The Welsh Field Masters Tour round 5 was this Sunday (23 Sep 2012) at Fonmon Castle Estates near Cardiff Airport. I was in first place on the leaderboard but this round was the Marked Forrester round which is a very high scorer, on some targets you can clean up 60 points so I was hoping for a good result to cement the victory.
The weather forecast was looking decidedly poor, and sure enough the Welsh weather didn't let us down. It started raining on my way down the motorway to the shoot, turned into a torrential downpour that stayed with us all day without mercy or let up. I have good boots and waterproods specifically for shooting in poor weather, and i'm used to it so didnt let it get me down or get in my way. We started on T10 so after 4 targets we were back at the refreshments tent, and one of our group of 3 made the decision to drop out because he'd had enough of the weather so there were only 2 of us and we had to wait for someone to team up with to go back out. By this time, the course had already gotten so treacharous underfoot and slippery that the organisers chopped the competition to a half round of 14 targets. We went back out with one of the retired archers who acted as a marshal for us so we could complete the run.
I've never shot the Forrester round before and it was a very interesting one. It is shot on animal faces, with the usual kill/wound scoring areas but there is a black or gold spot in the middle, the 'clean-kill' area which is worth extra points and gives a nice clear point to aim at. The weather made the course difficult enough as it was, but poor lighting and rain spattered sights made it a bit trickier, even so I had a good half and shot very well. I only took one photo as I didnt want to get my phone out of my pocket in those conditions, but I couldn't let this one go without getting a picture. Only 25 feet away, but could you ask for a better shot than this? :)
I got around the course and shot 420 points for the half which was fairly decent, and as it happened my only competiton on the day had quit early on so I was the only AMFU shooter that finished the day, winning the individual stage by default, i'll take that!
This stage's win with the points cemented first place by a large margin, making me the 2012 AMFU Welsh Field Master!! The weather was so atrocious that the decision was made unanimously to give the trophies and the formal awards at another time, which will probably be at the WFAA Indoor Championships so not until January now, but the results went out by email and on the website so it is all official :)
I am absolutely thrilled with the result! In my first year (almost to the week) from picking up my first compound bow, I have secured the Senior Bowmaster rank with only 2 points short of the highest ranking possible of Grand Bowmaster, I have won the Welsh Field Masters tour and I am in a strong position to hope for a shot at Welsh Squad for next year, fingers crossed!
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