Due to the unforeseen cancellation of the WMAS Championships earlier in the year, Wyre Forest Company of Archers kindly offered to step-in and host the regional competition alongside the CWAA Open Championships.

Fielding over 16 targets for the York, Hereford, Bristol’s and National rounds, archers of all disciplines and levels turned out to pit their talents against some of the finest in both the county and region.

Team S&S had once again rounded up its squad consisting of last years WMAS title holders Mike Lewis and Josie Lunt along with the last years WMAS and CWAA team winners Sarah Neale and Tim Hastie, also a familiar face on the target line was Derek Moule shooting Gents Compound and Henry Evans, who due to a snapped longbow, had a last minute change of discipline to Recurve.

It was an overcast start to the day with threatening skies but a calm breeze that wouldn’t be too troubling provided it remained so.

Josie's name appeared immediately at the top of the leaders’ board with Sue Davis of Redditch in second, then Sarah trailing by just 4 points in third. Josie began to pull away from the second place as her dozen scores increased and as Sarah settled into a shooting rhythm her scores also crept up eventually taking second place from Sue mid distance.

As for the gents, well a tricky start for them. Tim was shooting as a senior in this tournament for the first time and finding the 100yd distance a struggle, Mike had a bad start and didn’t even appear on the leaders’ board until mid way through the 100yd distance. With England squad member Martin Evans present, first place seemed to be his for the taking and Dave Beardsley although like Mike, was not shooting to his ability either was maintaining a healthy second place.

A brief shower didn’t deter anyone’s spirits and eventually the sun came out for a wonderful afternoons shooting.

Both Josie and Sarah maintained their shooting level and comfortably held their places until the very end. For a third year running Josie kept her WMAS title and also took the CWAA title in her first attempt. Sarah was very pleased to have retained second place in both competitions and took home the Open Ladies Champion Trophy for a second year.

Mike had managed to pull back an impressive number of points from Dave Beardsley and by the end of the second distance there was just 1 point between them, maybe it was the pressure or a drop in concentration, but an unsatisfactory last 60y left Mike in trailing finishing up in third place.

Final results also revealed that Mike Lewis, Sarah Neale, Josie Lunt and Henry Evans had retained the title of WMAS and CWAA team Champions and Derek Moule who after a long days shooting took home the highest scoring Veterans Trophy. On top of all this Saints & Sinners retained the ‘Jack and Jill’ trophy, this year going to the Mike Lewis and Josie Lunt.

Thanks to all the team members who supported their club in its quest to stay on top.

WMAS & CWAA Open Championships Results

To say it was hot would be an understatement, just getting set up was enough to produce perspiration on the brows of the nine daring archers who had turned out for a heated afternoon of shooting.

As the sun beat down without the hint of a breeze in the air, the day’s competition would be just as much about endurance as individual skill.

You would have expected that the sweaty palms and heat exhaustion would have put pay to any new club records, none the less both Penny and Nick managed to improve on the current Club Record by some margin.

Most improved on their scores from the previous year with Tim Hastie, now shooting in the Gents discipline, winning his first senior trophy. Sarah Neale retained the Ladies Recurve title for a third year, as did Nick Holder winning the Gents Compound trophy.

Well done to all who turned out to shoot, it was dry and still, what else could we ask for...well maybe not so hot next time! Full Results are now available along with some photo's in the Gallery.

It was Sarah Neale and Penny Neaverson who decided to test their skill at the Malvern Open Nationals this year. A friendly competition with trophies for the champions, the best handicap adjusted scores for the new and upcoming archers and novelty cups for best backward score and best gold amongst other things. It looked like it was to be a dry day for the ladies but unfortunately the wind was present in its usual gusty and unpredictable manner.

With the numerous adjustments Sarah had made to form and equipment over the last few weeks, finding a sight mark for the 60yd distance proved to be a troublesome affair in the testing winds. Penny however got off to a solid start and was enjoying the challenge of the conditions. Sarah’s name appeared on the leader board after two dozen and it seemed things were going ok until an error of wind judgement led Sue Davis of Redditch to take the lead by one point at the end of the fourth dozen.

Once the distance change occurred Sue Davis continued to gain points every end finally taking the Ladies Recurve trophy, leaving Sarah with a very noble second place. Penny had stiff competition against Janice French of Malvern on home turf but she was solid throughout and secured a third place in the Ladies Compound section.

Other stars of the day included the Beardsley clan with Dave taking the Gents Recurve trophy very comfortably, Luke taking the Gents Compound and Rachel who not only won her age group and overall highest scoring Junior but also took the new National record with a perfect score! Hannah Beasley-Suffolk of Malvern also gained a new National record for the Junior National, an amazing feat when up against such blustery weather.

Thanks to Malvern for hosting a very enjoyable afternoons shooting, see you next year!

Malvern Archers Open Nationals Results - 29/06/2008

Dedicated or delirious, you decide, none the less only four of the clubs archers had the shooting spirit to turn out for the clubs annual Fita. Maybe it was the heavy downpours of rain that put others off, or it could have been the 20mph gusts of winds tearing across the field, even so our few determined archers were not about to let a small thing like the weather sway their efforts!

Tim Hastie and Mike Lewis were competing in the Gents Recurve, Nick Holder in the Gents Compound and Josie Lunt in the Ladies Recurve. With a somewhat thinned out field, competition for the day was going to be almost none existent, so with the need for good scores out the way, our archers could get on with enjoying the day.

