extreme uphill and downhill shots a feature of past World Championships, sure to be part of the courses. Namoi Valley Archers are extremely proud of Hudson’s selection as he becomes only the second archer from Gunnedah to be a member of an Australian Team of Nations squad joining Steve Jaeger who represented Australia in the 2006 Team of Nations event held in Hervey Bay, Queensland. Hudson joins the elite group of Gunnedah archers who have competed in a World Championship on foreign soil, Matt Wittman, Ken and Shane Thompson in Dahn, Germany 2010 (IFAA) and Steve Jaeger in Sopron, Hungary 2006 (3D).

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Boundary Range Tested Locals

Namoi Valley Archers held a 2 round ABA event On Sunday with a good field taking to the Boundary Range in perfect weather conditions. Course designers, Bernie Hayne and Nathan Murrell, completely redesigned the range presenting a very challenging layout with cleverly crafted target placement making high scoring difficult with Haylee Murrell the only archer to break a club record on the day. Greg Donovan finished the day as the highest scoring archer winning the Sighted division by just 2 points after an epic struggle with Matt Sinclair with Bernie Hayne finishing third. Ann Stubbs was in sensational form scoring a memorable win in a very competitive Compound event putting together 2 excellent rounds to record the win from Karen Hudson with Wendi Murrell also shooting well to finish third. Darrell Hudson and Peter Stubbs went head to head in the Traditional contest with Hudson just prevailing after an enthralling battle with Brett Wheatley in third. The next club shoot will be held on October 21. Scores. Sighted - Greg Donovan 758, Matt Sinclair 756, Bernie Hayne 748, Gordon White 742, Sebastian Donovan 740, John Finn 732, Stuart Dolbel 730, Mark Stevenson 632, Denise Stevenson 630, Mel Sinclair 592, John Clark 364, Greg Scott 262. Compound - Ann Stubbs 598, Karen Hudson 592, Wendi Murrell 588, Neville White 536, Sharon Boyd 442, Kate Harns 306. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 560, Peter Stubbs 548, Brett Wheatley 238. Junior Sighted - Lachlan Boyd 594. Cub Compound – Haylee Murrell 662, Kaytlyn Murrell 614, Gordon Harns 290, Emylie Murrell 114. Little Archer - Connor Wheatley 292. Namoi Valley Archers was represented by a 6 member team at the NSW State ABA Championships held in Tumut over the October long weekend. Competitions endured freezing temperatures and abysmal weather conditions during Saturday’s 2 rounds with intermittent sleet and small hail storms sweeping across the ranges. Despite the weather conditions some good scores were posted with Darrell Hudson winning the NSW State A grade Recurve crown with a wonderful display of precision archery. Hudson shot well during the worst of the weather on Saturday and lit up the course on Sunday with 2 superb rounds. Clubmate Peter Stubbs also shot well to finish with the silver medal in the same event. Karen Hudson finished with the silver medal in the Compound Masters event finishing behind the multiple Australian representative, Canberra archer Coralie Volgyesi in a high class contest. Ann Stubbs also finished with silver in the Compound A grade event finishing strongly over the final 2 rounds. Mark Stevenson scored the gold medal in the Longbow C grade event shooting consistently across the four rounds with Denise Stevenson rounding out the medal haul with gold in Freestyle Limited after a strong performance across the weekend.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Storm Hudson hits Branch IFAA's at Tuggerah

Namoi Valley Archers sent a 7 member team to the Northern NSW Branch IFAA Championships held at Tuggerah Lakes over the weekend. The Tuggerah layout is one of the best in the country and competitors shot in perfect weather conditions. Wade Hudson won the Bowhunter Compound division after a titanic battle with Maitland’s Rob Slater. Hudson was 13 points adrift of Slater after the first round but showing the class and mental toughness that he is renowned for he turned in a sensational second round to forge to the front and win by 5 points. This was the final tournament for Hudson before he travels to Argentina in October to represent Australia at the 2012 World IFAA Championships and such a close contest will stand Hudson in good stead for the upcoming event. Karen Hudson won the Womens Bowhunter Compound A grade event finishing 43 points in front of her nearest competitor with Ann Stubbs taking the bronze in the B grade section. In a great weekend for the Hudson clan, Darrell Hudson scored a very convincing win in the Bowhunter Recurve division setting up the win with a great first round with another Gunnedah archer, Peter Stubbs, taking the silver. Mark Stevenson claimed the gold in Freestlye Limited Recurve while Denise Stevenson also claimed gold in Freestyle Limited Compound to round out the medal haul. The second competition round of the PCYC Indoor series is on starting at 6.30pm. 11. The regular PCYC archery activities will resume on October 11th. The next club shoot will be held at the Wondoba range on Sunday 23rd, September with registration at 9.00 for a 9.30am start on the range.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

