Hertfordshire Archery Association
(Patron: The Marchioness of Salisbury)
the association of target archery clubs in Hertfordshire, England
the association of target archery clubs in Hertfordshire, England
The Association provides support and services to archery clubs and individuals in Hertfordshire. It is affiliated to GNAS and SCAS.
Three pieces of news for you all this evening, starting with congratulations to the three County archers who attended the SCAS Junior shoot yesterday. There might not have been 40 of you but you did each come back with a medal, two silvers and a bronze. Well done Ali Postoyko, Rebecca Blewett and Jonty Edgar.
Yes it was the County Western today and a fine day for shooting. Several archers shooting in a tournament for the first time, we hope they enjoyed themselves.
And most importantly, don't forget that the County Clout is on the 10th October. Look on the diary page for an entry form. You may think that October is a long time away, but that's what you think about Christmas and we all know how quickly that catches you off guard.
Attention all Hertfordshire archers. Have you entered the County Western yet? There are still places available for this tournament, aimed at newer archers and those who have not yet reached Bowman classifications the County Western as its name implies is a Western round (60yds and 50yds with closer distances for juniors) As this is a handicap shoot, archers compete against only those with the same classification. So if you are in your first outdoor season you will be competing against other Novice archers, the same applies to 3rd, 2nd and 1st class archers. Always a good opportunity to find out what all the fuss is about with these tournament things and if you don’t shoot well on the day you might always end up going home with a raffle prize. Entry forms are still available by clicking HERE Why not give it a go? The organiser will look forward to receiving your entries and seeing you there on the day.
I think it must be a first for many years to have complete teams on both Recurve and Compounds but we managed it this year with some very good archers as well. The County was represented at the SCAS Junior Inter Counties Championships and despite the weather (which was described by their team manager as "a bit rubbish") some very good scores were achieved. Full details will be posted as they arrive but some notable achievements were an 1122 for recurve archer Ali Postoyko, two of the compound team achieved personal bests with Jessica Saunders claiming her 1100 rose and Izzy Wayman her 1000 rose. Many congratulations to all of you, I hope the goody bag was well rifled through the day, you deserved it.
After three months the results of the Herts Junior Summer League are as follows:- For the recurve league Chiltern 'A' and 'B' teams have held onto first and second place right from the start of the season, with Hinxworth juniors in third, having displaced Howard after the second month In the compound league Abbey juniors initial lead fell to Chiltern after Abbey could only field one score in June, with Hinxworth in third place. Further details will be available shortly
Due to circumstances beyond our control the annual Tri-Counties match between ourselves, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire has been called off for this year. We apologise to those archers who were hoping to be considered for selection for this match however, the Senior SCAS Team has yet to be selected so you still have time to submit qualifying scores either through your club records officer, or directly yourselves. The Junior teams for the SCAS Inter Counties has now been selected and can be seen via the Matches Page.
June Summer League results have now been uploaded, sorry for the delay but I hope the anticipation has been worth it.
The forecast predicted a hot weekend with a breezy Saturday and strong winds on Sunday and they were right. It turned out to be a challenging two days of archery and the severity of the wind on Sunday was translated into a slow pace throughout the day. For those who were shooting at the event for the first time I hope it was an interesting experience for you and a good example of why it is always a good idea to practice in all weather conditions as you never do know what the first week in July will bring. Many thanks to the Judges, Kevin, Paula and Brian. Hope we didn't keep you too busy. I thought Sue Matthews and her team from Silver Arrow did a splendid job supported as usual by various stallwards of the County, you know who you are and your hard work is appreciated. A special mention needs to go to Mick Papworth on being awarded the Presidents Cup for his outstanding contribution to archery in the County over the last year. For a full set of results please click HERE And go to the Gallery page for some photographs from the Saturday
Initial selection for the Herts versus Beds match in July have now been sent out, details can be found via the tournaments page link
Not very up to date I'm afraid and apologies to Chiltern archer Mary Perrott for that. Mary shot for GB at the European Junior Cup in Reggio, Italy during the week commencing 17th May. She finished in fifth place individually (compound junior women) after shooting a personal best score for a FITA 70, and was the highest scoring GB junior girl. Mary and two other GB compound junior girls went on to take first place in the team champs, by beating the home nation Italy. She has also been selected to represent GB at the European Championships in Germany, in July. The only junior girl compound to be selected so far. Congratulations from us all.
At the county committee meeting on Monday it was agreed that the deadline for submission of scores for consideration for the Herts versus Beds match could be extended until after the forthcoming bank holiday. Please ensure all relevant scores and declaration forms are with the selectors by the 1st June. All junior scores will be considered if they include that junior's longest distance. All senior scores will be considered again where the longest distance has been shot.
League fixtures are beginning to trickle through to me so if you have confirmed those dates please drop me an e-mail so that I can add them to the diary.
And now that the weather has got so much warmer, I guess you are all out there shooting Yorks and Herefords and the like. Don't forget if you wish to be considered for County selection you need to submit scores. If you don't think you are quite there yet, submit your nearly scores anyway, you never know. Good shooting, now I must get off and get this frostbite seen to.
Its the end of the indoor season and there have been some outstanding performances by young archers in the Junior Winter League. In the recurve league, both Chiltern and Hinxworth were able to field two teams, with Chiltern 'A' finishing in a strong first place, a position that they held onto throughout the season. Howard juniors managed to regain second place, pushing Abbey Juniors back down into third. Chiltern 'B' team came fourth, ahead of a very young Hinxworth 'A' team 5th, with the Hinxworth 'B' team next. Young Deborah Murcott of Green Dragon put up a spirited fight as the only member of their team, and outpaced both Elswood and Berkhamsted by consistently putting in a good score every month.
