New Years Eve

Well here we are again, the end of another year. Boy did it get here quickly seems like only yesterday we celebrated Jan 1 2010. Those who didn't know me last year probably don't realise just how handsome that extra 12 months has made me, old dryfire reckons it's just my eyesight that has deteriorated.

Gloria & I, and I am sure all members of Macleay Valley Archers take this opportunity to wish each & every one of you a joyful and very safe New Years Eve. We also wish lots of PB's not only in archery but in every thing you do.

Take care & see you all real soon.

Mike & Gloria

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everybody from The Macleay Valley Archers.

Sat 18th Christmas Party & Shoot

I'll list the scores first. I have decided that due to Grandad Cec beating me yet again the scores really arn't very important.

Despite that I must Congratulate rangemaster Shane on his 394.

Really good shooting Shane well done. Rangemaster Shane 394, Grandad Cec 388, Feathers Dave PB 384, Don't tie with me Brett & Executive Chef Darrin 382, Martin 380, Coins Alistair 376, Glenn & Sponge Tim 372, Old fart Mike 370, Son of range master Jacob 368, Tired Dion 366, Cola Karen & Matt 364, Don't mention me Steve 358, Gene 340, Bowless Aaron & Sam 334, Scribe Neil & Jack 318, Hair Cas 316, Tamworth Kim 296, Old Dryfire 284, Princess Ebony 230, Pig Hunter Coop DNF 178

2011 officially starts on the last Saturday in January.

Don't forget Club general meeting on the first sat of each month, starting in Feb. A couple of things I would like you to think about between now & then.

1 Why no club champion.

2 Honour board in club house to honour Life Members, President, Sec, Treasurer and club champions as golf & bowls clubs do.

3 Handicap results do we need them.

4 What rounds would we like to shoot. For instance Gloria & I travel about an hour to get to the club & we would really like to shoot more arrows.

5 The zone would like us to hold grading shoots from time to time. Can we?

On a positive note the Chrismas get together was fantastic, well done. To everybody have a great Christmas stay happy & healthy. Thanks for the friendships & see you soon.

Ever Thought What It Was Like to Be An Arrow????

It is something we have all pondered at one stage or another.

What would it be like to be an arrow?

Well I recently purchased a new dozen Easton Lightspeed 3D arrows. How surpised was I when I discovered the new camera feature......

Zone E Christmas shoot Hunter Bowmen

Hi all.

Friday 10th Dec & 13 Macleayites set of into the deep south, 9 of them were armed with bows, provided Bowless brought his), Arrows & all sorts of equipment. Hunter Bowmen is a interesting layout & it was to be my first visit to this club which is set on the coal plains of the East Maitland area & signs of the coal industry are every where. Massive bits of steel, boilers, trucks & buildings were all cast of and lay in wait for there fate. When you enter the grounds the first thing you see is the camping area divided into 2 by the track in. Porta toilets sprung from the ground like native flowers. Manning had started to set up on the wrong side of the tracks, and Camp Macleay was started on the good side. Geez hope Manning don't read this. By Sat morning Camp Macleay was something to behold even Captain Cook would have been impressed by our ability to colonise the area. Let me take you on a virtual tour. Starting at the village green which was fully carpeted and roofed. The tarp used for the roof must surely have been used to cover the wicket block at the Sydney Cricket Ground such was its size. The southern edge contained seating and the kitchen table, the western side had more seating plus a cot for the less fortunate members of society to use. Grandad Cec tells me it was quite comfortable. The northern side had a single story steel house with innerspring mattress. Attached to this was our commercial development which housed our hairdresser, a turbo charged hair drier, a large chair that looked really comfy, a hair washing sink with chair & finally a set of drawers which I guess you throw bits of ear into should you have an 'OOPS' moment. The kitchen was on the eastern side complete with hanging utensils. Through the centre ran the serving table & bar.

Small single family dwellings had sprung up in variouse suburbs of Camp Macleay. Feathers had a particularly beautiful green lawn complete with rubber path & Don't tie with me enjoyed his alfresco concept with concealed mossie netting. James from Manning was so impressed he crept over to our side of the tracks.

Pb's for the weekend Bowless Aaron 376 three arrow. Handsom Mike who somebody unkindly referred to as Old Fart 372 Three arrow, 378 1 arrow, Old dry fire 2 dry fires for the 1 weekend. Finally in a collective show off strength we all shot a starwars PB.

Scores were in order 3a 1a 2a total

Maid Cassie 242, 282, 250, 774 Second

Dryfire Gloria 194, 210, 504, 908 Third

Don't mention me Steve 362, 350, 678, 1390 Forth

Bowless Aaron 376, 286, 612, 1274 Seventh

Don't tie with me Brett 384, 378, 766, 1528 First
Exec Chef Darrin 382, 356, 750, 1488 Second
Old Fart Mike 372, 378, 712, 1462 Forth
Grandad Cec 358, 368, 726, 1452 Sixth
Feathers Dave 362, 326, 736, 1424 Seventh

Grandad Cec's score is corrected on this as we found a 20 points addition mistake, dispite that it didn't alter his position & I HAVE FINALLY BEATEN GRANDAD & yes I am really proud of that so there.