IFAA Warm Up

Namoi Valley Archers held an IFAA Field round on Sunday with competitors taking the opportunity to fine tune their form for this weekend’s Northern NSW Branch IFAA titles to be held at Tuggerah Lakes. Karen Hudson was in stunning form winning the Compound division by a massive margin after a very consistent round with Tamworth veteran, Neville White, in second place. James Finlay made a successful return to archery shooting well to finish in a tie with Ann Stubbs for third. Greg Donovan recorded the overall highest score of the day on his way to winning the Sighted division with Stuart Dolbel grabbing second place and John Clark doing just enough to grab third after a very tight contest with Bernie Hayne. Darrell Hudson proved too classy for his opposition in the Traditional division scoring an impressive win from the consistent Phil greenwood with Brett Wheatley in third. The next club shoot will be held on September 23 and will be a 3 arrow animal round. Scores Compound - Karen Hudson 210, Neville White 143, James Finlay 134, Ann Stubbs 134, Mitchell Finlay 121. Sighted - Greg Donovan 248, Stuart Dolbel 242, John Clark 230, Bernie Hayne 229, Peter Bush 228, Sebastian Donovan 223, Denise Stevenson 218, Mark Stevenson 181, Peter Stubbs 80. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 188, Phillip Greenwood 159, Brett Wheatley 65. Cub Compound - Connor Wheatley 177. Novice – Luke Edwards 73, David Edwards 64.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Archery Over The Last Fortnight

Namoi Valley Archers dynamic duo, Darrell and Karen Hudson travelled to Wagga Wagga for the NSW State 3D Championships with both archers showing their class scoring comprehensive wins. The courses were extremely tough with the very icy conditions making top quality archery difficult. Despite the conditions both archers produced top class performances. Karen Hudson won the Masters Compound title finishing as the overall top compound archer, showing her male counterparts how it is done. Darrell Hudson won the A grade Recurve title also finishing as the top recurve archer overall with another quality performance. At the last club shoot competitors took to the Outback range for a 2 round ABA event in excellent weather conditions. Wade Hudson dominated proceedings in the Compound division shooting brilliantly to score a big win from Karen Hudson with Jarrod Stubbs holding off some determined challengers for third. Darrell Hudson and Peter Stubbs were locked for the lead after the first round but Hudson shot extremely well in the second round to secure the win from Stubbs with Brett Wheatley in third in recurve. John Clark scored a very narrow win in the Sighted contest after a very close battle with Greg Donovan with Steve Jaeger also shooting well to take third. The next club shoot will be held on September 9th and will be an IFAA event. This will be the final opportunity for archers travelling to Tuggerah for the Branch IFAA Titles to gain valuable match practice. ABA Scores Compound - Wade Hudson 754, Karen Hudson 584, Jarrod Stubbs 550, Amy Stubbs 538, Ann Stubbs 536, Wendi Murrell 300, Alistair Wall 176. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 604, Peter Stubbs 538, Brett Wheatley 124. Sighted - John Clark 780, Greg Donovan 778, Steve Jaeger 770, Sebastian Donovan 758, Gordon White 736, Mark Stevenson 686, Denise Stevenson 580. Junior Compound - Hayley Murrell 324. Cub Compound - Kaytlyn Murrell 304, Emylie Murrell 216. Cub Traditional - Rhegan Jaeger 256. Novice – Luke Edwards 362, Jess Griffen 316. A new concept was trialled at the Gunnedah PCYC last Thursday with 12 archers competing in an IFAA Indoor event. The night was rated a huge success by organisers and the plan is that the IFAA Indoor event will be shot monthly. Organisers are looking at the possibility of starting the night 30 minutes earlier to allow for an extra round to be completed. The event gave archers a chance to enjoy a new discipline with many surprised how intense this style of archery can become. Greg Donovan recorded the highest score on the night with an impressive 197 out of 200. Indoor Scores Greg Donovan 197, John Clark 193, Craig Mansfield 191, Gordon White 189, Sebastian Donovan 182, Ethan Mansfield 180, Will Loftus 172, Adam Loftus 169, Denise Stevenson 168, Darren Loftus 161, Peter Stubbs 157, Mark Stevenson 114