The compound league also fell to Chiltern juniors, with Abbey finishing second, Chiltern 'B' third, Hinxworth with their 9 year old convert to compound in fourth, and Berkhamsted fifth.
So, someone spotted the deliberate mistake in the league scores. Two points have made the difference between a first place and third in the Portsmouth Compound Division 1. Many apologies to Chiltern A who were listed as winning this division, in the final match Hertford beat Abbey by two points but the match was shown on the table as a win for Abbey. This has now been corrected which means that Hertford are the winners with 10 points, Chiltern A second with 8 and Abbey now third with 6. If you spot any other errors please let the organiser know and we will get the tables updated. Again sorry to all concerned.
Don't forget to keep an eye on the diary page, I am happy to list any competitions within the county, you just have to let me have the details.
The final month's results are now available for the Senior Winter Leagues. In the Portsmouth leagues Abbey A took the recurve title for division 1 with Hertford being relegated to division 2 for next year in favour of Chiltern B who won division 2. The compound division 1 was extremely close with Chiltern A 19 points ahead of second place Abbey and Hertford only 44 points behind them. Unfortunatly Howard will be relegated to Division 2 with Hinxworth promoted. The Hertford Longbow team clearly took the division 1 title but look out next year when the newcomers Silver Arrow replace relegated Berkhamsted.
In the Frostbite leagues things were a bit more straightforward with a single league for each of the three disiplines. Hinxworth dominated both the Recurve and Longbow divisions with a very strong Hertford team taking the Compound trophy. Oh! he said trophy, yes, there will be trophies this year for the winning teams which will be presented at the County Championships in July.
Well that was the winter, now we are into the summer leagues, deadlines for getting your club entered is only a few days away so make sure your club has entered, if you haven't taken part before, you should do, even if it is only for the tea and cake afterwards.
While the rest of you were enjoying a sunny spring day shooting in the fresh air, the annual Hertfordshire versus Middlesex indoor match was taking place in St Albans. It was great to see our President Steve Dutch up and about after his surgery and we thank him for making the effort to attend, it was very much appreciated. Both counties fielded a junior archer in the compound teams and congratulations to both of them for being selected to shoot for their senior teams. As usual the atmosphere was warm and friendly and it was a chance for both counties to 'blood' some new archers. At the end of the day the Recurve trophy remained with Herts, but once again Middlesex had reduced the margin, this year only 20 points separated the two teams. The Compound archers saw the biggest margin, but again this was only 38 points which gave Middlesex the win. The Longbows proved to be the closest and despite Hertfordshires best efforts, Middlesex took the trophy (or will do when we get it to them) by just 12 points. Proceedings were kept in order by Kevin Thurlow as Judge and we thank him for his time as well as David Osmond the Herts Team Manager and the Abbey working party. Full results can be found via the Match History page.
If you would like to be considered to shoot for Hertfordshire either indoor or out then go to the 'Selection Policy' pages for details, complete the necessary declaration form and send in those qualifying scores.
Well it was a mixed weekend with some archers going home dissapointed with their shooting and others delighted. So what's new there then. Many thanks to Maggie Johnston for organising this years County Indoor Championships and to all those who helped during the weekend. You may be interested in the following statistics from the event
1 Organiser
1 Lord Patron
2 Judges
4 Sessions
15 Trophies Awarded
30 Helpers
62 Medals Presented
163 Archers Shot of whom:
4 Were the youngest at 8 years old
26 Were Visitors
39 Were Juniors
297 Strips of raffle tickets sold
2,374 Golds scored
10,758 Arrows shot (including sighters)
77,085 Total points scored
You are probably more interested in seeing the results, so just click HERE to view all the results.
January League scores have now been added to the Leagues pages
In the Junior Winter League for January, Chiltern Juniors continue to extend their lead in both Recurve and Compound. Abbey juniors hold onto second place in both disciplines, with the Chiltern 'B' recurve team pushing them hard. Howard juniors are fourth in the recurve league, but Hinxworth are catching them fast. Also from Hinxworth for January, a late entry for the compound league.
Indoor Champs update
There are 3 Recurve/Longbow/Barebow places and 1 Compound place on B sighters 9.15 Sunday) and 9 places on C (sighters 12.15 Sunday) - can be any bowtype.
5th February is the closing date. Any entries received after this time will be £7.
Would the person at the HAA AGM who wanted to change sessions please contact the organiser asap.
Sessions A and D are full. As of 26th January there are 5 places on B (sighters 9.15 Sunday) and 13 on C (sighters 12.15 Sunday). Would like at least 1 more compound archer on each of these sessions as there are uneven numbers. Herts archers’ priority booking has ended. Please note bookings must be made with payment. Places cannot be reserved by email.
December Senior League results have now been uploaded and can be found via the Leagues page
The AGM will be held on the 25th, only 8 days to make sure your club is properly represented. As usual the current committee will be standing down so why not see what you can do for the County this year. New faces are always welcome.
Still some places left for the County Championships If you know any archers in your club who haven't entered yet, why not give them a bit of encouragement, after all its the taking part that counts isn't it? I look forward to seeing many of you at both of these important events in the County's calender
Sorry for the delay folks but the November league scores are now available via the Leagues pages. Just look what a few more points would have done to some of the results.
Attention all HAA archers. A new Selection Policy has been agreed by the County and is now on this site. Would all club records officers please ensure that your archers are aware of this policy and the requirements placed on them if they wish to be considered for selection. Please read especially sections 3, 4 and 7. It is hoped that this policy will make the selection process clear and fair to all archers who wish to be considered.
Firstly may we wish you all a Happy and accurate New Year. With only a few weeks to go to the County Indoor Championships, I am reliably informed, that the final session is full but there are still a limited number of places on each of the other three sessions. We will keep you informed as these fill up.