News

April 2008

21 April - Okay, I've been a bit lapse with the website of late. But I do have an excuse ;-) ................ Anyway, results from the March shoot now available for viewing, just go to the Shoot Results section and select the date you want to view.

March 2008

28 March - Well the first shoot of the year went off without a hitch it seems. The weather held for the day and 148 archers turned out to shoot a variety of targets including the 60+ yard bison. We would also like to give a warm welcome to the new faces, including the 16 from the Isle of Wight. We hope the journey was worth it and you come back again. Shoot results will be posted as soon as they are available. Any complaints can be sent to this web site - whydidntUtellusontheday@itstoolatenow.com

Good shooting folks. 

21 March - Apologies for the lack of recent updates. A house move has left me without Internet access for a time, but back now in full force and will hopefully have plenty of updates to make. Pictures of the new wash station are now on show with a picture by picture show of how the build went. For those interested in coming to our next shoot, we are full. Please do not turn up on the day expecting to get a place.

February 2008

17 February - Preparing for this years opens means a lot of work for some of the membership, and it's not just the course setting which needs to be completed. The club this year, will have a new area for the washing and cleaning of the cups and other items used during the competitions. Some photos of the wash station as it goes up will appear on site. The first few area shown on the Gallery. Not much to see yet, just the start of the frame, but it will take shape over time.

03 February - Hi folks, just to let you all know, while you're down in the woods, to be aware of the local wildlife. It's that time of year again, and the lesser spotted course layer is back in force, wandering among the undergrowth armed with plastic tape. So while out shooting, please be on the look out for the sudden appearance of a head behind a boss. Mind you, you all know the drill by now, if you see any of the usual members up there without a bow, you can be sure they're setting out and checking angles and lanes for the next shoot.

January 2008

14 January - All members of Fleet Ibex, we have our AGM coming up very soon. The date has been set, for the Sunday of the 2nd of March with a start time of about 10am. Any proposals in writing please as usual. Other than that nothing to report. Good Shooting.

2 January - H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R .................. Yes it's time for a New Year. The end of last year saw our Christmas and New Year friendly shoot. Couldn't get there myself, due to the fact that no one has managed to invent that instant teleportation belt I saw on TV as a kid. So work had to come first, because I can't be in two places at the same time. i have been told that the shoot was well attended, no idea of numbers though, and with the good weather the conditions were ideal. I've been to the club since and t looks like the course layers did a great job putting out some new targets for the day and moving those pegs that us club members have become used to. As this was the end of a year, all proceeds from the shoot went to the charity Age Concern, and the princely sum of £98 was collected. As one of our more experienced members put it, we'll all need their help sooner or later. No photos this time round, so if anyone has any they would like to share, please forward them to me.

Bye for now folks, Good shooting.

December 2007

3 December - A big well done to those Fleet Ibex members who attended the Company of 60 open shoot. You managed to get away with the weather, even though I got soaked to the skin cycling to work, and you all shot a course which was well laid out with wonderfully hitable targets. So for those who achieved a medal position, well done. A few special mentions to two of our members. Ashley Rios (Junior HT Boy) who only started shooting 2 months ago achieved a superb score of 406 from 35 targets in his first ever open shoot. A mention also to Dave Barnett (Mens Primitive) with the same score and winning the first ever primitive medal for a Fleet Ibex member. Mention must also go to Sarah Parker who won gold in ladies Barebow at her 1st ever shoot. Well done to you all. I just one complaint to make, where are the pictures? :-)

We now have a date for our annual Christmas and New Year friendly shoot. Open to all NFAS members who wish to have a leisurely walk round our woods, spoiled only by the requirement to stop and shoot arrows at a target fixed to a foam boss. For those who have never been to Fleet before, this is an ideal time to view the facilities open to the club on every single day of the year (barring those dates for competitions). We have two permanent courses set out for you to shoot, 1 x 20 and 1 x 16.

The friendly is set for Sunday 30th December. Just turn up and shoot, no need to book. There is no food laid on, although we will have tea and coffee facilities available at no extra cost. The cost to shoot will be £3 per person, although couples shooting together will be charged only £5 and Fleet members are free (some more free than others, but that's another story). Please note, when we say couples, we mean couples - not merely close friends of your next door neighbours brothers sisters best mate.

November 2007

19 November - Slight glitch over the weekend and we lost the website for a short time. Huge panic by me and a calm I'll sort it out by Nigel had us up and running again. Not much of an update this time round. It was raining Sunday, so as a fair weather archer I never got down to the woods. So one picture sent to us by one of our more eagle eyed members who spotted Graham at play with the new Sagi Hybrid :-)

4 November - Have added a small video clip introduction to the club on the contacts page. Anyone interested can see the ground we shoot at and some of the targets available at open competitions and at other times. Remember we have two courses set out permanently suitable for all bow styles and ages.

