The Sunburn League 2015 continued on Sunday 10th May with Round 2.

In total some 17 members competed across 4 different rounds achieving some impressive scores which will undoubtedly set handicaps tumbling. The Long Metric III was particularly hard fought with just 30 points separating the top three spots. For the second round in a row the winner of the Long Metric II was Lee Newman and also for the second round in a row, the winner of the Long Metric III and equaling her personal best was Gail Johnson. If you have entered the first two rounds then next months round will be the last one where your scores will automatically be added to the leaderboard. After next month (or after you've shot in 3 rounds) your scores only count if you beat one of your previous scores.

Full results and photos can be seen below.

The Winners

Long Metric IV:
1st: Louis Moorhouse-Booth 1608

Long Metric III:
1st: Gail Johnson 1459
2nd: William Camp 1442
3rd: Vernon Hawkes 1429

Long Metric II:
1st: Lee Newman 1493
2nd: Peter Dobson 1481
3rd: Ben Fearnside 1407

Long Metric:
1st: David Coates 1393
2nd: Will Camp 1311

Full Results

Photos from the day can be viewed below.

Round 3 of the Sunburn League took place on Sunday June 14th.

11 club members were not deterred by the weather, which looked like it could rain heavily for the first hour or so. Fortunately the rain held off and despite a few no shows the tournament started on time and a number of people shot so well that their handicaps are going to tumble.

There are 4 more rounds still to shoot in this years Sunburn League so there is still plenty of time to enter if you haven't already as only your top 3 scores count towards the league totals. Even if you only shoot once you could still win the trophy for highest handicap score. For the remaining rounds we have decided to make a small change to the rules. If you don't yet have a handicap you can now enter the Long Metric IV (previously only open to Juniors), your scores will count towards your handicap but won't be entered into league totals until you've achieved your handicap score.

 Full Results Can Be Seen Below

The Winners

Long Metric IV:
1st: Louis Moorhouse-Booth 1489

Long Metric III:
1st: Christian Kelly 1562
2nd: Gail Joohnson 1497
3rd: Vernon Hawkes 1407

Long Metric II:
1st: Lee Newman 1506
2nd: Peter Dobson 1429
3rd: Frank Hollis 1403

Long Metric:
1st: Dave Gregory 1453

Full Results

Round 4 of the Sunburn League did not take after it's name with rain and wind being the order of the day.

Despite the inclement weather some 14 members turned up to compete across 4 different rounds and yet again a number or archers shot scores that could well see their handicaps continue to fall.

As this was the 4th round anyone who had entered the previous 3 rounds had to better a previous score in order to improve their league totals. Thank you to everyone who helped set-up and take down all the targets, your help is very much appreciated.

Full results can be found below.

The Winners

Long Metric IV:
1st: Louis Moorhouse-Booth 1411

Long Metric III:
1st: Clive Talbot 1568
2nd: Christian Kelly 1559
3rd: Vernon Hawkes 1490

Long Metric II:
1st: Martin Folkes 1486
2nd: Peter Dobson 1468

Long Metric I:
1st: Ben Fearnside 1429
2nd: Oliver Johnson 1422
3rd: Lee Newman 1414

Long Metric:
1st: Terry Kennard 1401

Full Results

Round 5 of the 2015 Sunburn League took place on Sunday 16th August.

In a very close scoring tournament 11 archers competed across 5 rounds, Long Metric IV, III, II, I & Long Metric. Three club members shot well above their handicap and so will likely see their handicap drop further so well done to them. All the scores shot have now been verified, with a couple of corrections, and the leaderboards updated and the scores are very close. In the Long Metric III just 75 points separates 1st & 2nd place and just 6 points separate the top 3 places for highest score shot. In the Long Metric II 85 points separate 1st & 2nd place with 91 points separating the top 3 highest scores shot. In the Long Metric I just 15 points separate the top 3 highest scores and in the Long Metric incredibly just 3 points separate the top 3 highest scores shot.

The Winners

Long Metric III:
1st: Clive Talbot 1551

Long Metric II:
1st: Isla Bezencon 1597
2nd: Martin Folkes 1521

Long Metric I:
1st: Oliver Johnson 1350

Long Metric:
1st: Gavin Sutherland 1454
2nd: Ben Fearnside 1452
3rd: Dave Gregory 1451

Full Results

Photos from the day can be viewed below.

A rather chilly morning on Sunday 18th October saw the final round of this years Sunburn League.