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Branch 3D At Wondobah Range

Namoi Valley Archers hosted the Northern NSW Branch 3D Titles on the weekend with archers travelling from Newcastle, Maitland, Taree, Kempsey, the Central Coast, Gloucester, Armidale and Tamworth for the event. Northern NSW Branch Controller, Mike Potter, praised the local club for their outstanding efforts in organizing the event which ran smoothly all weekend. Course designers, Greg Donovan and Gordon White, presented two very demanding ranges which really tested competitors abilities to the limit with cleverly crafted target placement making distance estimation extremely difficult. One of the signature targets developed by White and Donovan was a crocodile floating in the dam with archers shooting off a moored pontoon, a shot which bought many competitors undone. Gunnedah’s Wade Hudson lived up to pre tournament expectations finishing the 3 round event as the highest scoring barebow archer scoring a decisive win in the Compound Masters division. Hudson held a narrow 2 point lead over Maitland’s Mark Fotheringham after the first round but blew the opposition away in Saturday afternoon’s high pressure 1 arrow round to hold a commanding 64 point overnight lead. Hudson went on with job on in the closing round to score a great win from Fotheringham with Maitland’s Trevor Avard in third. The highest scoring sighted competitor was Namoi Valley Archer’s, John Finn, who turned in a brilliant final round performance to secure the Bowhunter Unlimited title. Finn was trailing another local club member, Peter Bush by 2 points after the first 2 rounds with Kempsey’s Brett Hodgman just a couple of points further back but in the concluding round Finn was unstoppable shooting superbly to surge away from his opposition and win by 48 points with Bush grabbing second and Hodgman third. Local archers dominated the event winning 15 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals. Karen Hudson finished the weekend as the number one female compound archer winning the Ladies Masters Compound division with the local trio of Darrell Hudson, Phil Greenwood and Peter Stubbs making a clean sweep of the medals in A grade Recurve. A feat repeated by Gordon White, Greg Donovan and Steve Jaeger in Freestyle Unlimited Flight 2. White and Donovan finished in a tie but White won the gold on a countback scoring 2 more bullseye’s than Donovan over the 80 arrows shot. Matt Sinclair scored a hard fought win in Bowhunter Unlimited Flight 2 finishing over the top of Taree’s Michael Rowsell and Andrew Jennings from Gloucester. Cub archer, Haylee Murrell was thrilled with her performance winning gold and achieving a promotion to the elite Advanced division after a top class showing. Namoi Valley Archers Results Masters Compound - Men, Wade Hudson 1. Women, Karen Hudson 1. A grade – Men, Jarrod Stubbs 2. Women, Wendi Murrell 3. C grade – Men, Ken Hill 1. Amy Stubbs 1. Recurve A grade – Darrell Hudson 1, Phil Greenwood 2, Peter Stubbs 3. Freestyle Unlimited Flight 2 – Gordon White 1, Greg Donovan 2, Steve Jaeger 3. Freestyle Limited – Mark Stevenson 1. Freestyle Limited – Denise Stevenson 1. Bowhunter Unlimited Flight 1 – John Finn 1, Peter Bush 2. Flight 2 – Matt Sinclair 1. Bowhunter Limited – David Buckingham 1. Veterans Barebow – Neville White 1. Junior Freestyle Unlimited - Zac Hayne 2. Junior Bowhunter Unlimited – Sophie Donovan 1. Cub Compound Advanced – Haylee Murrell 1. B grade – Kaytlyn Murrell 2, Emily Jaeger 3. D grade – Emylie Murrell 1.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Wade Hudson Bound For Argentina

Gunnedah archer, Wade Hudson, has been selected in the official Australian seven member team to contest the Team of Nations event at the 2012 World International Field Archery Championships to be held in the city of Mirimar, Argentina. Mirimar is located 450 kilometre’s south of the capitol, Buenos Aires along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular tourist area in Argentina. The week long event commences on October 28th and finishes with the medal presentations on November 3rd. Australia won the prestigious Team of Nations trophy at the 2010 World Championships held in Dahn, Germany for the first time and will be seeking to repeat the effort in Argentina. Hudson who will be competing in the Bowhunter Compound division and as well as team glory will be looking for individual honours in his first taste of archery on foreign soil. Over the last few years Hudson has proven himself at Pacific Region and Australian Championships and is looking forward to the challenge of taking on the world’s best field archers in Argentina. The International Field Archery Championships are a true test of archery ability and stamina with the event conducted over five consecutive days with archers required to shoot a total of 476 scoring arrows. Each day will consist of 28 targets set in natural bush settings with extreme uphill and downhill shots a feature of World Championships sure to be part of the courses. Namoi Valley Archers are extremely proud of Hudson’s selection as he becomes only the second archer from Gunnedah to be a member of an Australian Team of Nations squad joining Steve Jaeger who represented Australia in the 2006 Team of Nations event held in Hervey Bay, Queensland.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

ABA On Boundary Range

Namoi Valley Archers took to the field on Sunday for a two-round ABA on the boundary range in sunny but cool conditions. Archers battled it out for the top placings with some interesting results. Sebastian Donovan proved to be a worthy opponent to father Greg Donovan, edging him out of the top spot in the sighted division with a concerted display of precision archery. Greg Scott rounded out the top three just doing enough to stave off the rest of the field. Karen Hudson proved to be too strong in the barebow compound division, with Ann Stubbs taking second and Wendi Murrell finishing in third place. John Woolaston showed his skill in the traditional contest by holding off a determined effort by Peter Stubbs to take first place with Darrell Hudson grabbing third. Junior member Lachlan Boyd showed great improvement in recent weeks by putting in his best score to date. A small contingent of members from the club are heading to Kempsey this weekend for the branch ABA titles. The next club shoot is a 3-arrow Delta set down for Sunday July 29, 9am rego for a 9.30am start. Club Scores Sighted – Sebastian Donovan 768, Greg Donovan 762, Greg Scott 758, Matt Sinclair 754, Gordon White 734, Phil Porter 694, Mel Sinclair 666, Mark Stevenson 658, Ken Thompson 656, Lloyd Jauja 370, James Bush 366, Peter Bush 354. Traditional – John Woolaston 628, Peter Stubbs 616, Darrell Hudson 580, Brett Wheatley 186. Compound – Karen Hudson 620, Ann Stubbs 520, Wendi Murrell 496, Sharon Boyd 448, Jarrod Stubbs 408. Junior Sighted – Lachlan Boyd 652. Cub Compound – Kaytlyn Murrell 482, Emylie Murrell 204. Cub Recurve – Connor Wheatley 268, Jayla Woolaston 162, Amelia Woolaston 50