Top Macleay score Brett 1528.

Thanks every body for a great weekend of competition and more important the fellowship. Next week is our Christmas party. I will add more over the next few weeks as lots& lots are Planned.

Starting next Feb the club will be holding a monthly meeting on the first Saturday shoot each month.

Cheers Mike

Couple of things I nearly forgot. Most outdoors types are content to smoke fish/ meat etc, but grandad took this to new heights when he lit the outdoor brazier and tried to smoke the entire camp. It also appears Chef Darrin's inventive ability knows no bounds I think he was trialing a new steam or glove powered van for the trip home. Rumor has it that the brazier re-ignited on the trip home & used Darrin's welding glove as fuel. He & Cec pulled up at Taree for a much needed coffee or Mocha for Darrin got out and quizzed each other over a burning smell, before finding the much redused glove. I really wish I had been there to see their faces. Dryfire thinks they could have been smoke signals to Santa ' Dear Santa I have been a really good boy can I pleasssssssssse have a new welding glove."

Dec 4 3 arrow WOW

392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 392 etc

Just what was in the water this weekend????????

Some days you are just happy to be flooded in & this appears to have been one such day. The scores are just unbelievable well done to all.

Grandad Cec "old pensioner' 392, Mick"1st shoot in 6 months" 384, Brett " don't tie with me" & Alistair 382, Executive chef Darrin & Feathers Dave 380, Glenn 378, "Don't mention me" Steve 376, Steve shot another darned PB, So I want you all to ignore his last PB, infact if he keeps doing this we should all just ignore him, Marty 376, Gunnadah Mat formally Kempsey Mat 360, Sam 356, Bowless Aaron 352, Scribe Neil 348,

I am told Brett had a barometric pressure drop whilst shooting. I know how that is Brett the triplets do that after every feed. A big thank you to my roving reporter for supplying this report. I am not saying who it is as that makes it easier to get the gossip. But thanks.

Christmas party/shoot is on the 18th December, All welcome.

Hunter bowmen next week.

Stay healthy see you all soon

Alterations to site

Brett has kindly allowed us to add new pages to the blog. You will find the tabs under the photo. I think they are self explanatory. Please feel free to add to the contents. Lets join together & make our club the bench mark for ABA clubs

news re Bowhunting Accreditation

I am very pleased to announce that as of 28/11/10 Macleay Valley Archers now have an official Game Measurer - Bruce Crumpton, and a Bowhunter Education Officer - Myself (Steve Harris), as a result of the accreditation weekend at Moonterra Archers. Many thanks to Lindsay and Ralph for a very enjoyable and educational weekend and also to the Moonterra Archers for their excellent hospitality.As Bowhunter Education Officer I am now able to run the B.P.C. (Bowhunter Proficiency Certificate) courses for our club and strongly recommend that all of our members make the effort to sit this course. Our Bowhunters need a B.P.C. to claim game and obtain an "R" Licence to hunt Deer and declared State forests. It is also important that our target only archers attain a B.P.C. to help the A.B.A. show the people who make no distinction between Hunter or Target Archer, that a responsible level of bow use is taking place in our clubs.Even if you do not hunt and only wish to take part in Archery, purely as a target sport, to obtain a B.P.C. is a demonstration that you are a responsible bow user and supporter of the A.B.A. This means that the A.B.A. has a stronger arguement to help keep our sport alive when they can present a strong number of accredited, proficient bow users to the authorities and bodies that would otherwise see our sport outlawed and banned based on the actions of the very few that do the wrong thing and bring our sport into disrepute.The B.P.C. is a free service provided to A.B.A.. members which can usually be held over only one day so the time and monetary costs are extremely minimal. Please show your support to the A.B.A. and help to keep our sport alive.Anyone wishing to sit the B.P.C. course can contact me either at the club or by email : airpig75@y7mail.com to arrange a day that suits all parties. If you have been a member of A.B.A. for 3 months you can obtain a B.P.C.Again, a big thank you to all at Moonterra.Steve

Nov 27 3 arrow ABA

Well it's with great trepidation that I write this article. It appears I have been threatened with great acts of violence unless I change my ways. Now as a born coward I am about to comply with said request hence forth Uncle Cec is to be known as Grandad Cec, the grand part meaning:

Chief, splendid, magnificent, lofty, imposing, $1000. or in spanish Grandee:-

Nobleman, Magnificence. You take your pick as to which applies to grandad cec. I guess in his grandaughter's eyes he is all these things. Hope that gets me back in the good books with the little people. And now to the shoot beautiful, beautiful, beautiful is the only way to descibe the weather and the day in general. Very warm with a cooling breeze. Good enough for Cassie to shoot a personnal best. Well done Cassie. Really nice to have the executive chef back We had real food again Ya-hoo. 2 new shooters arrived to enjoy the day, Kad & Samual, both shot well and enjoyed the day.

The scores are below. Darrin & Brett 382, Shane & Matt 380, Glenn 376, Cec 374, Jacob, Rob & Tim 370, Gene 366, Gary 362, Aaron 348, Cassie 340PB, Kade 328, Gloria 312, Cooper 286, Samual 214.