With scores very tight at the top of the leaderboards there was everything to play for and many trophies could and did end up changing hands. We would like to thank everyone for taking part in the Sunburn League this year and for making it such an enjoyable shoot every month. Thanks too to everyone that has helped set-up and take down all the bosses and to Frank our Records Officer for working out everyones new handicaps and processing the scores. Next year we will be running the Sunburn Leagye again and Paul Murray our new League Secretary will be taking over running it.

Full results of Round 7 and the Final Winners scores can be viewed below.

Round 7 - The Winners

Long Metric IV:
1st: Louis Moorhouse Booth 1553

Long Metric III:
1st: Christian Kelly 1572
2nd: Daniel Ellis 1495
3rd: Dan Talbot 1447

Long Metric II:
1st: Peter Dobson 1398

Long Metric:
1st: Dave Gregory 1431
2nd: Ben Fearnside 1365

Sunburn League 2015 - The Overall Winners

Most Improved Handicap:
1st: Ben Fearnside 13
2nd: Dan Talbot 12
3rd: Louis Moorhouse Booth 9

Long Metric IV Highest Score Shot:
1st: Louis Moorhouse Booth 1608

Long Metric III Highest Score Shot:
1st: Christian Kelly 1572
2nd: Clive Talbot 1568
3rd: Christian Kelly 1562

Long Metric II Highest Score Shot:
1st: Isla Bezencon 1597
2nd: Martin Folkes 1521
3rd: Lee Newman 1506

Long Metric I Highest Score Shot:
1st: Ben Fearnside 1429
2nd: Oliver Johnson 1422
3rd: Lee Newman 1414

Long Metric Highest Score Shot:
1st: Gavin Sutherland 1454
2nd: Dave Gregory 1453
3rd: Ben Fearnside 1452

Overall Long Metric IV Winners:
1st: Louis Moorhouse Booth 4704
2nd: Dan Talbot 1492

Overall Long Metric III Winners:
1st: Christian Kelly 4693
2nd: Clive Talbot 4616
3rd: Dan Talbot 4439

Overall Long Metric II Winners:
1st: Lee Newman 4463
2nd: Peter Dobson 4405
3rd: Isla Bezencon 3064

Overall Long Metric I Winners:
1st: Lee Newman 2792
2nd: Oliver Johnson 2772
3rd: Ben Fearnside 1429

Overall Long Metric Winners:
1st: Dave Gregory 4335
2nd: Ben Fearnside 4190
3rd: Terry Kennard 2792

The Sunburn League 2015 Grand Winners
1st: Louis Moorhouse Booth 4704
2nd: Christian Kelly 4693
3rd: Clive Talbot 4616

Photos from the day can be viewed below.

Sunday saw our first Frostbite league shoot of the year.  A big thank you to all 14 Archers who braved the windy and slightly muddy conditions.

We had everything from flapping targets to one boss blowing over, but hey that’s what the Frostbite league is all about – braving and adjusting to the elements!!!!
The great thing about this competition is we are in 2 leagues (A&B) A league is made up of the following teams.

League A:

1 Worthing A.C. A
2 Ditchling A.C. B
3 Pastures C of A (company of Archers)
4 The High Weald A.C. B
5 Assheton B`men B
6 Woking A.C. B

League B:

1 Leek A.C.
2 Andover Archers B
3 Atkins Archers B
4 Worthing A.C. B
5 Maidenhead Archers B
6 Sutton Coldfield A.C. B
On Sunday we shot against Ditchling and Sutton Coalfield – we await their scores.
 
Our next Frostbite League will take place on Sunday 13th Dec and we will be shooting against Pastures C of A & Maidenhead.  Everyone is welcome.

Photos from Round 1 can be seen below

We are pleased to announce that, for the third year in a row, we will be running the Sunburn League throughout the summer months.

If you haven't shot in previous years, the Sunburn League is a great way to not only get or improve your handicap but to also achieve classifications up to Bowman, the highest classification possible at club level and its a lot of fun too.

The league works on the handicap system which means that archers of all abilities and experience can compete against each other on an equal basis and archers can even compete against each other when shooting different rounds. As we did last year we will be shooting variations of the Long Metric rounds details of which can be found below. This year's Sunburn League will be run by our League Secretary, Paul Murray who did a great job of running the Frostbite League over the winter. If you wish to enter any of the rounds please make sure you let Paul know ASAP as places do fill up fast.

The Leagues

There will be 5 different leagues and each league will shoot a different round

The league/rounds we will be shooting are:

Long Metric (90M & 70M)
Long Metric I (70M & 60M)
Long Metric II (60M & 50M)
Long Metric III (50M & 40M)
Long Metric IV (40M & 30M) Only open to Juniors and those who don't yet have a handicap.