Lunch brought the end of the Long Metric round along with two new competitors for the Short Metric, the field welcomed Dan Brown and Henry Evans. Now six strong our members set out shooting the final 6 dozen arrows of the day. With a torrential downpour at the end of 50m our members fled to the club house for shelter whilst the thunderstorm passed over.

Some time later they resumed the shoot and shot the final 36 arrows. With final Results almost a forgone conclusion for the day, the awards presentation was just a matter of course. Despite the bad weather there were a few surprise scores with Nick and Josie securing five new club records between them. Thank you to the bold Six Archers who came out on this wet and windy day, lets hope for better conditions and more members at the next shoot.

As we questionably move into the summer month of June, so Saints & Sinners Bowmen hold another Beginners Course. This year under the watchful eye of new Coaching Officer Chris McNeill, no less than twenty wannabe archers joined the ranks with our members alongside to try their hand at archery.

Our challenge to take the virgin archer and introduce them to the pleasures and delights of archery. Whilst most were getting over the shock of finding out how difficult it was to even hit the target let alone hit the gold, a few potential members shone out from the crowds to produce some quite remarkable archery from just a four week course.

Our thanks goes to all the members that came along to support and help run the course, its success can be easily seen with the fact that more than half of the beginners have joined the club. As we welcome 11 new members to Saints & Sinners Bowmen, let us keep on supporting the club and not forget why it was formed some 45 years ago, to promote the sport of archery!

No sooner than dawn had broken, archers Nick Holder, Penny Neaverson and Tim Hastie were making their merry way to the Droitwich Rugby Football Club grounds to compete in Droitwich Archery Societies annual Albion.

All seemed fine on the journey over to Droitwich, but on arrival it was clear that the strength of the cross winds were going to provide a challenging days archery. It was even rumoured that gusts were even stronger than those seen at the club American Shoot the week prior.

With the shoot well underway, it was clear from the offset that this was not a day for breaking records, unless the length of time to search for arrows was to be considered. It took more than half an hour from sighters to the first scoring arrows as so many arrows had to be found.

Shooting at 80yds, all three or our archers had to aim off whilst working with the wind, the two compounds continued to do this right up until the final distance.

Tim’s highlight of the shoot came when a strong gust of wind blew his arrow clean from the rest. Having spent the entire break searching for the elusive arrow in vain, it was finally found after the shoot by a helpful Droitwich member.

Results of the shoot revealed that Nick had won the Bowmen classification and Penny achieved 3rd place in the ladies compound, a great success for both considering the weather.

D.A.S. Open Albion Results - 29/06/2008

Postponed from May due to treacherous weather conditions, once again our hardy club members met at the field for the newly rearranged club American. Before contemplating any archery all enjoyed a hearty barbecue thanks to the hands of Head Chef Warwick Neale with kitchen assistant Sarah Neale on side to help out were needed.

Whilst the rain had managed to hold off for the shoot, members were once again hit with very strong winds. Not to be defeated for a second time the archer took a vote and decided to go ahead with the round. Some interesting and inventive methods of fixing scopes down were adopted. Every arrow was a challenge but all who started persevered to the finish.

As expected scores were very low but congratulations to all who participated. Mike Lewis held on to the Gents Recurve title and Josie Lunt took the Ladies Recurve trophy. Newcomer to the club Chris Bell claimed the Gents Compound and Henry Evans won Gents Longbow. Pictures and some action packed video footage are now on show in the Gallery. Full Results are available as always.

Many thanks to everyone who came along to support the shoot but especially to those involved in organising the barbecue and puddings for the day, your hard work is much appreciated.

On a warm summer’s afternoon, where else would you find a bunch of crazed yet enthusiastic toxophilites, but at their archery field poised for shooting. The mass gathering of archers was due to the annual Club Championships; would last years winners retain their titles or would a new champion be crowned?

Whilst the sun was out shining brightly for a change, there was however a persistent wind which cut across the field making aiming that little more difficult. Never the less this did not sway many of our hardened archers who shot exceeding well given the conditions, for many achieving new PBs and even two new Club Records in the process.

Results from the afternoons shoot revealed both Sarah Neale and Mike Lewis would retain their titles as Ladies and Gents Recurve champions. The Gents Compound title was passed to Bill Bell and Ladies Compound champion was Penny Neaverson. Our thanks go to everyone who came along to support the shoot, and to everyone else who helped out behind the scenes. Full Results along with some Snaps from our in-house photographer are now available for your viewing.

On a clear, relatively calm, somewhat humid afternoon, Derek Moule, Henry Evans, Alison Hastie and Timothy Hastie joined other archers from all across Worcestershire County to compete in the annual WFCA Western round at Arley.

In beautiful surroundings with the echoes of the Severn Valley Railway in the background and the occasional distraction from a flyover of vintage aeroplanes, it made for a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Fully recovered from shooting the club Longbow Championships earlier that morning, Henry Evans had opted to shoot his Longbow, keen to improve on his previous years score. Tim Hastie was competing in his first shoot as a Senior, and Alison Hastie fresh from the Novices at Leamington, was ready to do battle alongside the rest.

While some felt the end came all too soon having only just started to put in a good performance, others were more than happy to retire for long awaited tea, cakes and raffle.

