Page last updated 26 June 2019

United Bowmen of Philedelphia 14th July 2013

On what was the hottest day so far in 2013, twelve of our best gathered at  Highfield Park to shoot the historic United Bowmen round.  Following the rules as best we could we flew a Union Jack behind the shooting Line, with a couple on the bosses too for good measure and did our best to hit the targets at 80 yards.

There were occasional incidents such as Dave and Adam managing to take out both tyres on the same boss , in the same loose! Can someone tell Adam that wasn't his target?

After 2doz everything stopped while we watched the Lancaster Bomber and a 

Hurricane of the Battle  of Britain Memorial flight fly over the field as if in some recognition of the challenge we were facing.

The halfway tea break was very welcome. As Just about everyone had bought cakes downing even a small proportion was quite an acheivement.

After what seemed a very long afternoon the field captain announced the last end. With more than a little relief we loosed our Last few arrows and wearily packed up and headed homeward - We can't Wait for next years shoot!

Thanks to everyone who  joined in and a special thanks to an those who made cakes.

Outdoor Championships 28th September 2013

The rescheduled championships gave us a warm and dry day and a correspondingly good turnout.  The start was delayed due the preceding girls’ football going to extra time and then penalties.  Dave and Jacky Toon took first place for senior recurve with Richard Philpot for compound.  Junior Boy and Girl were Luke Dyer and Sophie Beach.  There was also a very good showing for the novices with Gary Bates and Kim Smith taking 1st gentleman and Lady novice.

Thanks go to Clive Erlebach for organising, marshalling and presenting the trophies and to everyone who brought cakes!

Junior National Indoor Championships  - 1st Dec

On Saturday 1st December Adam Toon & Luke Dyer from Elswood Bowmen travelled to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to shoot in the Archery GB Combined National Indoor Championships. This was a huge competition, and with a combined total of between 900 and 1000 archers choosing to take part in both the Senior and Junior events, it became the third largest archery competition in the world in 2012.

Adam and Luke shot in the Junior U14 Gents Recurve category. Despite some considerable pressure from the stiff competition, the scale of the venue, and having to shoot at the same time as Olympic stars Naomi Folkard, Alan Wills, and Dani Brown, they both performed extremely well, with Adam coming 12th and Luke 33rd. Well done to both of you !

Hertfordshire Archery Association Indoor Team Chapmionships – 18th November

Back at the Odyssey Sports Centre in Knebworth and it was even colder than the GDB 500 the previous week. For the Team champs we shot a Fita 25 for the first time for most of us.  We wrapped up warm and did our best to reach the targets which seems surprisingly small and far away. Jacky and Josh had to endure shooting one end on their own after Joshua’s sight broke half way through the shoot. There is nothing like several hundred eyes watching you, to help you focus and hit the gold!

The Junior Team made up of Adam Toon, Luke Dyer and Joshua Toon came third.

The senior team made up of Chris Smith, Date Toon, Clive Tocher and Dave Potter came 6th.

Well done everyone.

GDB 500 – 11th November

The Ron Young Memorial Shoot in its 42nd Year is a very popular event. Shooting was over three sessions at the Odyssey Sports Centre in Knebworth. This is an un-heated venue and even for November the weather was pretty nippy. At least it was dry and very spacious. The Elswood Team included Jacky Toon, Dave Toon, Adam Tobn, Luke Dyer and Josh Toon.

We had a great day coming away with a few prizes.

Jacky and Dave won the Silver in the married couples.

Adam won the Junior Gents Trophy with Luke in 2nd and Josh 4th.

 Abbey Edge Grove Junior Tournament – 4th Nov

This is a great tournament for Juniors, bringing together the best Juniors from across the county as well novice archers. Much fun was had by all.

The Elswood Team came third behind Edge Grove and Chiltern, well done Adam Toon, Luke Dyer and Josh Toon. Individually Adam and Luke also took 1st and 2nd places in the Under 15s Boys recurve. There were also plenty of sweetie prizes, Adam hit the best gold, Luke and Josh both hit spot prizes.

As usual the raffle was one of the highlights raising £130 for the Asperger’s Foundation.