2 November - Because of being knocked off my bike and being unable to do anything much I haven't been able to scratch that archery itch, and haven't been down to the club for almost 2 months now. Looking forward to getting down there this weekend and trying out my new bow. Anyway, while being away from the club has left me out of the loop, I haven't been idle. A few updates for the web site today. The main one being the inclusion of videos from the April and May shoots. Nothing spectacular, but they are there if anyone is interested. Hopefully will be able to place a larger update on site soon and some updated images. BTW, if anyone has any pictures from the friendly shoot they wouldn't mind me borrowing, please email them to me using my details on the Contact page.

September 2007

21 September - Well another month has passed by and I haven't been up to the club half as much as I would like. At least I managed to get the whole family their twice in the school holidays. Quite an achievement really. Hopefully I'll get up to the club again soon and manage to get my bow out again. These fingers are itching to have a go at some targets. Any way...updates on the Shoot dates and Gallery pages. Only two new pictures for the Gallery, but all the dates for 2008 are now on site and can be booked whenever you like. Remember our friendly coming up next month as well, turn up and shoot for this one, no pre-book or pre-pay. - Be lucky and good arrows everyone.

August 2007

31 August - As promised at the end of our last open shoot, we now have a date for a friendly shoot. Open to all NFAS members who wish to have a leisurely walk round our woods, spoiled only by the requirement to stop and shoot arrows at a target fixed to a foam boss. For those who have never been to Fleet before, this is an ideal time to view the facilities open to the club on every single day of the year (barring those dates for competitions).

The friendly is set for Sunday October 14th. Just turn up and shoot, no need to book. There is no food laid on, although we will have tea and coffee facilities available. The cost to shoot will be £3 per person, although couples shooting together will be charged only £5 and Fleet members are free (some more free than others, but that's another story). Please note, when we say couples, we mean couples - not merely close friends.

23 August - Well the August 19th shoot went well. The weather held for the day with only a very few drops of fine rain falling between the shoot ending and the medal presentation. The foot and mouth crisis caused only a minor problem prior to booking in, but as everything was in place it only lasted for as long as it took to wash the soles of your boots. Some varied and interesting targets were laid out, no complaints (as far as I'm aware) but then I don't think there was actually anything to complain about. 

The Ken Dendall Trophy was won and held by last years winner Ian Christie. Congratulations Ian on a fine win. Will you be there next year to defend your place?

The Fleet Ibex Junior shield... (we don't have an official name for this yet, I'm thinking of a proposal for calling it the Keith Stay Junior Shield after the founder), was won by Sam Meade in the Bowhunter Class with a fine score of 738. Second place went to Scott Jones, also Bowhunter and third to Harry Strudwick shooting Longbow. The handicaps held up well, and showed the sort of scores you need to come in the top three. It's not the style that matters, but how well you shoot on the day.

At the end of the day archers were asked to keep their ears and eyes open for a friendly shoot which would be laid on sometime near the end of Autumn or the start of Winter. Please keep your eye on the web site, because as soon as a date is decided it will be posted here as well.

Thanks for the year, go to all those who have made this years shoots possible. The organisers, Admin, the caterers, the course layers and everyone who helps out on the day and on the days leading up to the shoot. Without you all, this would not be possible.

7th August - Goodness me!!! Has it been that long since an update?? My apologies to all, but work commitments have meant I have had less time than normal to get to the computer to update, let alone have time to get down to the club and practice. Anyway, new for the August soot for those who are interested, if you're not in by now it is too late. The shoot is fully booked. Unfortunately, because of events out of anyone's control, there will be no reserve list this time round. There just isn't time to have those arrangements in place.

June 2007

11th June - Okay folks! The 3D's are over, and the results are available for all to see. At our last shoot, archers were already booking places for the August Ken Dendall Memorial Shoot, so I would expect those places to go quite quickly. If you want to take part, it's time to start thinking about booking a place before they all go. The Ken Dendall trophy is awarded to the winner of the Gents Bowhunter class in this competition, but the shoot itself is open to all classes to enter. There are additional medals for the winners of the other classes including those in the Junior and Cub age groups.