Oh! There is a little button at the bottom of these articles that allows you to make comments, I for one would appreciate the occasional use of this feature. As feedback at least means somebody reads what's written. We need to find out how to get news out to members. So does this work.

cheersMike

3 arrow Nov 20th

Once again Uncle Cec's band of merry archers gathered in the shaded glens , under the emerald green canopy of Tamban forest. The recent rain had really caused our babbeling brooks to babble, whilst the beautiful late spring sunshine created dappled patterns across the wet boggy paths. Only 12 tried & true members were prepared to accept the challenge which Uncle Cec decreed would be 20 targets of a max of3 arrows with the first hit to score. Battle plans were drawn up and our band divided into 3 groups. the main offensive would be handled by the senior archers of Uncle Cec, Range master Shane, Feathers Dave and Sponge Tim. Group 2 would comprise of our fit junior members Son of range master Jacob, Bowless Aaron, Young Maid Cassie & tired Dion. Just on this, this was a really bad choice for second group as anarchy ruled & no decision could be reached as to who should shoot, the maths involved in scoring was almost beyond our quartet and only daylight saving saved us from finishing by torch. The final group was undoubtedly the cream of the band, picked for their ability to mop up after the battle It comprised of DJ Gene, don't mention me Steve. Handsome Mike & Fairest of maidens Gloria.

Due to Executive chef Darrin being away and the BBQ not arriving we feasted on nuts & dry apricots. Sorry but this just didn't do it for me. Oh have I mentioned Steve was with us! The results of the days efforts are listed below:

Tired Dion 392, Range Master Shane 382, Son of rangemasterJacob 380, Feathers Dave 376, DJ Gene 374, Don't mention me STEVE 374PB, Uncle Cec 372, Handsome Mike 370, Sponge Tim 360, Bowless Aaron 348, Fairest of maidens Gloria 340, Young Maid Cassie 280

Steve shot a personal best, due in no small part to the fantastic group he was in.

Thanks to everybody who turned up for a great day. Next Sunday is a working Bee to start the IFAA range so please try to come even if it's only for a brief time. We are also trying to organise a bus trip to the Archery expo. So if you are interested let us know. Aaron & Glen are kindly trying to source prices for buses and cost will reflect how many are interested.

cheers Mike

Zone E 3D titles shoot @ Taree 13&14 Nov

To start with lets hope Matt had a great day. I guess getting married is a good excuse for the Hodgeman family not to shoot.

About 105 archers took part with only a small contingent from Macleay accepting the challenge, sorry Daniel but as yet I haven't been able to find your score, but I did notice you up the front at trophy time well done.

I really would like to find whoever left the furnace door open on Saturday afternoon, wondering around the Black range was like walking through death valley. All us oldies dragged ourselves back to camp looking & feeling totally wrecked. Uncle Cec sat there with a Rum & Coke strapped to his forhead, Darrin was the most subdued I have ever seen him seems his Ross River loved the heat. I went to bed and don't know what happened to the other mature aged archers. Our sub 20 years contingent acted like it was all a piece of cake. Oh to be young again. Poor old Cassandra decided it was a good time to get a virus and a touch of heat stroke. It would appear that after passing the virus on to the rest of the family and a bit of rest she is now on top of the world again.

In a major step forward Arron remembered his bow and as usual Jacob shot the highest score from the Macleay. I don't have any info re places but I will list the scores.

Jacob 394 392 786 1572

Cass 250 234 DNS 484

Gloria 328 284 534 1146

Dion 378 376 736 1490

David 382 374 748 1504

Glenn 362 362 758 1482

Darrin 378 324 758 1460

Cec 368 372 718 1458

Aaron 340 354 686 1380

Mike 338 320 760 1418

Cheers Mike

aba non arrow round 6 Nov

What a fantastic day, clear blue sky, light breeze, gentle sunshine playing with the shadows, birds chirping & drinks brought to you on the course all for your pleasure.

Well that's how it could have been if it wasn't for the rain, strong winds and raging creek crossings across the road. Gloria, Gary & I turned up after being told & I quote "We shoot every weekend rain hail or shine" I have now learnt that is not quit true. It seems floods and rain of Noah's proportions are the exception, however since you have taken the trouble to look this up this is what could have been. Young Michael with 1 target to go was on 380 old Gary was also on 380 as was young Gloria. As word spread the pressure mounted on all three archers. Who would triumph? Mike stepped up to the peg drew back and with consummate ease dropped the shaft dead centre of the 20, Gary stepped up aimed and produced a fantastic Robin hood shot, the crowd went wild. Gloria amid the roar stepped forward aimed and split Gary's shaft.The perfect end to a non arrow shoot.