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

3 Arrow Shoot On Outback Range

Namoi Valley Archers held a 3 arrow animal round on Sunday with archers taking to the revamped outback range in very cool conditions. Course designers, Steve Jaeger and Stuart Dolbel presented a very cleverly designed range with clever shot placement testing the distance judgement skills of competitors. Greg Donovan mastered the course on the day to score an emphatic win in the Sighted division. Donovan was in a class of his own breaking the 1100 point barrier to finish the day as top point scorer overall. James Bush was another archer in great form shooting well to finish in second place with Greg Scott in third. Karen Hudson bounced back to form to score a dominating win in the Compound division after some hard work at the practice butts during the week. Wendi Murrell filled second place with Jarrod Stubbs in third. Darrell Hudson proved too consistent in the Traditional contest turning in an impressive score with Peter Stubbs outgunning Phil Greenwood in a spirited battle for the minor placings. The next club shoot is set down for July 15th with registration by 9.00am for a 9.30am start on the range. Darrell and Karen Hudson both scored gold meddles at the recent Tuggerah Lakes Invitational tournament. Darrell Hudson was in sensational form shooting at his brilliant best to win the A grade event sealing the win with a wonderful performance on the second day of the event. Karen Hudson struggled with her from but still did enough to win the Masters gold. Club Scores Sighted - Greg Donovan 1120, James Bush 1090, Greg Scott 1075,Stuart Dolbel 1035, Steve Jaeger 1020, John Clark,1010, Sebastian Donovan 975,Peter Bush 985, Ken Thompson 915, Traditional -Darrell Hudson 720, Peter Stubbs 675, Phillip Greenwood 645, Anthony Baker 585, Brett Wheatley 315, Gordon White 165. Compound - Karen Hudson 800, Wendi Murrell 685, Jarrod Stubbs 505,Sharon Boyd 380. Junior Sighted – Lachlan Boyd 685. Cub Compound - Hayley Murrell 620, James Baker 605, Emily Jaeger 335. Cub Traditional - Rhegan Jaeger 345, Connor Wheatley 290.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Boundary Range Tests Local Archers

Namoi Valley Archers held an ABA 3 arrow round on Sunday with competitors taking to the Boundary range in perfect weather conditions. Course designers, Bernie Hayne and Nathan Murrell presented a very testing course with good scores hard to come by. Greg Scott was the highest scorer on the day winning the Sighted division after putting together a very solid performance. Greg Donovan also shot well to take second place just edging out Stuart Dolbel in a tense battle for the minor placings. Wendi Murrell showed the benefits of some hard work at the practice butts to record a clear cut win in the Compound event with Karen Hudson finishing second and Sharon Boyd third. Darrell Hudson blitzed the filed in the Traditional event shooting impressively to take the win with Peter Stubbs second and Anthony Baker third. The next club shoot is set down for July 1st with registration at 9.00am for a 9.30am start on the range. Scores Sighted - Greg Scott 386, Greg Donovan 380, Stuart Dolbel 378, Matt Sinclair 376, John Clark 374, Peter Bush 368, Gordon White 364, Lloyd Jauja 358, Mel Sinclair 336, Ken Thompson 302, Denise Stevenson 302, Bernie Hayne 110. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 310, Peter Stubbs 252, Anthony Baker 212, Brett Wheatley 162. Compound - Wendi Murrell 334, Karen Hudson 312, Sharon Boyd 172. Cub Compound - Kaytlyn Murrell 284, James Baker 270, Hayley Murrell 278, Emylie Murrell 110. Junior Sighted – Sophie Donovan 316, Lachlan Boyd 278. Little Archer - Connor Wheatley 250.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

National IFAA

Namoi Valley Archers was represented by a 5 member team at the Australian IFAA Championships held in Sale, Victoria over the long weekend. The big wet which hit Victoria threw the travel and accommodation plans of many competitors into disarray with the Gunnedah group forced to scramble for new accommodation after the caravan park they were booked into was inundated by 1 metre of flood water. With new accommodation secured and a detour via Melbourne to reach the tournament the team found the ranges were in remarkably good condition allowing the event to proceed as scheduled. The International Field Archery Association competition is a highly technical test of archery ability with archers shooting 4 arrows at each of the 28 targets with a maximum distance of 80 yards. As well as the prestige of winning a National title this tournament took on added significance with the Australian team for the 2012 World IFAA Championships to be held in Argentina to be selected shortly. Wade Hudson surely enhanced his chances of selection in the Australian team with a wonderful display of archery to win the Bowhunter Compound Australian championship. Hudson opened a 35 point lead over Robert Salter after the Field round was completed but saw his lead clipped by 8 points after Salter recorded the best score in the Hunter round. Hudson showed the composure of a champion in the final animal round to outscore Salter and finish the event as Australian champion successfully defending his 2011 title. The Gunnedah club has 3 representatives in the Bowhunter Recurve B grade division with veteran Phil Greenwood showing great tenacity to score a memorable win. Greenwood started well setting a cracking pace in the Field round to open a big lead over Karl Peck and another Gunnedah archer, Darrell Hudson. Peck outscored Greenwood in both the Hunter and Animal rounds but Greenwood had done enough to secure a 14 point win. The battle for third came down to a close tussle between Gunnedah’s Darrell Hudson and Peter Stubbs with Hudson doing just enough the grab third by 11 points. Karen Hudson shot extremely well to take the silver in Ladies Bowhunter Compound event behind multiple Australian representative Coralie Volgyesi with a very consistent performance across the 3 rounds.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