While on the subject of Juniors and Cubs, it has been noticed that very often these age groups can turn up at an open shoot and have no one else in their class to shoot against. Although this does not sound bad, and gives the younger archers a prize at the end of the day, it can be quite demoralising to realise that they would have won even if they hadn't hit anything. Many children, for instance, would rather post a good a score and if beaten have something to aim for the next time. So for this competition one of our longer standing members has come up with an idea which will pit every junior and cub archer against one another. As well as the normal medals for their class, all junior and cub scores will be measured against each other to shoot for one of three shields up for grabs. Each archer will be handicapped according to style, sex and age. This will mean that all juniors and cubs will shoot on an equal footing and only the ability of the archer will be a factor in this small competition. The top three archers will be presented a special shield according to their score. Hopefully this will give all the juniors and cubs something special to aim for and something to treasure should they win one of the trophies. Taking away the advantages of equipment, age etc, and leaving just the archers own ability will mean that at Fleet Ibex the winners will be truly able to call themselves the best.

May 2007

20th May - Well, another good shoot with fantastic attendance. The rain which was promised in the week held back and we had a clear day for all those lucky archers to shoot the 40 3D targets which our wonderful course layers set out. One of the parents even discovered just how good their son had become in setting targets by taking more than the normal single arrow on that section of the course. The day finished well with some excellent scores being posted for the day. The score sheet will appear in the results page in due course. The the meantime, we will hopefully see a few of you at the 3D's. If you want to shoot in our August shoot it is time to start thinking about booking in..... remember "Pre book and Pre pay".

10th May - A note to all wishing to book for the May 20th Shoot. Unfortunately the shoot is fully booked. You may want to have your name added to a reserve list, but this will mean you being available at short notice and able to reach the club in time on Sunday morning. We often don't find out that there is a space for anyone until the morning of the shoot.

April 2007

1st April - A good shoot and although a little cold on the day the rain stayed away. Let's hope this will be the same for the other shoots this year. Some excellent scores were achieved, but that can always be expected here, given the archers who come to the shoot. Gallery page has some pictures from the shoot, if anyone would like to have some pictures on the web site, let me know and send them to the link on the gallery page. Shoot results will be posted as soon as they are available, check back often for updates.

March 2007

21st March - A few of the members went into the woods today and spotted this Coyote, howling in the bushes ,  Terry and Keith managed to grab it and lock it up in the container. (Should hopefully calm down a bit so that we can use him on April 1st). Remember to tell all your friends and enemies that there is still room for shooters in the April shoot. Contact Helen or Dave through the Shoot Dates or the Contact Us pages.

Most of the Red numbers and arrows are out now, marking the route for the competition. Hopefully the regulars will remember their way round the practice courses, because if you follow the red markings you're gonna get lost. So take care and watch out for those wild animals. please be aware that the bracken and fern is ready to shoot through. Wading your way round the back end of Black is going to be hard going once it comes through, but remember to keep to the tracks so that the undergrowth can be used for the various shoots.

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11th March - Some new targets have now been set out at the club. There are now three marked targets, set at 20, 40 and 60 yards, for those of you who need to set sight marks and pins. For anyone who didn't get to the club this weekend, the weather was lovely and you missed some good shooting time. Further to the ruling on dogs from the AGM, the rule is now set in concrete because the land owner has now made it a condition of the use of the land. So although dogs are still welcome, please note, under control and on a leash / lead at all times.

A reminder for those who have photos they want on the website. Send them to me and I will arrange to have them linked to the website. 

Please note that preparations are now in place for the next shoot, most of the target positions have been worked out. If you see any tape tied to trees or sticks in strange places, please leave them be for the time being.

4th March - Club AGM was held today. For those who never made it, just a few reminders from Terry and Nigel. Visitors to the club are welcome, but to be covered by insurance one of the Exec must be informed that they are there. A phone call on the morning will suffice, but please let either Terry or Nigel know. A rule change will find it's way to everyone very soon and has already been incorporated into the Shoot Application form. Although dogs are welcome at the club, they are to be kept under control and on a lead at all times. This rule will be strictly enforced and no exceptions will be permitted.

Something new for the August shoot was brought out in one proposal. It has been noticed that Juniors and Cubs in all classes, very often have no one to shoot against. Turning up on the day will often guarantee them a medal place. Therefore for one shoot in the year, in addition to the normal medals for their class, all juniors and cubs regardless of sex / bow class, will be pitted against each other in a handicapped competition to find the top three Junior / Cub archers on the day. Hopefully this will encourage the young archers with a little bit of competition for an extra medal. Watch this space for more information.

The April 1st shoot has been missed from the last two NFAS magazines. We would normally be close to full for this shoot by now, but there are still a large number of places free. If you know anyone who would normally take part in this Open Shoot, please pass the word on that there are spaces free.

Wayne Cappleman (Webmaster)