In closing this is not meant to diminish the achievements of those that have shot 400. Just a bit of fun, so please don't be offended

Cheers Mike

Sat Oct 23rd 3 arrow

Sorry everybody, the boss & I had to leave early so I have no idea what happened. The boss & I won't be there next weekend either as we are going to see our newborn triplets. We had a good turn up of shooters this weekend and the group we started shooting with were on fire David & Shane were trading 20 on each target & young Matt was shooting better than I've ever seen him shoot, no wonder we had to leave early. I was talking to one of the best archers in the club & joked about him missing a couple of shots the week before seems his peep was moving up & down the string and it took all weekend to figure out what was going on. Now this got me thinking how we all take our set up for granted and don't give it the due care & attention it really needs.Just think if this can happen to the best, those of us at the bottom need to really be careful. Maybe marks that can show us if something moves & a log book with all the variable measurements written in, so if something moves it's not the end of the world. I also found it funny how we each can view the same score. I come in with a 364, chest out, beaming with pride & real happy. The top boys come in with a 380 fit to kick the cat, shoulders down and really depressed, may be one day i will be able to kick the cat.

till then take care.

Zone E ABA shoot @ Macleay 16th & 17th Oct

Wow what a weekend, wet Friday cyclone Saturday & beautiful spring day Sunday.

When you attend these shoots it's easy to think they just happen, but the behind the scenes activity is huge. Mrs Apps & Mrs Hodgeman thank you for giving up your weekend, not only goodlooking but real beaut tuckshop ladies as well. To Neil & his wife what can you say not only did Neil not shoot but some how he managed to con his good lady into helping on 2 weekends & cleaned our loos as well. Large round of applause from all of us to all of you.

Numbers were a little down, ok a lot down. But the shooters who turned up put on a pretty good show. Macleay won an award in every section we competed in. Young Jacob Fuit shot the highest total score for the weekend, Dion Ussher blitzed his first shoot in the seniors Flight 1. Brett again won a countback ( moral of the story DO NOT TIE WITH BRETT) Both Darrin & Glenn reached the dizzy heights of the 390 club Mike actually shot the same score as Uncle Cess on the 3 arrow and Uncle Cess's 3 arrow was outstanding. We had no fewer than 10 first or = first places out of 26 sections.

Darrin failed as a professional peep twister. Rather embarrassing that.

Below is a small list for Aaron to cut & paste. to use before each shoot:-

1. Socks & Jocks


2. Clothes


3. Money ( to bribe Mike with)


4. Arrows


5. BOW repeat BOW. you know long thing with wheels & string thingies


6. Car


7. Directions to venue


8. Do not mention any mistakes to newsletter writer.

Results for weekend.

Name 3a 1a 2a total Place

Jack Powick 310 254 592 1156 1st

Sam Harwood 330 324 664 1318 1st

Gene Shea 352 322 736 1410 1st

Daniel Ward 348 324 606 1278 2nd

Zac Kitchin 332 254 622 1208 3rd

Ben Ward 354 338 DNS 692

Martin Ussher 348 378 732 1458 1st

Jacob Fuit 392 394 786 1572 1st

Bruce Crumpton 380 384 768 1532 =1st

Gary Ward 382 366 742 1490 3rd

Tim Hodgeman 360 344 682 1386 6th

Mat Hodgeman 354 346 610 1310 7th

Aaron Partridge 340 242 590 1172 8th

Brett Hodgeman 380 380 752 1512 =1st

Shane Fuit 380 384 748 1512 -1st

Rob Fordyce 368 376 744 1488 3rd

Gloria Potter 316 266 508 1090 1st

Darrin Simonds 374 390 772 1536 1st

Glenn Freeman 376 392 758 1526 2nd

Ces Apps 364 382 726 1472 4th

Mike Potter 364 354 698 1416 5th

David McManus DNS 308 716 1024

Dion Ussher 384 384 766 1534 1st

Cheers to all and thanks for a great weekend

Mike

Branch E ABA Shoot Kempsey 16th & 17th Oct

Branch E ABA shoot is on at Macleay Valley Archers range at Tamban Forest next weekend 16th & 17th October.
Plenty of camping available. Toilets and hot showers. Meals, drinks etc available from canteen Friday night thru to Sunday.
The ranges have been changed recently due to the forestry giving the area a bit of a trim. So we have some interesting new shots.
The ranges and camping areas are looking great after a bit of recent rain and the road is in good condition due to the recent forestry attention.
We are going to be shooting the new colour targets on one day and the old paper targets on the other day so that should get some conversation happening.

Archery Swimming 3/10/10

Twelve Brave tried & True archers turned up at Tamban for our weekly shoot, for most of us it didn't look to bad just light grey sky & good company. Yep the day was looking good, then Aaron arrived towing a humongous black stormy cloud & suddenly swimming was on the agenda. Now Aaron is a really nice guy but you wouldn't invite him to any outdoor occasion unless you had planned to be undercover, I have never seen anybody bring such a large wet cloud with them. Uncle Ces decided due to Aarons cloud we should get it over with as quickly as possible so 1 arrow was the order of the day Oh & we would shoot in teams of 2 with a prize for the winning team. Guess, go on guess which team won? Did I hear you say UNCLE CES & Shane. Very good organisation. Bruce is obviously proud of his fellow members as he brought a friend of his to shoot. Hope you enjoyed the day Ric. Glenn & I should have been declared the winners as I was scoring and managed to score 560 out of a possible 400.After a few minutes of study the group decided I was cheating and Glenn & I were rubbed out. Jacob has decided he needs a new bow so if you would like to own a bow that shot 398 out of 400 only 2 weeks ago see Jacob.

