Despite the weather, it was a fantastic day for Andover Archers at our own Andover Saxon Shoot.
Vicky Loader took the gold in the Ladies Compound with a score of 1258, just one point off a Grand Master Bowman score!! Vicky was closely followed by our own Ruth Watson who scored 1248 to take second. In the Gents Recurve, Chris Newman finished 7th, Shaun Ashby finished in 10th place and Ian Portman finished in 12th amongst a strong field of archers. Paul Rolfe-Tarrant finished in 14th place in the Gents Compound category, closely followed by Daniel Grobler who finished in 15th place! Finally, Brett Stringer took the silver medal in the Gents Barebow category, despite having to shoot in reverse due to an injury!
It was another great day for our junior archers! We had 9 juniors take part in the competition, and they all shot extremely well. Charlotte Williams who only started shooting 5 months ago, took part in her first ever competition and placed second in the Junior Ladies U16 Recurve with a score of 742! Thomas Oak placed 3rd in the Junior Gents U14 Recurve with a score of 862! After months of difficulty and hard work, Sassy Meyrick finally found her feet again and came second in the Junior Ladies U14 Recurve category with 1051; not only a personal best but a Junior Master Bowman score! Sassy was closely followed by Aliyah Ramirez who placed 3rd with a score of 1032, just missing out on a JMB score, but still a solid Junior Bowman classification. Kerry Stringer came 1st in the Junior Ladies U14 Longbow competition with a score of 337. Abi Creese placed second in the Junior Ladies U12 Recurve category with an incredible score of 1154; another Junior Master Bowman score! Fey Smith only just missed out on a medal position, with a score of 837! Finally, little Tommy Smith shot in his first outdoor competition and won the Junior Gents U12 Recurve category with a score of 645!
However, it is safe to say that the star of the show was Sophie Meyrick; who placed first in the Junior Ladies U16 Compound category with a PERFECT score of 1296; a personal best, a Junior Master Bowman score, a club record, a county record and most of all, a (to be ratified) untouchable UK National Record!!
