News Items Archive

did you miss an item? Here's the place to look for it! 

FARGET 2024 - Done and Dusted!!!

thanks to everyone who braved the liquid sunshine (again)

and special thanks to Fiona, Glen, Gordon, and all the others who helped to make it such a great day!!!

IA Success at the National and State Indoor Championships July 6-7!!

11/7/2024

Great results and lots of bling for our club members who competed in the National and State Indoor Championships over the weekend!

Fiona Hyde took both national and state gold in 60+ Female Compound, and state gold in Open Female Compound. Con Goik took both national and state gold in 70+ Male Barebow Recurve. Melissa-Ann Dunn took national bronze and state silver in 50+ Female Compound. Rebecca Attard took state bronze in Open Female Compound. Jason Attard also competed and acquitted himself creditably in a national field of 75 Male Open Compound entrants. Full results here.

Congratulations to you all!

Diane

president@illlawarraarchers.org

A Great Golden Gong 2024 - May 26

Thanks to all the competitors and supporters (and the weather) for such a great day.

2024 National / State Indoor Championships July 6-7 2024 

Hosted by Penrith City Archers

Date: 6th and 7th July, 2024

Location: 446 Wilberforce Rd, Wilberforce (Butterfly Farm/ Go- Karts)

Saturday will be a Double Australian Indoor: 3 Spot Triangle OR 40cm single target face.

Sunday will be a WA Indoor:  3 Spot Vertical OR 40cm single target face

The Entry Fee for Both Days is $60

Closing Date: 6th June

Flight 1 rego 6.30am , practice 7.30am , scoring approx 8.00am. Both days

Flight 2 rego 10.00am , practice 11am ,scoring approx 11.30am. Both days

Flight 3 rego 2.00pm , practice 3.00pm, scoring approx 3.30pm Both days

A fourth evening flight will be considered dependent on entries.

Please enter via Assemble.

 https://account.archery.assemblesports.io/finder?id=3002587 

Penrith City Archers Golden Arrow Event - June  1-2, 2024

Penrith City Archers has their Golden Arrow Event coming up on 1st and 2nd June.  Target (Canberra's) and Clout are on Saturday and the Field is on the Sunday.

Entry is via Archers Diary and payments can be made on the day or deposited to our account. 

To qualify for the Golden Arrow you must enter the OPEN division for all 3 events (target, field and clout) this will cost $75. (Golden Arrow can only be shot with the one bow type through out.) Non Golden Arrow all three events are $75. However if you only wish to shoot one event, say for instance target only, it will only cost you $30 for one event. If you wish to shoot just 2 events, say clout and target or target and field, it will only cost you $60.

Working Bee May 18 - many thanks!

Thanks to everyone who came to the working bee on Saturday, on a blustery, rainy and very cold Saturday.

Thanks also to Glen, who mowed, snipped and generally provided lots of TLC to the range today, with the result that it's looking fabulous for a successful Golden Gong next Sunday 26 May.

Thanks to all the following volunteers who'll be helping to run the Golden Gong.

Update: NSW State Field Competition - remaining as originally scheduled September 14 & 15, 2024    updated March 31

Illawarra Archers will be hosting this year's NSW State Field Competition. After lengthy consultation with ANSW, it has been decided this shoot will remain in its original slot. Our best wishes for a strong performance go with the World Field Championships team.

Beginners Course now set for June 16,23,30

Registration is now open for our June Beginners Course. This will be held over 3 consecutive Sundays in June, with the first session on June 16.

Links to the registration pages can be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

complete your registration soon, as these courses fill up very quickly.

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Update 4: April Beginners Courses now full.  updated April 11, 2024

April courses are now filled.

the next  course will be in June Illawarra Archers Beginners Course June 16, 23, 30

links to the registration pages can also be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Update 3: Only one Beginners Course in April remains open for registration - April 15-16.  updated April 9, 2024

The first course in April is now filled (again).

However, one place remains available in the second course, scheduled for the first week in NSW School Holidays -  April 15-16. 

This course is being presented over 2 consecutive days during NSW school holidays. It will commence on April 15. Registration is now open.