Tim who had been working hard on his technique during the shoot finished with a respectable 700, Derek shot well and came 3rd in the Gents Compound and Henry to his surprise got 2nd place in the Longbow. But the star of the day was Alison who although didn’t get a medal, kept all her arrows on the target and achieve a magnificent score of 664, beating her PB by miles and getting her first 1st Class score.

W.F.C.A. Open Western Results

Whilst others were away shooting at Wyre Forest and the club Longbow Championships, Mike Lewis and Josie Lunt had decided to shoot a little further afield at the Midlands Counties Meeting hosted by Royal Leamington Spa Archery Society. A two day event, Mike was to shoot a Double York, Josie who was only able to attend the Sunday would compete in the single round shooting a Hereford.

Weather on the first day was very kind, the lightest of winds, warming sun, and a slightly overcast sky, near perfect shooting conditions. Having had little practice at the Imperial round Mike had no expectation for the day but hoped to gain his 1100 Rose at some point over the weekend. Having not seen his name on the leader board after the first dozen, it was a surprise to find at the end of the first day that he was winning the Double event, with only Simon Terry and Martin Evans shooting the Single York in front of him.

Day two saw Josie joining the shooting line, there was some uncertainty over her equipment having had the arrow rest break the night before, the question was would it hold out for the day? Mike got off to a strong start extending his lead over Dave Beardsley in second place, but this was to be short lived as tiredness started to set in.

Three dozen into the second days shooting and as bad luck would have it, Josie’s arrow rest gave way. As the interval arrived it was a mad rush as friends rallied around trying to sort out a temporary repair for the bow. Sadly the “repair” caused clearance issues and shortly after restarting, fletchings started to become damaged and fall off.

At the end of the first distance Mike’s lead had virtually disappeared with only a few points now separating first and second place. Desperate to find a more feasible repair for Josie’s bow another archer kindly lent another replacement rest. During lunch there was again a mad rush to replace the entire rest, setup the button, arrow alignment & clearance and set the tuning. Some 40 minutes later, mission accomplished and Josie was back in action for the final 6 dozen.

Again Mike had a strong opening and regained his lead by some margin, but a lapse in concentration at the end of the distance caused all his hard work to be wasted as be threw nearly 20 points away in a single dozen. Now with only 2 dozen to go, it was more a case of holding onto second place and not losing any more points.

Despite Josie’s difficulties during the mornings shoot she had a strong finish achieving a respectable score of 1066. Mike, who had achieved his 1100 Rose on day one, was some points down on the second day finally having to settle for second place. Mike’s score was also used in the winning regional West Midlands team. Our thanks goes to RLSAS for holding a wonderful weekend’s shoot and we hope to see you all again next year.

Leamington & Midland Counties Archery Meeting Results

A bright, warm, calm, not too sunny, Sunday morning, (in fact a perfect ‘Dan’ morning) saw the gathering of the clubs motley collection of Longbow archers (bar one) to compete over a Windsor round for the coveted Longbow trophy.

As field captain Penny Neaverson brought those four longbow archers that had used the Gregorian calendar to the line, the one question being asked by all was, ‘Where was Dan’?

Sighters saw an impressive 24 out of 24 hits, after that Steve Blount and Bob Cole enjoyed a tightly matched competition while Henry Evans and Rob Hodgetts battled a moving target and very localised gales while endeavouring to hit the boss.

After 3 dozen nothing could part the leaders and nothing could be seen of the rest of the field (heavy fog was over that one target). Surprisingly after 6 dozen Bob and Steve’s closely fought lead was not proportionately stretched but there was little to fear from those destined to bring up the rear.

The final result was a victory to Bob Cole but he was pushed all the way by an excellent days shooting from Steve Blount. Third place went to Henry Evans (one broken shaft) closely followed by Rob Hodgetts (2 Broken shafts + one lost feather). Official Results now available!

Due to the severity of the weather conditions on the afternoon, members who turned up for the start of the American round took a vote and decided to postpone the tournament until in the year. The American shoot will now take place on the 22nd June.

Held on the larger sports field, this years FITA 70 at Evesham Archery Club boasted some 32 targets across the Badsey recreational ground. Returning members from the Saints & Sinners clan included Mike Lewis, Sarah Neale and Nick Holder, also on board to support the team were Warwick Neale and Josie Lunt.

Whilst certain members had difficulties with their time keeping, thinking the 8.30am practice was in fact a 10am start. Other members warmed up and began their practice ends before the start of the FITA 70 seeding round. Keen to improve on last year’s performance, Mike had high expectations from the days shoot, and he would not be disappointed. Nick had returned from shooting his Recurve bow the previous year, to once again picking up his Compound for a days outing.

By the end of practice all the S&S team were present and accounted for, ready for the sounding of the start whistle. Struggling with a new bow setup, Josie had problems from the start with arrows catching the bow and stripping off fletchings almost every shot. After 3 ends and constant running repairs she finally retired with no more shootable arrows.

Nick & Warwick were fairing well under the intimidating surrounds and mass of archers, Sarah who had be working hard on her form suddenly developed a case of target panic and was almost unable to loose the arrows when on the gold.

Six dozen arrows later and the seeding round was over, now with one team member down the pressure was on to try and secure some valuable points for the WSCL. From the seeding draws both Nick and Sarah were up against some stiff competition in the first round, Warwick was matched against local Redditch club rival Rob Monk and Mike who had been seeded 6th, had a first round bye and a comfortable second round draw.

