Andrew Randall's Blog

The past couple of weekends have been two pretty big shoots on my calendar for this year; the Midsummer event (National series 3rd leg) and the Junior Nationals.
The Saturday of the Midsummer Event went well. I ranked 8th after the ranking round with a score of 637. After lunch came the head to heads; I won the first three (the third was won on a tie break - my 10 to my opponents 8) until I finally came up against Simon Terry in the quarters. It is hard to prevent the inevitable! He won. However I did manage to take one set off him, the final score of the match was 6-2 to Simon. I was, however, the highest scoring losing quarter finalist so my position at the end of the day was 5th. This is my second consecutive 5th place at a National Series Event this year. And so in the entire rankings I am currently joint 2nd with Larry Godfrey (82 points) behind Simon (95) and ahead of Alan Wills, Michael Peart, Jonathan Shales and many other renowned GB archers. A good start to the year!!!

The second day was good fun, with team H2Hs. But the highlight of the weekend for me was shooting a new competition p.b. for a Fita720 - 656. This completes the first half of my senior selection scores meaning all I have to do to represent GB at a senior level is to; shoot a 1290 Gents Fita; arrive at selection shoot; shoot phenomenally well in the ranking round; defeat countless elite GB archers; lose to Simon Terry and go as the second ranked archer on the trip! Hmmm....

Last weekend was the Junior Outdoor National Championships. The two days comprised of, first, a Fita and, second, a York. The weekend was met by challenging winds. On the first day many of the well-known top Junior (Fita Junior ie. U20) archers were present. Despite this, and the conditions, I shot well scoring 1267 for a Gents Fita - the highest score of the day; placing me first. The second day (a York) was cut short due to gale-force winds that made the day incredibly difficult. In the end we were forced to shorten the shoot to a Western. For my age group I shot 4dozen at 100yds and 4dozen and 80yds (a 'New Western' to any imperial-lovers!). The winds meant that scores were not quite so impressive, but still I held my position and ranked first again.

Thanks to the last two weekends I have now gained second position in the National Series so far and achieved the rank of "National Junior Recurve Champion". Not too shabby!

Until next time,
Andrew.

On the 5th and 6th of June I shot at the Uk Masters at Lilleshall.
This started with a FITA 720 and H2H on the Saturday, and a Gents'/Ladies' FITA on the Sunday. The overall positions were determined by final rankings in each of those three events.

The Saturday was a great day shooting; a little warm and windy at times but nevertheless a good day. I placed 4th after the 70m ranking round with a score of 636. I won my first two H2H matches and came up against Jonathan Shales in the quarter final, despite shooting a reasonable 108 dozen I lost out to Jon's 112, which was frustrating but fair as he shot much better than me! Jon continued through to the final and placed 2nd. After the first day I had accumulated 11 points (4th place in the 720 and 7th in the H2Hs).

The Gents' FITA on the Sunday proved a little more challenging as the weather was less welcoming and there were tough winds at times. The breeze meant I shot a very disappointing 90m, but at the change of distance I shot a 322 at 70m (which was the highest 70m score of the day) so made up a few of the points lost. I shot a poor 50m which dragged my score down again and 30m was very average! In the Gents' FITA I placed 5th, with 1256 giving me another 5 points to my score. I finished with 16 points after the whole weekend which placed me 4th overall, I also received The Fletcher's Arrow for my score at 70m.

A very good weekend, all in all.
Until next time,
Andrew.

It's been a good couple of months recently!

Last month I shot at the selection shoot for the European Championships in Germany. It was a really good weekend, great weather for shooting - even if the scores were a little disappointing. After the Saturday I was ranked 3rd behind Tom Barber and Mark Nesbitt (who were both competing in the Gents competition). The Sunday was the round-robin head to heads. I struggled to perform with the new match rules (which really do make the matches more exciting, for the record) but after adjusting to the different method I shot well. Unfortunately it was too little too late as James Mortlock stormed past me in the rankings and placed 3rd, whilst I was fourth. So, despite a good weekend's shooting, I missed out on a trip to Germany by one place!

Last weekend was the first leg of the National Series - a FITA 720 and H2Hs at Evesham. The weather for the ranking round was very challenging, the unpredictable wind and outbursts of rain made for very difficult and uncomfortable shooting. After the round I was placed 15th Gent going into the H2Hs. This time, now accustomed to the new rules, I was prepared and shot well - winning the first three sets of both. Knocking out two competitors before meeting Alan Wills in 1/16s. Naturally I expected that I was to be going home after this, but after 4 ends of very good shooting from both of us I managed to win by a point! This made my weekend as I was very pleased to win a H2H against an Olympian! In the quarter finals I was knocked out by Craig Bowley in a one arrow shoot-off after we had tied score, I shot a 9 to his 10 and he went through to place 2nd overall. My position was 5th after the day and I have earned 41pts towards my National Series total for the year!

Bring on the next leg!

Until next time,
Andrew.

Hi all,

Sorry, it’s been a while since my last blog! Had a lot of work for my A-levels recently and have been struggling to find time to do anything!!!

About two months ago I got my hands on my new Formula RX, which – in my humble opinion – is one of the best bows ever made. For any of you who haven’t tried one out, grab one of your friends’ and give it a go! You’ll be amazed as to how much different archery can feel!

My most recent major competition was the Senior Indoor Nationals. This shoot went quite well; I shot a reasonable 568 18m FITA which placed me 10th after the ranking round. Then followed the head to heads (or in my case head to head) I shot a very disappointing opening dozen and was knocked out in the first round to Mr. Peter Frost’s 118! Overall I placed 17th which was a good result I believe.

After the nationals I have spent a lot of time working on my outdoor form, this should (hopefully) set me in good stead for the national series!

My first outdoor competition is on Saturday the 10th – a FITA 720 at Clophill, I will post how it goes.

Until next time!
Andrew.