BTB Outdoor Open Tournament

BTB Outdoor Open Tournament - June 29th. 2003

A Pictorial Diary of Events

In order to provide archers within the county with regular shooting competitions throughout the outdoor season, individual clubs within the county will host inter-club tournaments at their home ground. This diary gives newcomers to the sport an appreciation of the planning and effort involved in setting up this year's BTB open tournament.

All images on this page are thumbnails that may be clicked to view the larger photograph.

The committee first meet early in the year to make arrangements regarding the rounds to be shot and the venue. The entry forms will be generated when the venue is definitely booked. Tournaments only take place on a Sunday and the Northamptonshire shooting calendar is fairly heavily booked throughout the outdoor season with most clubs maintaining the same Sunday every year. Care is needed to avoid a clash with 'out of county' shoots or regional and national competitions that may reduce the number of entries. Archers from other counties are welcomed and encouraged at most Northamptonshire tournaments.

The next stage is to produce the entry forms which in this technological age is usually only a matter of editing last year's entry forms. The secretary will EMail copies to all the people on her mailing list and all Northants entry forms are posted on the NCAS web site at http://www.davidbirch.f2s.com/ncas Paper copies are usually sent to local archery equipment shops where they are displayed on the counter.

Nearer to the actual tournament volunteers will be rallied to help with setting up the field and catering etc. A stock take is conducted to ensure that there is enough good equipment available to host the shoot. Bosses and stands may need to be hired from other clubs if necessary. The first practical work on the field itself will then take place on the afternoon before the shoot.

Saturday June 28th. 2003, 14:00 - A party of volunteers from the club begin the task of marking out the field to accommodate all of the targets that will be used to host tomorrow's shoot. The positions have been marked on a scale plan which now needs to be accurately transferred to the field using white emulsion paint. Brian is seen here setting down the shooting line in a position that allows the required safety distance either side and 50 yards overshoot past the furthest target.

It is now necessary to lay the first 100 yard side line perpendicular to the shooting line. In the past we have used tape measures to construct a 30, 40, 50 m. triangle to achieve this. This year however Keith has devised a theodolite to 'eye' up the angle. Brian checks the line but Keith is scratching his head as I am sceptical about the accuracy of the technique.

Consequently the angle is checked using 30, 40, 50 m. tapes and it is found to be an extremely accurate right angle. Volunteers are also seen here helping to pick up all the litter that has accumulated on the field blown by recent winds.

Chuffed with his success there is now no holding Keith who takes the theodolite firmly with both hands to setup the other side line whilst Brian constructs a plumb bob to check that the tripod is exactly over the corner point.

After measuring 100 yards up each side line the distance between the two sides is now measured. It should be 90 feet, the same as the shooting line. There is a slight error but we knew the first angle was accurate so we alter the second side line slightly to achieve the correct width. We now have a reasonably accurate 90 ft. x 100 yard rectangle marked out with string.

A time-lapse camera was used to capture this picture of Pat helping to clear the litter.

Meanwhile Neil has been given the unenviable task of painting all the shooting positions on the shooting line. He then begins marking out all the required target distances up each of the side lines, mercilessly scrutinised by David.

The last stage of the process as tapes are strung along each target distance and the centre of every target position is accurately marked. The monotony is setting in and Neil starts to mark targets in the wrong place, causing David to start the stick waving.

Finally the waiting line position behind the shooting line is painted. The picture shows that a large field party is essential with three people working and six supervising.

Saturday June 28th. 2003, 15:30 - The field is now marked in what is probably a record time for us in recent years due largely to Keith's innovation and good distribution of tasks. It is usually unwise to leave anything other than paint marks on the field over night as the field is not secure and it has been known for lines and peg markers to go missing. Nothing now needs to be done until early in the morning of the shoot.

Sunday June 29th. 2003, 08:00 - It is now the day of the shoot and club volunteers arrive early to get the bosses and stands out of storage ready to move onto the field. The weather looks good and the field marks are still there.

The main tent arrives courtesy of Long Buckby Scout Group and assembly begins behind the the shooting and waiting lines.