Despite their best efforts all team members bar Mike were knocked out in their first rounds, leaving the only open challenge for the title of Men’s Recurve Champion. As the head to head matches passed, the number of competitors dropped away till Mike found himself in the final four. After a close win in his semi final match, Mike now only had 12 arrows standing in the way of a gold medal win. Holding his nerve he shot a solid performance winning the match, the gold medal and the well earned title.

Our thanks goes to Evesham Archery Club who despite experiencing some minor technically difficulties early in the day, hosted yet another wonderful shoot with the weather to match.

Evesham FITA 70m & Olympic Head to Head Results

Competing in what would be their first open tournament, Saints & Sinners Bowmen had sent along four of their novice archers to the WMAS Regional and Open Novices' Tournament kindly host by Royal Leamington Spa Archery Society.

As the archers took to the line, nerves started to show with the daunting prospect of the afternoons challenge ahead. However Tim Hastie was on hand and ever ready to help the four novices and answer any queries they had.

Experiencing what seemed like conditions similar to those of the Sahara, our newbie archers began to wilt from the heat. None the less our members battled on to complete the 8 dozen Western round and their first away match.

Despite the challenging nature of the event, all four archers performed exceptionally well. Ashley Chambers who shot a Short Western achieved a score of 294 which was a new PB. Pete & Russell Chambers both gained new PBs too. Alison Hastie who was one of our more reluctant archers in attending, shot an outstanding score of 519, her first 2nd class score.

Well done to everyone and we hope to see you all again soon shooting at the club.

Many thanks to Nick Holder who came up to show his support. Pictures can now been seen in the Gallery thanks to Kevin & Tim Hastie our honorary photographers.

WMAS Novices Championships Results - 11/05/2008

While a number of S&S archers were away at the WMAS Novices with their supporting followers, others were avoiding the melting sunshine that had been forecast. None the less a few members still turned out for the clubs annual May Day Western shoot. As the target trolleys were wheeled into position for the start of the eight dozen round, the scorching hot sun was already bearing down on the ground.

Under the controlling hand of Field Captain Penny Neaverson, the sighters whistle sounded at 10am for the start of the Western round. After 60y, all were grateful for the distance change as an opportunity to get out of the sun for a little while, take on some fluids and have a bit of a breather. Four dozen arrows later and some rather red arms, necks and face’s and it was time to pack away.

With all scores handicap adjusted, winners of the day were Lesley Booth for the Ladies and Henry Evans in the Gents. A few pictures from the day and are available in the Gallery along with Full Results in the usual place. Next shoot will be the American with BBQ lunch, we hope to see you all there.

Kicking off the start of the Worcester Summer Cup League, Redhill Archers hosted their annual American shoot. With an ominous forecast for the afternoons shoot, tents and waterproofs were at the ready. In attendance from Saints & Sinners Bowmen were Sarah Neale, Penny Neaverson, Josie Lunt, Mike Lewis, Bill Bell and Nick Holder.

Whilst Mike & Josie were still drying out from the two day FITA Star tournament they had just attended, the rest of the team will full of energy and ready to battle it out. The opening dozen saw Mike’s name shoot to the top of the leader board, however this lead was short lived as the tiredness of the previous two days shooting started to set in.

Although Bill had a nervous start putting a few out of the gold at 60, after the distance change it seemed near impossible for him to miss the centre. Josie, who had struggled at 60 yards, sorted out her problems and started slowly started gaining positions. Nick had a steady solid performance throughout the afternoon, securing a new PB. Both Penny and Sarah also shoot well finishing on respectable scores.

Final results revealed that Josie had won third place in the Ladies Recurve, Mike tied on scores for third place but lost out on golds having to settle for 4th. Bill won his class medal also finishing 4th, only dropping 8 points over the entire round! The big result of the afternoon was to discover that we had won the team event, annihilating all other competition by a considerable margin.

Our thanks goes to Redhill Archers for yet again hosting a very enjoyable shoot, which thankfully stayed dry for the duration. Well done to all the team who were able to shoot, let’s hope for similar success at the next match, the Evesham FITA 70.

Redhill Open American Results - 27/04/2008

It was raining when the coach load of Worcestershire county archers arrived and as they unpacked and set up, the rain continued. Almost as soon as the shooting began, many of the team found shooting in their waterproofs to be of a major disadvantage as arrows went astray of the mark.

The rain continued for most of the first distance just drying up in time for lunch but this warm and dry spell was short lived. As our archers took to line once more the in a timely fashion the rain started again. The afternoon was a slightly more jovial affair with many celebrating their ability to finally have 6 scoring arrows but the damage was already done.

The final scores revealed that the Worcestershire Team had to settle for third place in the main disciplines and second in the Longbow section. Well done to all who showed up and finished the shoot, it was soggy but that didn’t dampen our ability to have fun.

Our thanks go to Cheshire County Archery Association and the Caldy Club for hosting an enjoyable day of shooting and competition.

Three Corners County Match Results - 27/04/2008

Generously hosted by Evesham Archery Club, it was once again April and time for the Worcestershire County Team trials at Badsey. Having been blessed with glorious weather the previous year, would it be too much to hope for these same conditions again?