Book in soon to avoid missing out. 

the next  course will be in June

see the news item for the June course, or links to the registration pages which can be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Update 2: April Beginners Courses open for registration

updated Apr 7, 2024

One spot has opened up in the first course in April.

This course will run April 14, 21, and 28.

Registration re-opened 

Only one place remains available in the second course, scheduled for the first week in NSW School Holidays -  April 15-16. 

This course is being presented over 2 consecutive days during NSW school holidays. It will commence on April 15. Registration is now open.

Book in soon to avoid missing out. The next course after this will be in June.

Links to the registration pages can be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

complete your registration soon, as these courses can fill up quickly.

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Update: Only one Beginners Course in April remains open for registration - April 15-16.  updated March 31

The first course in April is now filled.

However, places remain available in the second one, scheduled for the first week in NSW School Holidays -  April 15-16. 

This course is being presented over 2 consecutive days during NSW school holidays. It will commence on April 15. Registration is now open.

Book in soon to avoid missing out. The next course after this will be in June.

Links to the registration pages can be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

complete your registration soon, as these courses can fill up quickly.

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Beginners Courses in April are now open for registration - one starts April 14 and a second starts April 15.

Our standard course held over 3 consecutive Sundays, commencing April 14, will take 16 students. Registration is now open.

Another option is a course being presented over 2 consecutive days during NSW school holidays. It will commence on April 15, with spots for 8 students. Registration is now open.

Links to the registration pages can be found in the IA Events box on the Home page and on the Beginners Course page

complete your registration soon, as these courses fill up very quickly.

any questions, please contact the CoachingCoordinator@illawarraarchers.org

Liverpool City Archers Blacksnake Marked Field Event - April 14

LCA welcome all archers to their annual Blacksnake Field Shoot. This is a 24 Target World Archery marked Arrowhead Field Round. Registration is available via Assemble Event 3002330 .  

Assemble Registration - Wednesday March 20

Many members still haven’t registered an account on Assemble, the new membership database platform. This may become an issue for you when you need to renew your membership, so please try to get it done before then. The link to register your account is  https://account.archery.assemblesports.io . If you have any trouble registering your account, please contact Con at treasurer@illawarraarchers.org 

Twilight Team Matchplay this weekend- Sunday March 17 - note start time of 10:00am

This Sunday, we will be running the Twilight Team Matchplay. Register in Archers Diary, and Fiona will assign shooters to teams based on their rankings. Register early so Fiona has time to herd the cats into teams. Unfortunately this comp was rained out. 

Twilight Matchplay Competition - Sunday March 3

An annual highlight of the twilight competition, the Twilight Matchplay, takes place surprisingly not at twilight, but on this Sunday, 3 March, beginning at 10am. Please register on Archers Diary so that our Recorder, Fiona, can organise the opposing pairs of archers as much as possible ahead of time. Please bring your lunch, including meat if you would like a BBQ, and maybe something toward dessert/afternoon tea so that we can celebrate together. Look out in the next couple of weeks for news about the Team Matchplay, which will follow on 17 March.

New Illawarra Archers Website - Friday March 1

Due to changes being made by Archery Australia, we will be moving to a new website on (or before) Friday March 1. The webmasters have been working hard to get the new site ready for changeover. There are likely to be a few bugs with the new site, and some features may not make it onto the site until some time after the changeover date. Your patience is appreciated.  The new site address remains the same as the previous site - www.illawarraarchers.org. 

New Archery Australia Membership Data Base - Friday March 1

As you know, Archery Australia is introducing a new membership database on 1 March. Your club officers have been working hard to learn how to administer the new system, and from 1 March, AA will send information to all members on how to access the database, to guide you through the registration process and to familiarise you with its features and functionality. 

Field Course closed for QRE preparations - February 23 (and maybe other days/times prior)

Note: as per normal procedure, the Field Course will be closed prior to the QRE shoot day for necessary preparations. 

There will also be closures of the ranges during the QRE shoot on Saturday.