On a final note we have decided that Darrin is doing such a great job under trying conditions we are promoting him to Executive Chef and awarding him 1 Michelin star.Well done Darrin Oh the new bow shoots real good too.

Till next time cheers Mike

Avon Valley IFAA Shoot

A few archers from the Macleay club travelled to the Avon Valley Club to shoot in the IFAA Zone E branch titles & some outstanding performances were put in over the weekend.

Jacob Fuit shot a 502 & 492 for 994 1st place junior boys freestyle unlimited B

Gary Ward 455 & 481 for 936 3rd place Bowhunter unlimited ungraded

Tim Hodgeman 446 & 411 for 857 4th place Bowhunter unlimited ungraded

Mat Hodgeman 390 & 376 for 766 6th place Bowhunter unlimited ungraded

Brett Hodgeman 484 & 500 for 984 1st place Bowhunter Unlimited

Gloria Potter 350 & 266 for 616 1st place Freestyle Unlimited ungraded

Michael Potter 449 & 462 for 911 2nd place Freestyle Unlimited ungraded.

Brett actually tied for first but won the shoot off quite convincingly. No sign of nerves whilst having to show his shooting style in front of 77 other archers. It was a beautiful weekend with sun, sun & more sun, luckily a slight breeze drifted in on Sunday to cool things a tiny wee bit. A certain lady archer was overheard uttering threats of violence upon our club chef & uncle Ces.

It appears they convinced her that it is always cold at Avon, hence she only took winter clothes. The same lady must be really serious as she practised her right hook early Sunday morning at the practise line, finished very dazed with a fat lip all whilst hubby (who was supposed to be watching) cleaned his finger nails. Ah well nobody said marriage was easy.

ABA 3 arrow 18 September

Hi all, Well this is our first attempt at this so here goes.........A few problems have surfaced like we are not sure what section everybody is in and we sure don't know everybodies surnames so sorry about that time will fix all.

The weather was fantastic just one beautiful spring day. What we will try to do is list all who shot from the senior distance in RED, Junior GREEN & Cub in Blue Juniors from the senior peg will have name in green score in red and ladies will have name in pink well thats the plan anyway.

Jacob...392, Jacobs' Daddy Shane..388, Brett..386, Head chef Darrin..382, Matt..380, Al..378, Rob..374, Gene, Bruce& Glenn..370, Uncle Ces..368, Dave.. 362, Tim...358, Sam..346, Nic..344, Aaron..326, Gloria..320..Frank..276, John..262, Cooper..256, Sam P. 194

Promise to try to get divisions & Surnames real soon.Several members are travelling to Avon Valley for the IFAA shoot next weekend, for those that stay home don,t forget the Working Bee Cheers to all Mike

ABA Shoot Saturday 11th September

"Chip Off The Old Block"

Mat & Coop at Taree

2 weeks of archery this week. Last week end saw a very impressive score achieved. Jacob Fuit, dropped just 1 target, scoring a B (18 points) not an A (20 points) by less than a centimeter to score a 398 out of 400. A fantastic effort. We also welcomed new shooter Jed Clarke who came out and tried our great sport for the first time. Another junior to who is up and coming, young gun Gene Shea, who is posting some great scores of late, defiantly one to watch. The scores for last week were;
Men –Alastair Smedley 386, Brett Hodgeman 382, Matt Gray 368, Bruce Crumpton 366, Dave McManus 366, Cec Apps 362, Mike Porter 348,
Ladies – Karen Smedley 354, Gloria Porter 348.
Juniors Boys – Jacob Fuit 398, Gene Shea 382, Tim Hodgeman 370, Jed Clarke 290.
This week saw a few mishaps, with lost and smashed arrows, and a DNF for one with a string nock beating the arrow to the target, meaning no more shooting today. Notable this week was another of our juniors beating all others with the best score of the day, Martin Ussher with an honorable 380 points.
This week’s scores were;
Men –Alastair Smedley 374, Glenn Freeman 374, Darrin Simonds 372, Dave McManus 368, Matt Gray 366, Steve Harris 366, Neil Ussher 358, Aaron Partridge 356, Mike Porter 346, Rob 326, Lenny Hickson 242 (bare Bow), Cec Apps dnf.
Ladies – Gloria Porter 326.
Juniors Boys – Martin Ussher 380, Gene Shea 378, Dion Ussher 376, Dylan Barnet 338, Sam Harwood 338, Beau Miller 320, Jed Clarke 248, Cooper Gray 234.