Archers started rolling onto the somewhat damp field from around 7.30am, by way of a change the county had decided to shoot a FITA round this year instead of the usual York/Hereford rounds. Practice was scheduled to start at 9.30, and by 9am the field was teeming with archers from across the county.

After two ends of practice we jumped straight into the round. With slight crosswinds and overcast skies, it wasn’t the best conditions for shooting but we had seen far worse in the past. Time past by, lead positions changed and so did the weather, it was around the 7th dozen when the grey clouds that had been looming over decided to rain upon us. We shot on despite the elements and most were truly soaked through by the time the rain had stopped.

Just as everyone was about dry, it started to rain again, this continued until the final whistle sounded. Although performances could have been better Mike Lewis, Warwick Neale, Josie Lunt, Sarah Neale and Tim Hastie all managed to make the team. Tim also managed to take home a solid win in his age group, a new PB and 6 new club records. Henry Evans, who had such a promising start at 90m, just slipped out of ranking places to make the team for the first match. Pictures from the day are now on show in the Gallery courtesy of Kevin Hastie.

County Trials Results - 13/04/2008

When we think of Easter, images conjure up of bright spring days, Easter bunnies and chicks, daffodils, and of course chocolate eggs. So you can imagine our members surprise when they woke up for the morning of the Easter Egg Shoot to find a covering of snow everywhere.

Not to be put off by the minor obstacle, 12 members managed to make it up to the club for the start of the Western round. Whilst some members were keener on the idea of making snowmen, the shoot went ahead as planned with the start whistle sounding at 10am.

A first for many, shooting in the snow had its own challenges, especially when searching for arrows. However as the morning went on the snow began to melt and soon the field was back to its normal shade of green. Around this time the wind started to pick up, and what had been a moderate cool breeze became a strong blistering cold gale.

Members did what they could to keep warm and the shoot went on for the full 8 dozen. With everyone cold and eager to go home, awards were quickly presented and everyone was on their way. Thanks to everyone who came out to play in the snow. Some Pictures from the day are available for you viewing, full Results are in the usual place.

A funny thing with Have-A-Go evenings, no one ever knows how many people are going to turn up on the night. Some years there are only a few members of the public, and other years they are queuing out the door to get in.

Due to the high levels interest the club had received for the Have-A-Go evening via the website and email, we took the decision to limit our advertisement campaign this year, a wise choice considering the hall was full to capacity for all three sessions.

Over 35 members of the public turned up to try their hand at Archery, and our ever ready and willing club members were there on hand to help out. A very enjoyable evening was had by all with many of the visitors keen to attend the Beginners Course later this year.

We offer our thanks to all the members of the public who came along to try archery, making the evening the success it was. Also thank you to all our members who were there to support club. Some snaps from the evening are now on show in the Gallery.

A bright March morning greeted the willing volunteers for the first working party of 2008. Essential maintenance was needed to ensure that this seasons shooting could proceed without problems. Mike and Nick set about tackling the target stands that had been broken for some time. And whilst Henry carefully dismantled faulty parts with his trusty hammer, Rob and Josie made and painted replacement pieces.

Chris managed to get his strimming done whilst Alison, Penny and Margaret cut back the brambles and cleared loose grass cuttings. Late arrivals Richard and Pete also got stuck in which meant the team could set their sights on painting the back fence. Only a lack of paint stopped them in their tracks.

A coffee break provided by Penny was gratefully received by all and then finishing touches were made to what had been started earlier. Our thanks to Chris, Margaret, Mike, Josie, Nick, Penny, Alison, Henry, Rob, Richard & Pete for making the effort to come along and help out with the much needed grounds maintainence. Pictures from the working party are now on show in the Gallery.

As ever the tradition, rounding off the end of the winter season Saints & Sinners Bowmen held their annual Indoor Championships. The past 6 months of practice were about to come to ahead, would all the hard work which our archers had put in bring them the gold.

Shooting a Bray I round, 15 archers took to the line for the start of the tournament. With both new and returning archers in attendance, the reigning champions would have their work cut out if they intended to take home the trophies again.

One dozen arrows into the round, and there was very little to separate all the top few spots. As the tension started to mount some archers began to fold under the pressure, however others took it all in there stride and their performances were boosted with the added adrenaline and concentration.

As the final whistle blew, the 2½ dozen round was over almost as soon as it had began. All we could do now was to sit in hope and anticipation whilst the total scores were calculated. Final Results revealed the winners of Mike Lewis, Sarah Neale, Tim Hastie and Bill Bell.

Thanks to all those who made the effort to come along and join in the fun. Check out the Gallery to see the archers in action.

In contrast to the normal raucous laughter that would sound from our longbow archers, the prestigious Indoor Longbow Championships had brought about an air of focus on concentration amongst the group.

The past 6 months of practicing was finally about to come to ahead, who would be crowned champion and leave with the highly sought after Trophy, and who would be leaving with their heads hung.

Shooting a Portsmouth round, all 4 archers got of to a strong start, and as the dozens passed by positions swapped over numerous times. Even as they moved into the final dozen, the title could have been anyone’s. The question was, who could hold their nerve and go for the gold.

After 5 dozen, it came down to the final arrow to determine first and second place, and as Rob sunk his arrow into the straw missing the face, his hopes of gold were gone. Crowned champion for the second year running was Henry Evans. Rob Hodgetts came a tantalisingly close second, Steve Blount third and Dan Brown coming in at the back of the pack in fourth place.