Illawarra Archers feature at recent ANSW presentation night - Saturday February 17

Illawarra Archers members featured strongly at the recent ANSW presentation night. Brian and Fiona gained Archery Australia Bronze Elite Awards in Field. Diane was awarded Outright Female Recurve Winner for the State Clout Championships. Performance Awards went to Donna for 60+ Female Barebow Recurve, Con for 70+ Male Barebow Recurve, Finley for U14 Male Barebow Recurve, Helen for 60+ Female Longbow, and Marilyn for 70+ Female Longbow. Chris was thanked for judging at the Metropolitan Open Championships, the State Field Championships and the State Target Championships. Please congratulate these members when you see them around the club. 

Ordinary General Meeting - Saturday February 10

The next club meeting will be held this Saturday, 10am start. Watch your email inboxes for the agenda and reports. This is your chance to participate in the operation of your club, and your attendance is strongly encouraged.

ANSW Tournaments February 2024

3rd February: Warringah Open
4th February: Penrith City Archers 60th Anniversary Field - WA 24T Marked and Matchplay (sportstg.com)
10th February: SOPA Double QRE (Link TBC)
17th February: State Presentation Night. new link.
18th February: Coast Archers Youth Tournament (TBC)
25th February: SOPA Challenge Series 1 (Summer) Tournament (TBC)

A Great Wrap-up for 2023

There was a great turnout for the 2023 wrap up on Saturday. Thanks to the organisers for a great day and an excellent lunch! A strong showing from Hoggie saw him take out the Wand this year. Congrats to all the annual award winners. Time for the rest of us to begin our campaigns of conquest for next year :-) And, as one of our members showed this year, start out strong enough and you can coast into the end of the year still on top!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone 

Illawarra Archers’ Exceptional Performances at the National Target Championships Sept 29 - Oct 2

Six of our members competed in the National Target Championships held at Samford Valley Target Archers over the Labour Day Weekend. A massive storm rolled in during the 1440 round which resulted in play being abandoned after 90 arrows on Friday. Saturday saw a return to fine weather and the 900 Canberra round was shot. On Sunday it was time for the Matchplay ranking round, and then the Matchplay shootdown completed the championships on Monday. Congratulations to Fiona, Con, Neil, Melissa-Ann, Donna, and Jason for their competition in their individual and team rounds (truncated) 1440, 900, and Matchplay. As a result of their efforts as individuals and in teams, a number of national champs will now be shooting with us! Fiona, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Female Compound, and in the Team Open Female Compound Matchplay. Con, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow Recurve Neil, 1st place in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow. Of special note was the first round of the male open barebow recurve matchplay shootdown where Neil faced Con. Illawarra was guaranteed to advance to the second round! Full results can be found on Archer’s Diary – select Archery Australia for both the RGB and Organiser drop downs. (apologies if we missed some of the results - please let the webmaster know of any mitsakes) 

Stolen Archery Gear

Sadly Joshua has had his new full archery kit stolen from his apartment lockup. It is a recurve setup in a distinctive red Avalon bag. click the link for more info

Hi Diane,

I just wanted to let you know that my archery gear was stolen from my apartment block storage cage recently by a break in. It’s been reported to the police but I thought I would let the club know as to please keep an eye out for it.

It looked like this (attached photos), pretty sure the bag still had its new price tag on it just like in the photo.

It was a target olympic style recurve with samick carbon Xtreme Limbs, and a silver riser (I think it was win and win or Hoyt, I can't remember)

It had this bag, inside was a quiver belt, the bow itself and string, stabilizers, 18 carbon arrows, leather finger guard, even a little bow stand, basically everything you need.

Very upset, please pass this around to everyone in the club if possible.

Thanks,

Warm regards,

Joshua

Reminder: Invitation to Christmas lunch at Illawarra Archers Saturday 16 December

It is with great pleasure that your Executive invites you and your guests to our Wand shoot, annual presentations, and a free catered Christmas lunch on Saturday 16 December.

As we have to give final numbers to the caterer on Tuesday Dec 12, please register ASAP.

Please register yourself and the number of your guests. Details can be found in the 'read full article' link and in your email inbox. Looking forward to seeing everyone at our end of year wrap up !!!!!