3D Shoot Challenges Local Archers

Namoi Valley Archers held a 2 round 3D event at their last club shoot with course designers, Greg Donovan and Gordon White, delivering a championship quality range. With clever target placement and making full use of the difficult terrain the duo left many competitors struggling to achieve good scores. One competitor who beat the trend of lower scores on the day was Karen Hudson who set a new club record on her way to winning the Compound division, putting together two quality rounds to record the win. Ann Stubbs grabbed second place with Sharon Boyd also shooting well to finish in third. Veteran, Phil Greenwood used all his experience to record a good win in the Traditional contest with Darrell Hudson in second and Peter Stubbs finishing third. John Clark did just enough the finish on top in the Sighted division with Greg Donovan and son, Sebastian, finishing in a deadheat in the battle for the minor placings. The next club event is set down for June 16th and 17th and will be a 2 day ABA event with the first day to start on Saturday afternoon with a 2.00pm registration for a 2.30pm start on the range. The second day will be a 9.00am registration for a 9.30 start. Scores Compound - Karen Hudson 666, Ann Stubbs 484, Sharon Boyd 442, Wendi Murrell 280, Ken Hill 264. Traditional - Phillip Greenwood 588,Darrell Hudson 536,Peter Stubbs 482, John Woolaston 316.Sighted - John Clark 762, Sebastian Donovan 756, Greg Donovan 756, Stuart Dolbel 738, Gordon White 730, Bernie Hayne 716, James Bush 698, John Finn 680, Matt Sinclair 678, Steve Jaeger 660, Peter Bush 650, Mark Stevenson 632, Matt Krug 588, Mel Sinclair 586, Denise Stevenson 514, Greg Scott 374, Mathew Wittman366, Nathan Murrell 360, Merv Lamey 336. Junior Sighted - Lachlan Boyd 496. Junior Compound - Hayley Murrell 320. Cub Sighted – Travis Lamey 676. Cub Compound - Zac Critchley 686, Kaytlyn Murrell 296,Emily Jaeger 252, Emylie Murrell 162. Little Archers - Rhegan Jaeger 332, Jayla Woolaston 106.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

State IFAA

Namoi Valley Archers sent a 10 member team to the NSW State IFAA Championships held in Gloucester over the weekend returning with 7 gold and 1 bronze medals after a superb performance by the team. The International Field Archery Association tournament is a highly technical test of archery ability with targets set at marked distances with competitors required to shoot four arrows at each target with the maximum distance of 80 yards. Wade Hudson scored an impressive win in Mens Bowhunter stamping his class on the field to win by 52 points. This event marks the start of Hudson’s campaign to win selection in the Australian team to compete at the 2012 World IFAA Championships to be held in Argentina later this year. Karen Hudson finished the weekend as the number one female Bowhunter archer with a powerful performance making it a unique mother and son double in this division. The family connections continued with Bernie Hayne scoring a wonderful victory in Freestyle Unlimited B grade. Hayne shot brilliantly to score the gold medal in a performance he will long remember. Son, Zac Hayne, showed the talent runs in the family scoring the gold medal in Junior Freestyle Unlimited with a wonderful display of precision archery to finish the weekend as the highest scoring junior archer. Phil Greenwood used all his experience to carve out a great win in Bowhunter Recurve. Greenwood was disappointed with his shooting at the club shoot leading up this event and set about rectifying this with a week of intensive practice which paid handsome dividends. Clubmate, Peter Stubbs, also shot well to grab the bronze medal in this event. David Buckingham finished the weekend as the top longbow archer to take gold while Mark Stevenson rounded out the medal haul with gold in Freestyle Limited Recurve. The club will be back in action this Sunday with a two round 3D event set down.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Namoi Valley Archers held an IFAA Field round on Sunday giving club members a final opportunity to prepare for this weekend’s NSW State IFAA Championships to be held in Gloucester. The IFAA event is a very technical test of archery ability with competitors required to shoot 4 arrows at each target with a maximum distance of 80yards. Greg Donovan scored his second consecutive victory in the Sighted division with a hard fought win over Stuart Dolbel with Gordon White just holding off a hard chasing pack for third. Tamworth veteran, Neville White, used all his experience to score the win in the Compound event with Karen Hudson finishing second and Ann Stubbs third. Darrell Hudson excelled on the day to score a good win in the Traditional contest with peter Stubbs just edging out John Woolaston in a spirited battle for the minor placings. The next club event will be a 2 round 3D event set down for May 20th. Scores - Greg Donovan 249, Stuart Dolbel 245, Gordon White 241, Nathan Murrell 240, John Clark 239, Peter Bush 235, Sebastian Donovan 229, James Bush 223, Bernie Hayne 220, Matt Krug 211, Mark Stevenson 172. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 154, Peter Stubbs 147, John Woolaston 144, Phillip Greenwood 130. Compound – Neville White 175, Karen Hudson 165, Ann Stubbs 112, Sharon Boyd 76. Junior Compound - Zac Critchley 165, Blake Memorey 135. Junior Sighted - Lachlan Boyd 102.