The scout's trailer is loaded up with everything that needs to go out onto the field.

Meanwhile back on the tent line some archers have arrived early to ensure they get their tents set up as close as possible to where they are shooting. The main tent is now up and seen in the background.

The wooden stands and straw bosses arrive on the field and are distributed onto the furthest distance markers for each round being shot.

Once all of the targets are in place the faces are pinned to them. It is quite breezy so it is a two man job to ensure that the faces are centred.

All the targets are roughly in position but they now have to be accurately positioned and aligned under the supervision of the Field Captain.

Once he is happy they are in line, at the correct angle and the centres are above the ground marks, the side ropes are pegged down. These prevent the bosses being blown off the stands if the wind gets up.

Sunday June 29th. 2003, 09:30 - The field is now complete just in time for 'sighters' at 09:45.

09:45 - Brian blows the whistle to call the archers to assembly. This gives him the opportunity to welcome everyone, describe the facilities and clarify any safety issues, in his role as both Club Chairman and Judge (Field Captain).

Assembly is immediately followed by 'sighters'. This gives the archers the opportunity to shoot six arrows that will not be scored. Archers will normally have a record of the position to set their sights for each distance being shot but the sighters give them the opportunity to fine tune these marks based on the ambient conditions of the day. Kevin takes the comment 'you're shooting at number 5' a little too literally. Think your sight needs to move up a bit Kev !

Arhery is a sport that allows archers of all ages, gender and bow types to stand on the line together. Many county archers shoot in wheel chairs and visually impaired archers can also compete. Although on the line together, individuals will be entered into the particular award category for which they qualify.

Kevin Mace on the left is using a recurve bow. This consists of an alloy riser (handle) with limbs that may be made of a mixture of wood, carbon or other modern composite materials. A simple, adjustable, ring sight is allowed as are balance weights and rods to improve the dynamics and vibration characteristics of the bow. Arrows are essentially tubes of aluminium, carbon fibre or a mixture of both with steel points (piles). The poundage of the bow increases with draw such that the archer would typically be holding 25 to 50 lbs on their fingers at full draw according to their own personal preference of limb strength. The fingers are protected by a leather 'tab' and arrows are stored in a 'quiver' usually hung from the waist belt. A 'bracer' is fastened to the bow arm to prevent bruising from the released string. The chest guard serves to prevent loose clothing from obstructing the string release.

In contrast to the recurve, Dick Shepherd on the right illustrates the traditional long bow. The bow is made entirely from wood as are the arrows which have brass or steel piles. The fletches that stabilise the arrow in flight are usually feathers unlike the modern plastics used in most other bow categories. The only sighting aid allowed is a rubber band on the bow itself which may be aligned on an appropriate object on the skyline or ground. The trajectory of the arrows is much higher than an equivalent recurve bow. It is possible to shoot a recurve bow in a similar fashion without a sight and only limited balance weights. This known as barebow.

Martin Ross and Keith Briggs on the left are shooting bows in the Compound Unlimited category. Compound bows are made from similar materials to recurves but have complex cam and string arrangements that make the draw characteristics very different. The poundage increases rapidly when a compound is initially drawn peaking typically of the order 60 lbs. However as the archer continues to draw, the poundage suddenly 'lets off' as the cams come into play. At full draw the archer may only be holding 20 lbs making it easier to steady the aim and hold the shot for a long time.

The Unlimited category permits the use of release aids that loop around the string and are cocked and released in similar fashion to the trigger of a gun. This allows a much smoother release than off the fingers. The draw hand is usually twisted at 180 degrees compared to a recurve archer with the palm outwards as illustrated by Martin at full draw in the picture above. The category also allows a pin hole peep site set into the string that is aligned with a magnifying scope mounted on the riser. This back and front sight arrangement is extremely accurate in the right hands. David Walker on the right shoots Compound Limited and uses a typical recurve ring sight with no peep sight and releases the string with the fingers and a tab.

