Gloucester District Archers members travelled to Ipswich, Queensland, to compete at the 2017 Australian International Field Archery Association (IFAA) Championships hosted by Renegade Bowmen.
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The five day event consisted of two field rounds, two hunter rounds and one animal round, where the top scores from one field and one hunter round are the ones recorded going into the final animal round.
Muster was 8.30am each morning where competitors were split into groups of four to shoot with peers. Day one to four consisted of 28 targets, with four arrows to shoot in each target.
This equated to 112 arrows a day or 448 arrows shot over 4 days. At the end of each day, the scores were placed on a notice board, so competitors knew where they were placing and how many points in head or behind they were.
Luckily for some, this meant if you had a bad day, you were able to make it up with another round, and knowing exactly what score you had to beat.
After the end of day four, all competitors were all feeling the effects of being physically and mentally exhausted. A good massage was in desperate need. To make things even more challenging, they found that the point scores between competitors were tightly contested with only a few points separating the top places going into the final round. Being the National Championships, they were competing against the best of the best.
Day five, the animal round, as always is make or break. With this round, only one arrow is shot unless you miss. The thing is, if you don’t get a scoring shot on your first arrow, your second or third shot is going to cost you valuable points, if you are not on target.
The final scores are not revealed until presentation, so it was a nervous wait for both Evette & Jeff who were sitting in first and second place respectively in their chosen divisions at the beginning of the day.
When the final results were announced, Evette Terras managed to hold onto the lead by five points, taking out first place and making her the Australian champion in Ladies Bowhunter Unlimited – B Grade.
Jeff Jennings held his position taking the silver medal in Veteran Mens Bowhunter Unlimited and Lamont Terras placed 8th in Mens Bowhunter Unlimited – A Grade.
A huge thank you must go to coach Jeff Jennings, who was an invaluable support throughout the tournament.
“If at first you don’t succeed, try doing what your coach told you to do in the first place,” he said.
A great effort from the members of Gloucester District Archers. Well done.
If you are interested in taking up archery, it is a great family sport to be involved in.
New members are always welcome throughout the year so visit www.gloucesterarchers.com or the Gloucester District Archers Facebook page.