ABA 3 Arrow round 28th August

19 archers ventured out to Collombatti this weekend to give the testing Goanna Range a go. The 3 arrow round was full of tricky and sneaky stances with the cardboard critters hiding behind trees and grasses. But that was not enough to hold back father and son, Shane and Jacob Fuit, who both scored 390 out of the 400 points available. Other notable scores were Alastair Smedley, another 390 pts and Dion Ussher with 388 pts.
The scores were;
Men – Shane Fuit 390, Alastair Smedley 390, Glenn Freeman 376,Darrin Simonds 370, Cec Apps 362, Gary Kitchin 350, Mike Porter 348, Dave McManus 346, Robert Fortdyle 342, Aaron Partridge 332, Neil Ussher 320.
Ladies – Gloria Porter 356 PB.
Juniors Boys – Jacob Fuit 390, Dion Ussher 388, Martin Tim Hodgeman 360, Sam Harwood 354, Gene Shea 352, Zac Kitchin 340, Kale Ross 306
To our only lady archer, a great big congratulation from all of us for scoring a new Personal Best score of 356 points this week. We would like to see more ladies out to join Gloria, Karen and Casey in this great sport.
If you looking for something different to do on a Saturday afternoon, why not give archery a go. Its something the whole family can do too. Not only is the company good, we have our resident Iron chef, Darrin, whipping up gourmet BBQ lunch’s, roasted potatoes and other goodies to eat. Starting time for the first arrow is 2pm, with the teams being made prior with the days nominations. Training is provided at the practice butts before heading out on the range. Give it a go; you’ll be hooked on this challenging and satisfying sport.

ABA Shoot 17th July

What a fantastic day for archery on Saturday. 20 of us took to the challenging Tamban Goanna Range. Shane was back on duty as the Range Captain and did his job well. There were down hill shots, up hill shots and sideways shots, all with a twist. The new colour targets are great to aim at, hard to score good points though, that is hard for me to score good points.
The scores were;
Men – Shane Fuit 388, Cec Apps 382, Alastair Smedley 382, Bret Hodgeman 380, Josh Apps 374, Bruce Crumpton 374, Aaron 370, Glenn Freeman 364, Gary Ward 358, Darrin Simonds 356, Neil Ussher 354, Michael Porter 318.
Ladies – Gloria Porter 294, Carrie 256.
Juniors Boys – Dion Ussher 388, Jacob Fuit 386, Gene Shea 376, Ben Ward 346, Dan Ward 320, Dylan 86.
It was good to see a good turn out this week, must be the great cooking that “Iron Chef Darren” is doing. He’s our iron chef because he cooks on his “own made” camp kitchen fire and billy/stove/oven invention.

Branch E ABA Championships Gunnedah 10th & 11th July

We must have taken the weather with us out to Gunnedah last week end, it wasn’t cold at all. Well not freezing any way. We were 11 strong in number, all keen and ready for the testing coarse set for all to challenge. Obviously the terrain was very different to what we are used too. Large rocks, steep rise’s and deep gully’s, all making it hard to score on the elusive card board critters set out in this fantastic scenery.
Our club did well with 5 members taking to the podium.
Gene Shea 3rd Junior Bowhunter Unlimited, Jacob Fuit 2nd Junior Freestyle Unlimited, Dion Ussher 3rd Junior Freestyle Unlimited, Brett Hodgeman 3rd Senior Bowhunter Unlimited, Neil Ussher 2nd Freestyle Limited.
Special thanks go to Darrin Simonds who feed us all and keep the camp warm with his custom built wood heater.
So it’s back to Tamban this week to work out what went right or wrong. It will be good to be back on the range.

New Coloured ABA Targets 03/07/10

It didn’t look to good on Friday for the Saturday shoot, drizzle rain and very cool. But Saturday came as a clear Macleay winter day, warm and sunny. It’s been a while since the last write-up, sorry about that, but we’re all settled now. There’s been movement on the range with several members obtaining new tools of the trade (bows), Glenn, Martin, Mike, Tim and Nicholas all have updated their equipment. This week we had 18 keen archers at the range. We shot the Goanna Range using the new colour targets, it was very interesting with all twenty targets being a different animal or setting.
The scores were;
Men – Shane Fuit 384, Darrin Simonds 382, Brett Hodgeman 374, Glenn Freeman 374, Cec Apps 370, Josh Apps 366, Gary Ward 364, Neil Ussher 364, Mike Porter 342, Bruce Crumpton 328.
Ladies – Gloria Porter 240.
Juniors Boys – Jacob Fuit 388, Dion Ussher 376, Gene Shea 358, tim Hodgeman 348, Sam Harwood 322, Daniel Ward 318, Kale 304.
Once again, the young blokes are showing us oldies up, Jacob shot better than all the adults and at the same distance too. It boads well for the clubs future with such a talented young shooter coming through.
This week end coming is the Namoi Valley Archers Branch shoot. Many of our club will be traveling out to Gunnedah to brave the cold and fly our new club flag (thanks Mike and Gloria) in competition. We are all looking forward to the social atmosphere and comradery that comes with these gatherings. Will report on the results next week.
Some dates to put on the calendar, August 14-15 is the Manning District Bowhunters Taree ABA shoot and then August 21-22 is the State 3D titles at Wagga Wagga and September 25-26 is the IFAA Branch titles at Avon Valley, Gloucester and not to forget our 16-17 October, our own invitational shoot at Tamban.