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Namoi Valley Archers held a 3 arrow round on Sunday with a good field taking to the Boundary range in excellent weather conditions. Greg Donovan returned the highest score of the day on his way to winning the Sighted division. Donovan was on fire in the first half of the round but lost his way for a couple of targets to come back to the field. However Donovan regrouped and finished strongly over the concluding targets to score the win from an inform Greg Scott with Nathan Murrell grabbing third. Karen Hudson was the best of the Compound archers with a well compiled round with Wendi Murrell also shooting well in second place with Jarrod Stubbs in third. Darrell Hudson shot extremely well to take the win in the Traditional division with Peter Stubbs taking second place from Phil greenwood in a very tight contest. The club will be back in action this Sunday with an IFAA Field Round set down for the day. This will be the final opportunity for competitors to prepare for the NSW State IFAA Championships to be held in Gloucester on May 12 and 13 (Ed, that'd be the same weekend the drags are on). Scores Sighted - Greg Donovan 1135, Greg Scott 1115, Nathan Murrell 1095, Stuart Dolbel 1080, Steve jaeger 1065, Gordon White 1040, Sebastian Donovan 1045, James Bush1025, John Clark 1010, Peter Bush 1010, Bernie Hayne 990, Matt Wittman 990, Mark Stevenson 735, Merv Lamey 645. Compound - Karen Hudson 775, Wendi Murrell 740, Jarrod Stubbs 630, Ann Stubbs 600. Traditional - Darrell Hudson 785, Peter Stubbs 725, Phillip Greenwood 710. Junior Sighted - Lachlan Boyd 540. Junior Compound - Zac Critchley 675, Hayley Murrell 595, Blake Memorey 430. Cub Sighted - Travis Lamey 900. Cub Compound - Kaytlyn Murrell 640, Emily Jaeger 515, Emylie Murrell 350. Cub Traditional – Rhegan Jaeger 420.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

ABA Nationals

Namoi Valley Archers sent a 9 member team to the Australian Field Archery Championships held in Mildura over the Easter weekend. The tournament was held over 4 days with 2 field archery disciplines contested, The ABA national round and the ABA 3D round with the team returning with 7 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals across the two events. In an amazing turn of events the organizers were forced to cancel the 2nd round of the 3D event on Friday afternoon when a huge dust storm which originated in South Australia enveloped the Mildura area, a region that was just recovering from major flooding. Phillip Greenwood scored double gold after winning the Veterans Barebow in both the ABA and 3D events shooting with great consistency over the four days. Coonabarabran based Greenwood travels plenty of kilometres to shoot with the Gunnedah club every fortnight and this result was just reward for his hard work and dedication to the sport. In the ABA event Darrell Hudson bounced back to his best form to score the gold medal in Recurve A grade with a superb performance across the four rounds. Hudson held the lead after the first round but was overtaken in the second round and was still trailing going into the final round but stormed to the lead in the last round to finish a narrow 2 point victor after a memorable contest. Mark Stevenson scored double gold winning in the Freestyle Recurve division with a fine display of archery, a feat repeated by Denise Stevenson in Freestyle Limited Compound. Ann Stubbs was another archer to shine across both disciplines finishing with the bronze medal in both the ABA and 3D events in the very competitive Womens A grade compound divison. Peter Stubbs showed his liking for the 3D targets finishing with a top class final round to grab the silver medal in Recurve A grade in a very satisfying display. Karen Hudson was another archer who enjoyed the 3D event rounding out the medal haul with a hard earned bronze medal in Womens Masters Compound. Hudson was disappointed with her showing in the ABA event but showed plenty of mental toughness to bounce back to form and confirm her place among the elite female compound archers in Australia.
The focus returned to club action on Sunday with competitors taking to the IFAA range for a 28 target Animal round. Barebow compound archer, Wade Hudson, turned in a truly amazing round shooting brilliantly to finish the day as the second highest scorer overall with only one sighted shooter beating his score. This round was the start of Hudson’s buildup to the World IFAA Championships to be held In Argentina later in the year and based on this display he looks right on track for a big performance. Karen Hudson finished in second place with Ann Stubbs in third. Greg Donovan led the sighted shooters home finishing just 2 points in front of his son, Sebastian with John Clark in third. Darrell Hudson was the best of the traditional archers with Peter Stubbs in second and Jarrod Stubbs in third.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

ABA Round before the big one.