Our thanks goes to Target Captain Penny Neaverson for keeping this otherwise unruly crew under control. Official Results and some Action Shots from the evening are now available for your viewing.

Returning to the St. George’s Social Club in Kidderminster for the annual presentation evening proved to be a popular choice, as again over thirty members and friends assembled to applaud the successes of our archers and enjoy the traditional rivalry of skittles.

Steve Blount started off the evening’s entertainment with the now infamous 'Ladies Vs Gents' match and a promise not to cheat this year! With some coaching and a little ‘help’ from Steve, yet again the Ladies strode to victory. Winners of the skittles included Norma Dalton for the highest score and Kevin Hastie, winner of the knock-out match.

While everyone settled down to the buffet the trophy presentation began. Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Mike Lewis our RO and the honourable Lord Paramount was foundering member Dave Dalton. The sight of the Trophy Display was one to behold with three tables put together, trophies still had to be placed on the floor as there was no other space for them!

At the WMAS and CWAA Indoor Championships Josie Lunt won both championships in the Ladies Recurve individual event, this was an incredible accomplishment from a lady who already held the WMAS Ladies Recurve Outdoors Championship. Tim Hastie also won the CWAA Junior Gents trophy with the S&S Recurve Team becoming WMAS and CWAA Indoor Champions.

Mike Lewis shot his way to Master Bowman status in 2007, a feat not seen in the club for some 20 years earning himself a place in the UK Masters for 2008, other achievements included winning the WMAS and CWAA Gents Recurve Outdoor Championships. Warwick Neale and Sarah Neale were awarded both the club and the CWAA improvement trophies for the most improved handicaps in 2007, Sarah winning it for the second year running, an accomplishment in itself.

Congratulations to all who gained trophies, again special mention goes to Penny Neaverson, Tim Hastie, Sarah Neale, Mike Lewis and Andy McDonnell who all received their county bars for making the county team in 2007. Also well done to our novices and beginners Pauline Rice, Owain Rice and Russell Chambers who all received trophies. Some pictures from the evening are now on show in the Gallery.

A team of six archers from Saints & Sinners Bowmen went along to the WMAS Regional & CWAA County Championships hosted by Evesham Archery Club. The FITA 18 round was shot in two sessions where our all archers were to compete in the afternoon session of the two.

Using the now standard competition format of triple faces, all our archers were shooting Recurve bows except Nick who had opted to shoot his Compound for our final tournament of the Indoor season. As such Nick was up against some fierce competition with the likes of Jon Mynott, Eric Thomas and Bob Ball in attendance.

Mike and Josie got off to a strong start with both names going straight to the top of the leaders board after 2 dozen. There were no surprises in the Compound division as Redditch Company of Archers held the top three spots. Tim in the Junior Recurve section was also putting in an outstanding performance managing to hold off first place over Jason Relf from Malvern Archers.

With Dave Beardsley and Linda Haines both putting in strong performances during the morning session, Mike and Josie knew they would have to keep the pressure on to stand any chance of a win. Whilst Sarah was struggling with the infamous 3 spot face, Warwick on the other hand was shooting well managing to keep his arrows in the scoring zone.

The final results revealed a fantastic medal haul for the club. Josie Lunt won the WMAS Regional Cup as well as the CWAA County Cup in the Ladies Recurve discipline beating Evesham’s Linda Haines 530 to 525. Tim Hastie Won the CWAA Junior Gents Trophy, while Mike Lewis who unfortunately missed in the final dozen was awarded second place in both the Region and County. Nick Holder took his ‘C’ Classification Medal as did Warwick with the ‘D’ Class medal in the Gents Recurve.

On top of all this, we were also delighted to discover that Team S&S had won the WMAS Recurve Team Award, just beating RLSAS by a mere 33 points. Adding to this achievement we also won the CWAA Garrington Trophy Recurve Team Award. The winning team included those scores from Mike Lewis, Josie Lunt, Tim Hastie and Warwick Neale.

Finally, it was a pleasure to learn that Sarah Neale had won the CWAA Ladies Handicap Improvement Trophy for the second year running, along with husband Warwick also being awarded the Gents Handicap Improvement Cup with a shared three way tie.

What a fantastic way to round off the Indoor Season with the club taking home 6 trophies and 15 medals, congratulations to all of the team who took part. Our thanks to Kevin Hastie in capturing the shoot for our Gallery. Now with all of the CWAA Garrington Cup Winter League shoots completed, read on to find out the final results, will Saints & Sinners be the victor of both the Summer & Winter league cups?

WMAS & CWAA Indoor Championships Results - 02/03/2008

The Saints & Sinners Team fresh from triumph in the WSCL, had entered the Winter Indoor season hoping to improve upon the 3rd place they achieved in the 2006/2007 Garrington Cup.

An impressive start in the first leg held at Evesham, saw the team take the full 10 points with an instant lead over all other Worcestershire Clubs. Redditch Company of Archers hosted the second leg, but despite our best efforts the team was not able to beat the home side having to settle for 9 points.

The third leg was a disappointing turnout for the team where we were only able to secure 6 points at the Droitwich Double Worcester. With Redditch taking maximum points our team now slipped into second place by 1 point.

Once again we had a full team for the fourth leg hosted by Stourbridge Company of Archers and with some impressive shooting from our steadfast group, 10 points were again awarded to Redditch’s 9, the two front runners were now neck and neck leaving two competitions to go.

