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This weekend saw the annual linecutter shoot at Sway Bowmen. Some 30 archers shot a 6 dozen round in the blustery sunshine. Archers chose their distance to match their skill, or possibly their bravery, given how difficult it is to shoot at distance in windy weather. (I wimped out on the excuse of my big, ungainly...fletchings!
This tournament is a little different from the usual as it is not the best score that wins, it is the most linecutting arrows – that is, the most arrows that touch or break the line between two scoring zones.
In the end two archers had the same number – 12 – but the prize was awarded to Ian Ovenden who had the most variety of lines hit. “Though they were mostly between the one and two,” he laughed.
Dave Errington was the runner-up, and having been his scorer, I can attest to there being very little variation in the lines he was cutting!! (For those new to the club, Dave is a compound archer and his arrows were all grouped in or near the gold).
As usual, thanks go to Hannah and Jem for the organising and field captaining - hope the shoulder recovers soon, Jem.
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Sway Bowmen held their first beginner’s course of the year across the Easter weekend. 12 hardy souls braved the somewhat changeable weather to start their archery journey. As an added incentive to hone their accuracy, the fledgling archers shot at painted eggs suspended in the middle of their target faces. These proved trickier to hit than anticipated as they were simply deflected unless subject to a direct hit. There was a lot of friendly banter and encouragement/commiseration until all were finally breached. Everyone, students and coaches alike, went home to their Easter eggs tired and happy.
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On bank holiday Monday, Sway Bowmen hosted their first Red King shoot. This type of event is traditionally for Longbow archers but the field of 48 participants came from across archery disciplines and from 5 local clubs. The shoot was a ‘two way’ which means archers shot three arrows in one direction, collected and scored them, and then shot them back in the other direction. 8 dozen arrows, some small sherries and some enormous burgers later, we all agreed it had been huge fun and should be an annual event.
Jem Mason, the organiser, said the idea came from the shooting of the Red King – ‘Red Rufus’, more properly King William 2 – in 1100AD when he was killed by an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrell and deflected off a tree. This event is commemorated by The Rufus stone in the New Forest. Luckily risk assessments have improved since then and everyone made it to the end in complete safety!
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On Dec 27th we held our annual post-Christmas fun shoot. Twenty-five archers showed up in what would otherwise have been an act of bravery had it not been so warm for a December morning.
Archers had a choice of shooting a Frostbite Round (3 dozen at 30m) or a Metric 80-30 (6 dozen at 30m), with the Chapatti trophies being awarded after three dozen. In the interests of levelling the competition, this year we introduced a handicap adjustment by bow type (Recurve 0, Compound -15, Barebow +28, Longbow +86), this meant archers of comparable shooting skill but different bow types were in with an equal chance of winning the trophies. 
Congratulations to our Archer Supreme (keeper of the cake) - Chris Baigent, Champion Woman - Marie Perrott and Champion Junior - Max Errington. Congratulations also to the winners of the colour prizes with the associated blessings for their archery in 2025. A full list of 3 dozen results can be found here and complete rounds here.
Thank you to everyone who has organised, helped with, or participated in a fantastic year of tournaments. Good news! We can do it all again next year. The tournament calendar for 2025 can be found on the information page here along with some new 'outdoor challenges' for the coming season.