Reminder: Invitation to Christmas lunch at Illawarra Archers Saturday 16 December

Hi everyone,

A reminder about our end of year celebrations next weekend on Saturday 16 December. 

All members and their guests are invited to join us for novelty shoots from 10am, the annual presentations from about 12noon and a catered lunch at 1pm. New members are especially welcome to join us, have some fun in the novelty shoots, be inspired by our annual award presentations, meet other members and enjoy a delicious lunch on the club’s tab.

That’s right, there is no charge for lunch, which will be catered by the famous Tony’s Chicken Shop, and will include roast chicken, cold meat platters, and several different salads, followed by baklava for dessert. For catering purposes please register your name and the number of people in your group. We will need to finalise numbers with the Chicken Shop by Tuesday Dec 12. We hope to see lots of members and guests at our 2023 celebrations.

The link is also on our website. Anyone who has difficulty registering can email, or phone or message me.

Please register for the Wand on Archers Diary as usual. 

Diane

Ordinary General Meeting - Saturday December 9

The next club meeting will be held this Saturday. Watch your email inboxes for the agenda and reports. This is your chance to participate in the operation of your club, and your attendance is strongly encouraged.

Illawarra Farget Returns - Sunday Dec 3

See you at the annual Illawarra Farget - a fun shoot, half field and half target. Registrations have now closed. Late entries, for an additional charge, my be accepted if space allows. Please contact Recorder@illawarraarchers.org

    The Illawarra Farget

Hosted by Illawarra Archers

 Sunday 3rd, December 2023

 Registration from 9 am. Shoot starts 10am.

Entry Fees: $20.00 

Illawarra Archers Range, Mt  Keira Rd,  Mt  Keira

Entries Close Sunday 26th November

Late Entries will be accepted if space available and will be charged an additional $5.

A one day combined field and target event hosted by Illawarra Archers.

This is primarily a fun event and is aimed at recreational and tournament archers alike. COME ALONG AND HAVE SOME FUN WITH US

Consisting of a 12 target Marked Field and a National Target Round (consisting of 48 arrows at 60 yards and 24 arrows at 50 yards with 5 ring scoring).

One group of archers will shoot the field whilst the other group will shoot the target round, followed by a lunch break after which the groups will swap and shoot their other round.

There will be a free sausage sizzle provided for lunch. Drinks can be purchased at the canteen.

Canteen: Limited canteen facilities are available throughout the day.

The scores from both events will be added to produce a final score for use with placings.

Verification of Club Membership: it is a requirement to verfiy your membership to either an Archery Australia affiliated Club or an Alliance Association (ABA or 3DAAA)

Pegs for the field round: As per the relevant AA rules (Red, blue and yellow)

Dress code: For safety reasons, no camouflage clothing is to be worn whilst shooting.

NOTE: No dogs are permitted on the Illawarra Archers' grounds unless on a lead and under the control of a responsible adult at all times.

What a fantastic weekend! December 2-3

After the club shoot on Saturday, we held a very successful Buy-Swap-Sell hosted by Peter. Members were able to find equipment and others reduced their inventories. Thanks to all, especially to Peter for running the event. Sunday saw entrants compete in our Farget, mostly from other clubs. Our club was a surprise to those who’d never visited before. Thanks to the many members who contributed to the event, including John, Brian, Mick, Helen, Marianne, Ros, and especially to Glen for organising the field and retrieving arrows, and to Fiona as DOS, event judge and prize presenter. Apologies if we’ve missed anyone. Let us know and we’ll make sure to update this news item. 

After an enjoyable club shoot on Saturday, we held a very successful Buy-Swap-Sell hosted by Peter. Some new members were able to find some equipment to suit them at a good price and others were able to off-load no longer required bits of kit. Thanks to all who participated, and especially to Peter for running the event.

Sunday saw eighteen entrants, mostly from other clubs, compete in our annual Farget. Our club was a surprise to those who’d never visited before. Entrants were very complimentary about the event, our hospitality, and our beautiful grounds. Thanks are due to the many members who helped to get the grounds ship-shape, and contributed to the event in various ways, such as John, Brian, Mick, Helen, Marianne, Ros, and especially to Glen for organising the twelve-target field and retrieving lost or stuck arrows, and to Fiona who acted as DOS (Director of Shooting), event judge and prize presenter with her usual humour and verve. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone. Let me know and I’ll make sure I add you to the news item for the website. Here are a couple of photos. 