HCA Heidi Blewitt Memorial Shoot - 29th Sept

This annual event is organised by Heidi’s family to raise money for the Charity which supported them through her illness. It is a very well attended day with everyone there simply to have fun and raise money. It is also a rare opportunity to shoot a St George , Albion, Windsor or Short Windsor. As always at Hertford’s tournaments the burgers and hot dogs were a treat as was Helen Mawditt’s Bread pudding! This is a great event as the completion is irrelevant, prizes are awarded by a draw at the end of the day.

Jacky Toon, Adam Toon and Luke Dyer shot. Adam managed to gain his third qualifying score for the Herts County Gold Award – well done Adam.

Elswood Xmas Fun Shoot – 21st Dec 2012

An evening of fun was had by all with great new faces, balloons, Christmas hats and tinsel galore. Bruce’s random scoring scheme ensured no-one really knew or cared who won.

We all did our best to devour the mountain of mince pies whilst the trophies for the Club Championships were presented. What a lovely end to the Elswood 2012 shooting calendar!

Aquarius Archery Club Open Indoor Championship 24th February 2013

A small team of Elswood archers attended this shoot held at the TA Centre in Barnet. Adam shot a PB and won the Gold Medal for Junior Boys, Luke won the Bronze. Well done to both.

Hertfordshire Archery Association Indoor Championships 9th & 10th February 2013

The annual indoor championships were held in St Albans. Elswood had a good turnout of 4 seniors and 4 Juniors. Fantastic results :-

Luke D U14 Boys – 3rd

Emily H U18 Girls – 3rd

Elswood Team:  Dave Toon, Clive Tocher, Adam T & Luke D – 7th (of 9 teams).

Well done all.

Elswood Handicap Shoot – 21st and 22nd March 2013

Dunstable Junior Fun Shoot 30th June 2013

Dunstable have a lovely outdoor venue at the London Gliding Club at the foot of the Dunstable Downs. The fun shoot was for Juniors only - to introduce Juniors to competitive shooting – without any adults getting in the way. The shoot was a National round with age appropriate distances. Three Elswood Archers Entered – Adam T, Jim M and Josh T.

Results:

Short National:

Adam– Gold Medal

Jimmy – Bronze Medal

Short Junior National:

Joshua – Bronze Medal

Jimmy ‘s result was particularly pleasing , the day before he could only just hit the 50 yard distance, then on the day he forgot his arrows. He borrowed Jacky’s arrows and guessed a sight mark, then went on to shoot a PB and take the bronze medal – well done Jim.

Hertfordshire vs Middlesex Indoor Portsmouth Match

Brunel University, Uxbridge 24th March 2013

Adam Toon was invited to Represent the County at the Hertfordshire vs Middlesex Match in March. As a first time county Archer he impressed the selectors with his calm and solid shooting. The Hertfordshire Juniors beat  Middlesex 1034 to 997. Congratulations to Adam for contributing to county success.

The highlight of the day was being presented with a county shirt to wear along with a medal for representing the county and the gold medal for the win.

Sunday 19th May 2013

Our May league was shot against the average winning score of the other teams.

Beginners on the May course

May League Match Results.

Elswood vs Abbey bowmen - Sunday 23rd June 2013

A very windy day, but the rain held off till after shooting finished.

The junior score of 388.2 is the average of all the shooters.

Abbey 2397 to Elswood 2330.  A win to Abbey by 67 points

Hertfordshire Archery Association Outdoor Championships 7th July 2013

The day opened with presentations of the Junior HAA Purple Progress badges to the 3 archers who have qualified for them since the start of last season. This included Luke Dyer who claimed his just a week ago!  

The HAAOC had a new venue this year at Princess Helena College near Hitchin. This was a lovely field with plenty of space. The weather was very hot and sunny with only a slight breeze which made the long days shoot hard going for most.

Elswood turned in some great results:

Luke D won the Bristol 3 trophy – the second year in a row that Elswood has won this trophy.

Adam T and Joshua T both came second in their categories. The Juniors also came third as a Junior Team.

The seniors improved on the previous year with Chris Smith coming 9th, Dave Toon 16th and Jacky Toon 6th. With both Dave and Chris qualifying for FITA Rose Awards.

This was also the first outing for the new Junior shirts – it was fantastic to shoot as a team all sporting the Club Colours!

Beginners on the July course; already getting respectable groups