With everything to play for in the final two legs extra reinforcements were called upon for the Wyre Forest Company of Archers Open Portsmouth. An excellent turnout from the club ensured victory for our team, and with Droitwich also putting in a good performance Redditch had to settle for 8 points giving us a the top spot by the narrowest of margins.

The CWAA Indoor Championships was the final leg in the Garrington Cup where we once again saw some fantastic performances from Team S&S. At the awards ceremony we were overwhelmed to hear that the last six months of arduous shooting had finally paid off. Taking 10 points in the last leg had secured Saints & Sinners Bowmen the Garrington Cup Recurve Team Trophy. With the best 5 out of 6 scores used to calculate the points, official results show that Saints & Sinners achieved 49 out of the available 50, an incredible feat in itself.

Thank you to everyone who gave their time and skills in our quest to achieve the Garrington Cup League Trophy, once again making us a force to be reckoned with on the shooting line!

	Club	Round	Date
	Evesham Archery Club	FITA 18	11/11/2007
	Redditch Company or Archers	Stafford	25/11/2007
	Droitwich Archery Society	Worcester	09/12/2007
	Stourbridge Company of Archers	FITA 25	06/01/2008
	Wyre Forest Company of Archers	Portsmouth	10/02/2008
	CWAA Indoor Championships	FITA 18	02/03/2008

Garrington Cup League Official Results - 2007/2008

It was just four years ago in March 2004 that Saints & Sinners Bowmen decided they would launch their very own Archery Club Website. Over the past years the site has seen many radical alterations and introduction of new features.

Whilst the first few years saw changes in the design, layout and content of the website, by early 2006 our site was considered by many to be one of the best Archery Club websites around. In March 2006 it was decided to digitise the clubs aged Scrapbook allowing all to see the history of the club and how it has grown and developed over the years, this feature, now popular with our members is regularly visited.

One of the most exciting additions to the website was in June 2006 when we introduced our online Handicap & Classification Calculator allowing visitors to quickly calculate any given handicap & classifications for a round using a submitted score.

After receiving so many complimentary emails about our website we decided it would be nice to have some where to display them. So in November 2006 the Saints & Sinners Guestbook was launched. A year on we have received many wonderful comments from across the county.

The latest addition to the website was in October 2007, after a number of visitors had requested an area to view club shoots in the local area, the Open Tournaments Calendar was born. Containing details of all the shoots in the Worcestershire County, it now includes details of National, World Record Status and Premier Events.

With the old site becoming harder to manage due to its original structure our webmaster decided that it was time for a redevelopment of the site. After 4 months of hard work and countless hours of labour the new site is finally here. Containing all the features of the old site, it has a few new of its own. Visitors should now see a more dynamic flow between the pages as well as faster access times. Features include a PHP driven structure using a variety of SQL databases and AJAX controls.

We hope you like our new site, take some time to look around. If you really love it why not sign our Guestbook and tell us why.

It was the 5th leg of the Garrington Cup and as Saints & Sinners Bowmen were in joint first place with Redditch Company of Archers for the Recurve Team trophy a win at Wyre Forest was of the utmost importance.

Supporting the clubs efforts to gain the trophy were Henry Evans, Sarah Neale, Warwick Neale, Nick Holder, Josie Lunt and Mike Lewis. Unfortunately we lost the company of novice archer Jennie Orgyl but Tim Hastie was up to the challenge and jumped in at the last minute to help out the team.

Henry took his position in the morning session but due to nerves got off to a shaky start, with the first dozen out of the way he settled into a more consistent style that saw his score improve. He finished solidly but the loss of points in the first dozen cost him any medal positions overall. Meanwhile Dave Beardsley was shooting to a very high standard and was more than happy to secure a healthy score of 581, this would take some beating by any of our archers in the afternoon session.

All shooting Recurve, the rest of the Team S&S turned up for the afternoon slot along with Naomi Folkard who was likely to show us all how it was done. Many got off to a satisfying start, Mike and Josie showed consistency in their dozen scores and Sarah, Warwick and Tim were all delighted with their performance hoping to achieve a few PB’s on the way. Nick, also shooting Recurve for the first time this indoors season struggled and found it difficult to settle into the competition.

Mike finished strongly and only missed out on the win by 3 points but he was still content with his score and a second place medal. With Naomi finishing on 591 in the Ladies Recurve the trophy was just unreachable but a great performance still led Josie to second place and another medal position for Saints & Sinners. Tim too finished fantastically securing a second place medal, a new PB and a new Club Record. Warwick exceeded all his expectations for the day by gaining a new PB, just missing out on his classification medal by 3 points. Sarah who although started strongly dropped valuable points in the last two dozens that cost her third place to Sue Davies of Redditch, but she had still done enough to take the classification medal in her group.

Now with just one leg to go in the Garrington cup we can only pray, practice and hope that our team can lead the club to victory at the WMAS and CWAA Indoor Championships at Evesham on 2 March, if you are interested in attending please contact our Competitions Officer Sarah Neale.

Wyre Forest Open Portsmouth Results - 10/02/2008

At the County of Worcestershire Archery Association AGM in December 2007 we were very pleased to discover that the individual winners of the Ladies & Gentlemen's Stoke-Mandeville Trophies were Sarah Neale and Mike Lewis. The trophy winners were determined from points awarded from wins at the WSCL competitions. The dynamic duo had both achieved 5 wins out of 7 tournaments over the summer which had really paid off.

