So, on Sunday (May 28, 2013) I shot a local tourney at the OCCS. 2x30 arrows, 3-face target, scoring just the inner 10 as a 10 for compound (so, no such thing as an "x" - it's either a 9 or a 10).
OCCS - Archery Indoor Tournament, April 28, 2013 |
Now some of the more "upsetting" news.
There were only 2 compounds of about 40-50 archers. So really, I had to shoot better than just one guy to come on top. I believe competition drives results, so I'll have to find shoots with more shooters in my category. Also, the more shooters, the more knowledge sharing.
Next, not having shot a tourney in a long time, regardless of how unimportant it may be, when there's formal scoring and people shooting next to you, it's a bit of a "nerve game". So I opened with a mediocre 9, 9, 8... followed by a 9, 0, 6... And there went the chase for that 9 average I'm used to. I never shot under an 8 for the rest of the tourney, but it took a while to get back into shooting "well". Lots of "sweaty" 9s (ones that you have to sweat over until you see them close up), not even close to "enough" 10s, at least during the first round. So, finished that first round with a terrible 257/300 score, 2 points below the only guy I was shooting against.
Round 2, after some sugar from Tim Hortons and a 20 minute break, I open with a 10, 9, 9. Everything felt better; I could hold steadier longer, release better... and continued shooting in similar fashion to the end, for a slightly better, but still far from good score of 273/300. However this time almost no "sweaty" 9s, and many 9's that are deep inside the outer 10 ring... so, closing in on that X :)
Total score, 530/600 --- ouch. I remember numbers around 550-560 even as a teenager, so I need to step up my game.
But this tourney was an overall great experience for a few things. This is what I take from it:
- I now have a baseline score that has to improve consistently;
- Form is everything - slightest change in any aspect of the shot and it won't go where the previous one went. Note to self - pull hard on that wall, each and every time!
- Releasing subconsciously is just as critical - I now know I can get the bow to freeze dead center, but the second I decide "Now is the time to fire!" and switch context to firing, the dot and the target center are no longer in line.
- 2 minutes is enough time for 3 arrows, but not enough to be wasted.
M.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Questions? Comments? Fire away...