Classification round at Fonmon

Hi everybody!

On Sunday the 16^th of June, Llantwit Major Archers hosted a classification round at their course at Fonmon Castle. It was a Field round, standard 28 targets shot to IFAA rules. The weather forecast was terrible for the weekend, but I made the decision to go anyway. I needed to test out my new strings in the field and make sure my sight marks are accurate and everything is ready for the Welsh Championships in 2 weeks.

We got there and it was just starting to rain, and by the time we got everything geared up and went onto the course it was raining steadily and it kept it up all day. I have good waterproofs though, and I don’t mind shooting in the rain – it is good practice and you need to be prepared for when it happens on serious tournaments.

After the first few targets, I discovered that my peep was too high so I needed to move it down about 1/16^th of an inch and that of course moved my sight marks. It took another 3-4 targets to get everything dialled in so I dropped a few points but that was to be expected testing a new setup, and I finished the first half on 261.

In the second half though, I shot well and with the adjustments it was the best performance I have ever put in, even with the rain. I finished the second half on a new PB for a half of 269, for a final score of 530!

At last! I have reached the 530 that I have been chasing, which now puts me into the highest rank under WFAA of Grand Bow Master. I have sent off the claim form and score card and had confirmation that it has been received, so I will receive my GBM patch at the Welsh Champs in 2 weeks to go with my BM and SBM ones – full house!

Looking back on the shoot, I am very impressed with how well the Insanity is shooting with the new strings. It took the first quarter of the course to get the bow dialled in so my first half was down a few points, and in the second half I shot 2 x 17’s because my longest marks were out. All of this was shot in very poor weather as well, so the chances are if the bow was set up correctly at the start and the weather was better, I may have been closer to 540 than 530!

The Welsh & Open Championships are on the 29/30^th of June and are being shot on the same course, and I am now familiar with the ground so I am hoping for a fairly good result.  I won’t have time beforehand to check my longest marks but with the changes I have made they should have come in a bit more so fingers crossed!