Each round consists of 3 dozen arrows at each distance.

Depending on gender, age and bow type the following classifications could be achieved:
Long Metric - Up to Bowman for all archers
Long Metric I - Up to Bowman for all except Senior Gents
Long Metric II - Up to Junior Bowman for most juniors, 1st Class for Senior Ladies and 2nd Class for Senior Gents
Long Metric III - Up to 2nd Class for Senior Ladies, 3rd Class for Senior Gents and Junior Bowman for most Juniors
Long Metric IV - Up to Junior Bowman depending on gender, age and bow type

The Rules

1. You must have a valid handicap in order to enter the league subject to rule 1a
   1a. Archers who do not have a handicap may shoot the Long Metric IV round to obtain a handicap but their scores will not be included in the leaderboards and so won't count towards an trophies until they have achieved a handicap
2. You can shoot in any league you wish with the exception of the Long Metric IV which is only open to juniors (under 18) and those without a handicap
3. You can change leagues as many times as you want
4. Your top 3 scores in any one league count towards the leader board for that league
5. Your top 3 scores across all leagues count towards the leader board for the overall Sunburn League
6. Scoring will use the 10 zone scoring system (X,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 for each ring of the target face)
7. In the event of a tie (after adding the handicap allowance) the number of X's will determine the winner. Should there still be tie, the number of 10's, 9's etc until a winner is determined.

In regards to Rule 1. A valid handicap is where you have completed 3 scored outdoor rounds in the past 12 months and submitted those scores to our Records Officer. If you have not done this then you will need to do this before April.

The Rounds

There are 6 rounds in this years Sunburn League. You don't have to shoot in every round as only your top 3 scores will count towards your total but the more rounds you enter the more chance you have of improving an earlier score. Each round will have an assembly at 9:30am with shooting starting promptly at 10:00am. The dates for each round are as follows:

Round 1: 29th May 2016
Round 2: 12th June 2016
Round 3: 24th July 2016
Round 4: 14th August 2016
Round 5: 25th September 2016
Round 6: 16th October 2016

The Prizes

There will be trophies for the following winners:

Most Improved Handicap
Winner of the Long Metric IV League
Winner of the Long Metric III League
Winner of the Long Metric II League
Winner of the Long Metric I League
Winner of the Long Metric League
Overall Winner of the Sunburn League

So get your bows tuned, get practicing and get ready for The Sunburn League 2016!

Our first beginners course of 2016 took place last weekend, April 23rd & 24th.

Ten beginners learned how to shoot barebow on Day 1 with demonstrations on compound bows and then on Day 2 progressed to shooting freestyle with demonstrations on traditional bows. Despite the cold everyone picked things up quickly and most importantly, had a lot of fun. The feedback received has been universally positive and we are pleased to say that we now have several new club members. We would like to extend our thanks to all those that so kindly gave up their weekend to help and who made our guests feel welcome and gave them such an enjoyable introduction to not only our sport but also to our club.

There is another beginners course this coming weekend, April 30th & 1st May) - we have had a last minute cancellation and have 1 vacancy so if you would like to join us then please get in touch ASAP. If there are any members who would be able to help set-up (11am) or take down (4:30pm) or who would like to help coach then it would be very much appreciated.

Our beginners courses are always very popular and we do have a waiting list so if you would like to take up archery then please get in contact as we hope to be running another course in the next few months.

Photos from this course can be seen below.

Our second beginners course of the year took place over the bank holiday weekend of April 30th & 1st May.

Seven prospective new archers enjoyed their two days being taught barebow and freestyle bow styles and correct 'T form'. At the end of each day a short tournament was held and everyone was grouping well with scores being very close. On day 1 the focus was on barebow which everyone took to very well and even after the distance was increased everyone was able to adjust and get their arrows into the gold again. Day 2 was all about freestyle and whilst, as expected, the introduction of sights and a different anchor position, was initially a bit of a challenge for some, with the help of the coaches it was only a few ends before everyone was shooting well and by the end of the day many were grouping very tightly.

Again we would like to extend our gratitude to those members that gave up their bank holiday weekend to help run this course, we couldn't do it without you. Everyone on the course expressed how much they enjoyed it, how much they learned and how helpful and friendly they found everyone and many have already joined our club.

If you would like to be on our next beginners course please contact the club secretary our courses are always very popular and we do have a waiting list so register your interest today.

Photos from this course can be seen below.