Namoi Valley Archers held a 2 round ABA event on Sunday giving competitors valuable match practice for this weekend’s Australian Championships to be held at Mildura. The Australian Championships will be contested in 2 unmarked distance field archery disciplines, the ABA National round and the 3D round. The 9 member team travelling to the tournament have had the benefit of shooting both disciplines at club level over the last 2 weekends and are looking forward to testing themselves at a National level. For the second week in a row competitors faced a very well crafted course with Boundary Range designers, Bernie Hayne and Nathan Murrell, making archers think about every shot with clever target placement and wonderful use of the natural terrain. Karen Hudson made a welcome return to form on the weekend shooting 2 quality rounds to score an impressive win in the Compound event. Hudson has been struggling to come to grips with a new bow but looks to have turned the corner after making some changes just before this shoot. Ann Stubbs had to work hard to grab second place just holding off a spirited challenge from her son, Jarrod in the battle for the minor placing’s. Phil Greenwood scored a very narrow win in the Traditional contest setting up the win with an impressive first round. Greenwood had to withstand a barnstorming finish from Peter Stubbs in the final round to hang for the win by just 6 points with Darrell Hudson in third. John Clark did just enough to hold off the opposition in the Sighted contest securing the win by just 4 points from Greg Donovan and Zac Hayne who finished in a dead heat for the minor placings in a very tight contest. The next club shoot is set down for April 15th with registration closing at 9.00am for a 9.30am start on the range.
Scores
Compound - Karen Hudson 700, Ann Stubbs 598, Jarrod Stubbs 590, Sharon Boyd 424.
Traditional - Phil Greenwood 596, Peter Stubbs 590, Darrel Hudson 572, John Woolaston 304.
Sighted - John Clark 772, Greg Donovan 768, Zac Hayne 768, Lloyd Jauja 764, Sebastian Donovan 752,
Bernie Hayne 736, James Bush 724, Peter Bush 712, Gordon White 712, Craig Mansfield 692, Mark
Stevenson 630, Denise Stevenson 552, Lachlan Scott 382, Matt Wittman 378, Greg Scott 364.
Junior Sighted – Ethan Mansfield 746.
Junior Compound – Zac Critchley 450, Blake Memorey 332.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

3D Range Tested Local Archers

Namoi valley Archers held a 2 round 3D event on Sunday with a big field taking to the range in perfect weather conditions.

This was the final chance for competitors to compete on the 3D course before the Australian Championships to be held in Mildura over the Easter weekend.

Course designers, Greg Donovan and Gordon White, provided an exceptionally challenging range with scores well down on previous events as archers struggled with the exacting layout. The designers made very clever use of the terrain placing targets in shaded areas, using narrow shooting lanes and the natural gully system to make distance judgement very difficult. One of the highlights was a shot at the dam with archers required to shoot off a floating pontoon which provided plenty of comment among competitors.

Husband and wife duo, Nathan and Wendi Murrell, dominated the day with Nathan scoring his second consecutive win in the Sighted division after putting together 2 consistent rounds to edge out Stuart Dolbel with Peter Bush shooting well to take third place.

Wendi Murrell finished the day as the number one Compound archer after scoring a very hard fought win with Jarrod Stubbs continuing his recent good form finishing in second with Karen Hudson grabbing third.

Phil green wood led the Traditional archers home with John Woolaston taking second and Darrell Hudson third.

Sebastian Donovan proved too strong for his opposition in the Juniopr sighted contest with Adam Loftus finishing second and Meg jaeger third.

The club will be back in action this Sunday with a 2 round ABA event set down. Registration closes at 9.00am for a 9.30am start on the range.

Mark and Denise Stevenson tasted success at the Northern NSW Branch ABA Invitational tournament held at Taree recently. Mark Stevenson scored the gold in Freestyle Limited Recurve with a dominating display while Denise Stevenson made it a golden weekend for the duo taking out the Freestyle Limited Compound division.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Kempsey Wrap up and Local ABA Shoot March 4th