Saturday Shoot 29/05/10

The morning rain on Saturday had cleared by lunchtime, providing a pleasant afternoon's shooting on the Anthill range. Fourteen archers were tested by the target settings. Each distance has to be estimated before taking the shot and a closer target than usual can be as testing as a long one.
Saturdays scores were;
Men: Cec Apps 382, Brett Hodgman 382, Micheal Buckland 378, Michael Bonanno 370, Darrin Simonds 372, Glenn Freeman 368, Garry Ward 366, Alastair Smedley 362, Bruce Crumpton 344.
Ladies: Karen Smedley 350, Reannan Beattie 136 (first shoot).
Juniors: Tim Hodgman 368, Gene Shea (358), Dylan Sandilands 232
Reannan tried field archery for the first and we welcomed back Karen and Michael Bonanno who have not shot for a few weeks.
Macleay Valley Archers shoot most Saturdays starting at about 1.00pm. If you like to join us just call Cec Apps 65627047 or Neil Ussher 65631148 for more details.
Notice to members - the Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 26 June after the shoot.

2010 Annual General Meeting

The Macleay Valley Archers 2010 AGM will be held after the normal afternoon shoot at approximately 5:00pm on Saturday 26th June 2010 at the Tamban Forest Range Brentons Rd. All financial members are encouraged to attend. For any enquiries or nominations please contact Ces or Neil on the contact numbers on the right.

NSW State IFAA at Avon Valley

Plenty of Competitors. 96 in total.
Nice Hat Tim!

A contingent of 8 archer from Macleay Valley made the trip to the Stroud range for the NSW IFAA Shoot. I had the pleasure of sharing the car with 4 juniors and survived the weekend. All shooters went well with Gary and Zac shooting their first IFAA. Gary was heard to mutter, "80 yards...are you kidding!!' The ranges were good and the weather was changeable as it always is at Avon.
We came away with some good results. Jacob won Jnr F/U (B grade) & Dion was a close 2nd in A Grade. Marty ran 3rd in B grade. Tim won Jnr B/U B grade. Zac won Jnr B/U C Grade. Gary won F/U C grade. Alistair shot well to run 3rd in F/U A grade. Brett burgled a win in B/U B grade.
They have some great new facilities and ranges being built at Avon for the Asia Pacific IFAA Championships being shot there in 2011. They expect to have 2 x 28 target ranges available for the IFAA shoot at Avon in September. This will be a great oppurtunity for local archers to compete in an international event so we need to get our IFAA range built so we can get some practice in.
All the results are at http://www.avonvalleyfieldarchers.com/page13/files/page13_3.pdf

20th March ABA Round

What a perfect afternoon for archery on Saturday. Slight breeze, not to hot, not to cool, just right. With some away for the Hunter Valley Bowmen shoot, we had 14 left to hold the fort at Tamban. The Ant Hill range was the go, with some testing shots and tricky stances.
The scores were;
Men –Bruce Crumpton 384, Glenn Freeman 370, Josh Apps 368, Neil Ussher 348, Gary Ward 332, Steve Harris 332, Lenny Hickson 296 (Bare Bow), Malcolm Bryant
Ladies – Ebony Apps 208.
Juniors Boys –Martin Ussher 378, Sam Harwood 358, Beau Miller 332 (Bare Bow), Justin Farrawell 246, Josh Bryant 182.
And some good news from the away guys, Brett Hodgeman coming home with a first place in Bow Hunter Unlimited Flight 1, Dion Ussher first in Junior Freestyle Unlimited Flight 1 and Tim Hodgeman getting a Fifth in the junior Bow Hunter Unlimited Flight 2.
They came home with great praise for the new coloured targets, very realistic. I don’t know when our set will come, but am looking forward to it.
Back to normal this week, with a full contingent of shooters at Tamban. See you there.

ABA 3 Arrow Round 13th March

It was touch and go on Saturday. We had delayed start due to a heavy shower of rain, heavy enough to stop some from even heading out. Even so, 17 Macleay Archers chanced it, and made it through without a drop falling from the heavens.
The scores were;
Men –Alastair Smedley 386, Bruce Crumpton 384, Brett Hodgeman 382, Josh Apps 382, Matt Gray 376, Gary Ward 360, Neil Ussher 358.
Ladies – No ladies this week.
Juniors Boys – Jacob Fuit 390, Dion Ussher 388, Martin Ussher 386, Tim Hodgeman 374, Gene Shea 366, Jack Powick 348, Sam Harwood 336, Ben Ward 278, Cooper Gray 234.
There will be a few of us away this week, the Hunter Bowmen are having their shoot this week end. Good luck to those traveling away. For those staying home, the shoot groups will be done before 1.30pm with kick off at 2pm. Hopefully the weather will be better this week.

Macleay Valley Invitational 3D Shoot 27th & 28th Feb

Nice group of arrows, downhill, 40+metres through many trees

Tricky shot from about 40 metres.