As well as the individual trophies there was also the Club Trophy, but due to an unfortunate set of circumstances Saints & Sinners Bowmen did not receive the rules and team sheets before the summer so we were unable to enter the team scores.

Without these teams scores we were unable to achieve the team points needed to secure the trophy. However on discovering this mishap our Records Officer Mike Lewis, calculated all the team scores (handicap adjusted) for the year and sent them to the organiser Alan Logan. Our situation was brought to the CWAA committee and after discussion the revised scores were upheld and the trophy presented to Saints & Sinners Bowmen.

It was a long, wet and windy summer but thanks to the outstanding efforts of all who shot to support the club, in our first attempt at the WSCL we managed to sweep the board and take all the trophies. To follow everyone's contribution through the whole season the qualifying Shoots were:

	Club	Round	Date
	Redhill Archers	American	07/05/2007
	Evesham Archery Club	FITA 70	20/05/2007
	Wyre Forest Company of Archers	Western	03/06/2007
	Droitwich Archery Society	Albion	24/06/2007
	CWAA Senior Championships	York/Hereford	05/08/2007
	Stourbridge Company of Archers	Albion	12/08/2007
	Redditch Company or Archers	Windsor	19/08/2007
	CWAA Junior Championships	Bristol Rounds	01/09/2007

Worcester Summer Cup League Official Results - 2007

Delayed from 2007, the January shoot was to be the final in the 2007 outdoor season. Nine hardy souls had turned out for this wet, windy, cold and quite miserable morning shoot, but they were not about to let the weather stand in the way of their enjoyment.

Once again we had a new venue for our seasonal Clout, with our last field being ploughed and planted with onions. Thanks to Penny Neaverson for once again coming through with a suitable shooting ground.

Sighters produced a mixture of results at the 180 yard (or thereabouts) flag pole. Whilst some had a promising start, others like Mike Lewis were obviously aiming at a different target altogether, managing to loose an arrow some 20 foot up in a tree!

After a dozen arrows most had settled into the distance and had started scoring. Bill Bell on the other hand, not challenged enough by the distance had also opted to shoot his indoor arrows (for fear of loosing any) which to say the least had a interesting flight pattern.

Nearing the final dozen arrows, all had some points on the score board, with some more that others. Whilst the longbow archers were counting through their hits, others were just grateful to have any scoring arrows at all.

Final Results revealed that Henry had easily secured first place in the Gents Longbow, Josie had won the Ladies Longbow, Mike won the Gents Recurve and Penny the Ladies. Not forgetting Bill who struggled the entire shoot with our rather unorthodox distance still managed to win the Gents Compound! Our thanks also goes to Doug Neaverson for his excellent Photography skills capturing the morning entertainment!

New for 2008 Stourbridge Company of Archers had altered the format of the FITA 25 round choosing to use triple faces instead of the single spot. Seen as a blessing for some archers, the same faces caused apprehension for others.

Mike Lewis, Josie Lunt, Warwick Neale, Nick Holder and Sarah Neale set up for the afternoons session of shooting hoping to get their muscles exercising again after the Christmas break and obtain a few medals and points in the process.

Most performed slightly below their personal abilities with all but Mike managing at least one miss but Josie had done enough to secure a solid first place in the Ladies Recurve discipline with Sue Davis of Redditch taking second. Sarah’s miss in the early stages cost her a position but her final score guaranteed her a classification medal and new PB.

Nick was up against the usual talented crowd of Compound archers and was happy to settle for his classification medal, with Bob Ball taking first place and Adam Ravenscroft taking second.

In the Gents Recurve, Mike had arrived with the disadvantage of shooting in new equipment less the 24 hours old and even though he was slightly down on last years score it was enough to earn him his classification medal. Warwick, in his first FITA 25 competition, struggled with the triple face format but was pleased with his overall performance. Dave Beardsley took first place with an impressive score of 554 and Gary Derraven took second place.

So now the muscles have been reawakened the next battleground will be the WFCA Portsmouth at Stourport. This is a local club so please come and support them and don’t forget our bid to move up in the Garrington Cup league table. Entry forms can be found here or contact Sarah Neale to get signed up!

Stourbridge Open FITA 25 Results - 06/01/2008

What a fantastic start to 2008! As our merry bunch of archers took to the shooting line in the first shoot of the year, all were bright eyed and ready for whatever the mornings festivities might bring. Blessed with fine shooting conditions, it was still a surprise for many to see so many people turn out on this crisp winters morning.

Whilst the other more 'serious' shot, the laughter of the longbow archers echoed from one end of the field to the other as they mocked each other for only having two out of three hits.

Everyone was having fabulous time, so much so that all agreed to extend the shoot to a Double Frostbite. This was after a short interlude with mulled wine and mince pies courtesy of Derek Moule.

As the final whilst blew cheers were raised for Penny Neaverson in her debut role as the clubs new Field Captain, good job well done! Winners of the day included Mike Lewis, Josie Lunt, Bill Bell, Penny Neaverson and Rob Hodgetts.

Thanks to all who made the effort to attend, lets hope that we see such enthusiasm as the rest of the clubs shoots throughout the coming year. Official Results are now available as well as a few Pictures from the mornings fun.