The panoramic view on the right gives an idea of the layout of the shoot. The tournament is based on English rounds so the four targets on the left are set up for a York at 100 yards from the shooting line. The line level with the judge is the waiting line. Only archers and equipment should be between the tent line and the waiting line. Only archers going to shoot or returning from shooting should be between the waiting line and the shooting line.

The scores for each of the four archers shooting at a boss are recorded by the 'target captain'. Each archer should point at their arrows and call the points in descending order in two groups of three. No archer should touch the arrows or target face until the target captain has completed scoring, and has instructed the others to pull the arrows. If he makes a mistake in writing down the scores he must call the judge across before the arrows are pulled. The judge will make the alteration and sign it in red as shown on the right.

Arrows that miss often get matted in the grass as shown on the left and can be difficult to see. It is not uncommon to see groups of archers scouring the area behind the target to find lost arrows. All arrows MUST be found for safety reasons as the field may be subsequently used by other sportsmen. As arrows are found it is etiquette to stand them upright as shown on the extreme right. This shows the 'line' of a given archer, allowing that elusive last arrow to be found more easily. In extreme cases a metal detector is used to find arrows that have significant aluminium content in them.

After six dozen arrows have been shot it is time to move the targets forward. Senior gentleman archers are expected to assist in this. The usual method is for one person to stand in front of the target and hold the boss support arms. Another person then tips it onto his back holding the back leg extended. The whole assembly is then walked forward to the next marker where it is lowered and the stand gently tipped back onto the rear leg. The judge and field party then repeat the process of aligning and pegging down the targets.

There is now a short break in shooting before the afternoon rounds commence. David takes the opportunity to add the BTB centres to the medals.

Pat and Neil take the opportunity to get some lunch and relate the excuses about why they have been shooting so badly in the morning.

As the start of the afternoon sessions begin to loom it is wise to get the muscles warmed up again by exercising with a clini-band as demonstrated by Sylvia,

Not all archers like to shoot all day so a few join the proceedings to shoot the afternoon session only. Brian calls a small assembly for them and they are allowed to shoot their six sighters. Archers shooting all day do not get extra sighters despite the distance change.

The afternoon session is under way and Martin Short is having problems getting on the boss at his longest distance of 60 yards with his longbow.

On the final end at 60 yards, he eventually gets two on and is proud of his highest scoring (3) arrow.

At 50 yards things change dramatically and he is banging the arrows in. On the final end he even has the audacity to call the judge in to inspect a 'line cutter'. Martin's arrow is predominantly in the red which scores 7 points but it is touching the black line separating the gold. This is known as a line cutter and actually scores the value of the gold (9 points).

The panoramic view on the right shows how much the targets have moved forward for the afternoon session.

After the last arrow of the day has been shot the archers call "three cheers for the field captain" the final scores are recorded and the field party begin breaking down the field. Kevin chooses to roll the bosses back to the store but eventually the trailer arrives to speed up the process.

The target captains must now add up the scores for each of the archers on their score sheet, who then check and sign for them. Score sheets are returned to the shooting line as quickly as possible where they are awaited by David and Tornado Tim the junior mascot who looks like he has been partaking of the raffle prizes.

Trophies and medals are ready awaiting the winners of each of the rounds and categories being shot.

At last the score sheets arrive and David and Tony are able to correlate the results aided by computer technology. The fine spread of food and drink prepared by Marion and her team of ladies is now available. As the results are awaited Brian (and that dragon again) conducts the raffle.

Traditionally the raffle helps to subsidise the cost of the shoot which is quite expensive to host and the club aims to at least break even. Ideally we would like to profit to cover the wear and tear on bosses which ultimately have to be replaced.

The results have now been established and David announces them to the assembled archers. Martin Ross and Pat Jones from BTB are seen receiving first place awards for their individual categories from Duston Parish Councillor Liz Taverner who is acting as Lady Paramount for the day.

Liz is presented with a bouquet and thanks the organisers for the opportunity to get a better understanding of the sport.

The proceedings now come to an end and another BTB outdoor tournament is successfully completed until next year.

Thank you to all the archers that attended and all the volunteers who helped to make this an enjoyable day.