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The threatening weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the 80 archers who joined us out at Tamban for our 1st ABA Branch 3D Title. The camping ground was a sea of tents, tarps and vans and thankfully the after a showery start to Saturday, the weather cleared away to quite a nice day. The forest was alive with rubber targets, fox’s, deer and goat, all sneakily positioned to test the abilities of the hopeful archers. Jacob Fuit was more than a match, scoring two very impressive 398’s out of 400, that is 796/800 for the day!
For a change, we held the raffle draw on Saturday night which proved popular, the overloaded table of prizes attracted ticket buyers like moths to a candle. The winners dashing out to collect their chosen item and then back to their seat hoping to be called out again.
Sunday dawned with the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through the camp from the canteen. It wasn’t long until we had tables full of hungry competitors readying themselves for the morning shoot. An early start meant an early finish with most finishing the round by 11.30am.
With the tallies done, the presentation kicked off with a big thank you to our club from the executive for holding a smooth running and very enjoyable shoot.
On the podium our members faired quite well with these results;
Sam Harwood 2nd Junior Bowhunter Limited 1340 points out of 1600
Tim Hodgeman 3rd Junior Bowhunter Unlimited 1464 points.
Martin Ussher 1st Freestyle Unlimited Flt2 1514pts
Jacob Fuit 1st Freestyle Unlimited Flt1 1554pts
Dion Ussher 2nd Freestyle Unlimited Flt1 1554 pts (on a count back, Jacob scored 3 more “A” shots)
Shane Fuit 1st Bowhunter Unlimited Flt1 1546 pts
Brett Hodgeman 3rd Bowhunter Unlimited Flt1 1506 pts.
Alastair Smedley 2nd Freestyle Unlimited Flt1 1466 pts
Cec Apps 3rd Freestyle Unlimited Flt2
Josh Apps 3rd Bowhunter Unlimited Flt2
I must mention young Danial Ward, who scored not one, but two personal best scores over the week end to lift it up to 334 points. A bit of competition is good for everyone.
So it’s back to normal for a few weeks until we venture down south to the Hunter Bowmen for their tournament shoot in a months time. As always, you’re all welcome at the Macleay Valley Archers out at Tamban.

Hot Saturday Shoot

What a great afternoon for a stroll through the bush. 19 Macleay Valley Archers did just that. Scores for the afternoon were high with 6 personal bests being recorded. It all looks good for our 3-D challenge in a couple of week’s time.
The scores were;
Men – Shane Fuit 394, Alastair Smedley 386, Bret Hodgeman 384, Bruce Crumpton 380, Neil Ussher 374, Gary Kitchen 372 (PB), Glenn Freeman 372, Darrin Simmonds 370, Gary Ward 368 (PB), Josh Apps 368, Cec Apps 362, Ken Townsend 174 (Bare bow)
Ladies – Ami Brenton 198 (PB).
Juniors Boys – Jacob Fuit 388, Gene Shea 370 (PB), Sam Harwood 322, Danial Ward 312 (PB), Zac Kitchin 268, Zac Ward 132 (PB).
There is still some work to do on the course, so if you can give a hand, please do. We are doing a monster raffle at the 3-D challenge so if you have anything that would be worthy, bring it next week, so we know what we have.
Two of our members are attending Coach Training sessions next weekend. I’m sure they will be a wealth of information after that. They will be able to advise on how to get rid of all those bad habits (only the archery related ones) that we have let creep into our shooting and also be confident to introduce new archers into the sport. As always, if you want a go, come out and have a try, first time is free.

Northern Branch 3D Tournament 27th & 28th Feb

Macleay Valley Archers are proud to be hosting our first Northern Branch ABA 3D Tournament on the weekend of 27th & 28th February. This will be the first 3D event run at our challenging Tamban Forest Ranges. Our diverse terrain should make for 2 great 3D courses.

This is a great opportunity for any club members who haven't had the chance to shoot 3D to try it in familiar surroundings. I can assure that anyone travelling to Kempsey for this event will have a great weekend. Our range captain is sure to set some challenging shots.

There will be meals available all weekend from Friday night on. So if you arrive late on Friday you will still get a feed. We have plenty of camping for caravans or tents, hot showers and composting toilets.

See our link for a map of our location and we will have signs from the Pacific Hwy at Frederickton.

Sat 27th

Registrations Close - 8.30am

Muster - 9.30am

3 arrow Round

Lunch

1 Arrow Round

Sun 28th

Muster 8.30am

2 Arrow Round

Lunch & Presentations

Fees:Seniors - $30.00Cub, Juniors, Pensioners - $25.00Families - $60.00

Back To The Ranges For 2010

Wow , 2010, a new year, a new season, lots happening, lots to do. The Macleay Valley Archers will be back at it, on the 30th January. Sign in from 12.30 with the round to kick off at about 2.oo pm. Hopefully the grass wont be too long and the cobwebs too thick from our break over Christmas. Anyway the first group out will clear them away for the rest of us.
There will only be few weeks before we host our first tournament for the year, a 3D shoot on the 27th and 28th of February. If you haven’t had a go at the life-like targets, you’re missing out! Should be a great week end and you don’t have to travel far to do it.
If your and old hand or wont to give archery a try, come on out, we have a selection of club bows and arrows for you to use, check out the ABA website for a map or just ring for directions.