Namoi Valley Archers was represented by the Stubbs family at the first ABA Invitational tournament of the year held at Kempsey. Peter Stubbs scored a wonderful win in Mens Recurve A grade after holding off a determined challenge from long term rival, Karl Peck from Taree in the final round. Stubbs established a good lead over Peck during the first 2 rounds and shot brilliantly in the final round to close the door on his rival. Ann Stubbs finished with the silver medal in Womens Compound A grade after putting together a very consistent performance. Jarrod Stubbs also finished with silver in Mens Compound A grade finishing behind one of the legends of the sport, Taree’s Robert Wilson. Jarrod Stubbs has been quietly improving and his climb up the rankings looks set to continue.
Namoi Valley Archers held a 2 round ABA event on Sunday with competitors taking to the Outback range in hot and steamy conditions. The day had a regional flavor with archers from Armidale and Tamworth making the trip to Gunnedah for the event. Competition was intense in the Sighted division with only 4 points separating the top three archers after the forty targets. Nathan Murrell scored a memorable win putting together 2 top class rounds to finish the day as number one with Gordon White and Greg Donovan finishing in a tie for the minor placings. Wade Hudson turned on a master class in the Mens Compound division shooting with great precision to score a great win. Tamworth veteran Neville White also shot well recording a Masters score on his way to second place with Jarrod Stubbs grabbing third. Wendi Murrell turned in an impressive display to finish the day as the top female Compound archer with Ann Stubbs shooting well to take second place with Karen Hudson in third. Sebastian Donovan had to work hard for the win in the Junior Sighted contest after newcomer Ethan Mansfield pushed him all the way with Lachlan Boyd in third. The next club shoot will be held on March 25th and will be a 2 round 3D event. The next Branch Invitational tournament is set down for March 17 and 18 at Taree.
Scores. Sighted – Nathan Murrell 774, Greg Donovan 770, Gordon White 770, John Clark 766, Peter Bush 762, Matt Sinclair 756, Stuart Dolbel 746, Bernie Hayne 746, Steve Jaeger 726, David Buckingham 690, Craig Mansfield 662, Mel Sinclair 636, Denise Stevenson 602, Matt Krug 590, Lloyd Jauja 378.
Mens Compound - Wade Hudson 758, Neville White 668, Jarrod Stubbs 608.
Womens Compound - Wendi Murrell 620, Ann Stubbs 584, Karen Hudson 556, Taylah Snape 416, Sharon Boyd 412, Amy Stubbs 282.
Traditional - Peter Stubbs 576, Darrell Hudson 326.
Olympic - Ken Thompson 696, Mark Stevenson 672.
Junior Sighted – Sebastian Donovan 736, Ethan Mansfield 728, Lachlan Boyd 360.
Cub Compound - Hayley Murrell 624, Kaytlyn Murrell 304, Emily Jaeger 216, Emylie Murrell 162.
Cub Sighted - Sophie Donovan 310.
Cub Traditional - Zac Critchley 556. Blake Memorey 368.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

3 Arrow on Outback Range

Namoi Valley Archers conducted 3 arrow club shoot on Sunday with competitors taking to the Outback range in hot and fine conditions. The day had a retro feel with Range Captain, Stuart Dolbel, opting to use the older style black and white ABA targets which added a different dimension to the round with no one breaking the 1100 point barrier on the day.

Greg Scott returned the highest score of the day to win the Sighted division with a polished performance with Narrabri’s John Finn just edging out John Clark in a tense battle for the minor placings.

Karen Hudson scored a very hard fought win in the Compound division after a titanic struggle with Wendi Murrell while Jarrod Stubbs edged out the chasing pack to grab third.

Haylee Murrell reasserted her dominance in the Cub Compound contest scoring a good win from sisters Kaytlyn and Emylie Murrell.

The next club shoot will be held on March 4th with registration at 8.30am for a 9.00am start on the range.

Scores
Sighted – Greg Scott 1090, John Finn 1075, John Clark 1070, Stuart Dolbel 1050, Greg Donovan 1030, Matt Sinclair 1030, Sebastian Donovan 1020, Bernie Hayne 1015, Gordon White 1010, Nathan Murrell 1010, Peter Bush 1005, Brendan Simmons 965, Melissa Sinclair 775, Denise Stevenson 710.

Compound – Karen Hudson 705, Wendi Murrell 695, Jarrod Stubbs 570, Ben Stubbs 550, Ann Stubbs 520, Ken Hill 435, Amy Stubbs 395, Sharon Boyd 240.

Traditional – John Woolaston 700, Peter Stubbs 545.

Junior Sighted – Lachlan Boyd 480.

Cub Compound – Haylee Murrell 665, Kaytlyn Murrell 575, Emylie Murrell 235.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Branch Newsletter Feb 2012 Edition

Follow this link to view a pdf version of the monthly branch newsletter.

http://www.dolbelconsulting.com.au/dolbel/img/freeservices/FEB12.pdf

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

New Year Underway

Namoi Valley Archers kicked off the 2012 season with a 2 arrow handicap event with competitors venturing out onto a completely redesigned Boundary Range. Range designers, Bernie Hayne and Nathan Murrrell spent many hours over the summer break on the range and their efforts were obvious as they presented a testing layout which made maximum use of the varying terrain. With a starting time for the event of 4.30pm the range was made even more difficult with the late afternoon sun making some targets extremely tricky to judge with the last group coming off the range at 7.30pm. Greg Donovan led the sighted shooters home with a very well compiled round with John Clark grabbing second place while Matt Sinclair and Gordon White finished tied for third. Wade Hudson scored a brilliant win in the Compound division scorching round the course in a superb display of archery with Karen Hudson just edging out Wendi Murrell in the battle for the minor placings. John Woolaston’s comeback to archery continues to gather momentum after he scored an excellent win in the Traditional contest with Darrell Hudson finishing second and Phil Greenwood third. The overall winner on the day after the handicaps were applied was youngster Katylyn Murrell, shooting a personal best score on the day. Murrell made a mockery of her handicap to finish 138 points in front of her nearest rival. The next club shoot will be held this Sunday with the traditional daylight saving time start with registrations at 8.30am with archers taking to the range at 9.00am.