Diane

Weekend of Field Shooting in the Southern Highlands Nov 18 & 19

Southern Highlands Archery and Marulan Archery clubs are holding a weekend of field shooting with SHA shooting on Saturday and MA shooting on Sunday. (SHA is an AA club so is covered by insurance, however Grahame has advised that on Sunday there is no insurance for shooting with MA.) Be there at 9.30am ready to shoot at 10am on either day.

Roadworks on Mount Keira Road - Nov 13 - Dec 8

Wollongong City Council have advised that they’re doing roadworks between 271 Mount Keira Road and Queen Elizabeth Drive from 13 November to about 8 December. Our access to the club should be maintained, as we’re the owners of the property, however there may be minor delays.

Illawarra Archers Bring Home Gold and Silver at the State Clout Championships Nov 12

Illawarra Archers picked up two more state championship gold medals at the weekend as well as two silver medals, during a long, fly-plagued, 37-degree day hosted for ANSW by Penrith City Archers. Atonya Lamberson won gold in the 50+ Female Barebow Recurve division, while Melissa-Ann Dunn won the silver medal. Fiona Hyde, returning to clout shooting after many years, took the silver medal in the 60+ Female Compound division. Diane Cranson won gold in the 60+ Female Recurve division, and was the top scorer at 145m in female recurve, beating archers in the 50+ and Open divisions..

Our Champions

Field QRE Shoot this Saturday Nov 11

The club shoot this Saturday will be a QRE Field Shoot. Update: Registrations for the QRE are now closed, but it is now open as a club shoot on Archers Diary. And don't forget to thank Field Captain Glen for his hard work preparing the course for us!

Many thanks to the Worker Bees last Saturday Nov 4

Another excellent showing for the Working Bee last weekend. Despite the wet weather, the Bees kept busy in the glue factory assembling a stack of new and refurbished range targets. The follow up BBQ was well attended (surprise?), thanks to the chefs for prep and cooking and cleanup. There was even a rare sighting of a Canadian jumper, although our resident Canadian appeared to refuse to acknowledge it?

Working Bee, BBQ and Shoot this Saturday Nov 4

We have a working bee this Saturday from 9am to 12 noon. There are many different types of jobs that are needed to keep the club available for you, so there’s something for everyone to do. Don’t worry that you may not have the necessary skills – we’ll show you what to do and how to do it. We appreciate everyone who comes to lend a hand, and to show our appreciation, we’ll provide a free BBQ lunch afterwards. The BBQ will be followed by a shoot of 72 arrows, 50m on a big face for Divisions 1 and 2, and 30m on a big face for Division 3.

Club Meeting and Comp Shoot October 21

Reminder the Club Meeting is on Saturday morning, 10:00 start. The Agenda with links to the reports should be in your email now. As always, members are strongly encouraged to attend. This is your opportunity to participate in the decision making of your club, and to gain first hand information about key club issues and opportunities. Of course, the meeting will be followed by our regular BBQ delights. We will wrap up after lunch with the Saturday comp, with Divisions 1 & 2 shooting an AA50/720 and Division 3 shooting the IA30/720, both on the 122cm faces.

Australian Masters - Another Strong Showing from Illawarra Archers - October 8-13

Melissa-Anne and Atonya continued their tour of Queensland and South Australia with a final stop at the Masters Games in Adelaide. Between them, they took home 5 medals in their age categories across Clout, Target, and Indoor rounds. Well done to you both!

Illawarra Archers Club Field Championship Oct 7

This year’s Club Field Championship is on this Saturday (Oct 7). Glen has been busy as usual preparing the course for us. Please note, the Field Course will be closed this Friday (Oct 6) for final setup and preparation. The shoot is posted in Archer’s Diary, so get signed up early to help with target assignments. And a reminder, archers must be qualified to at least 30m on the range prior to shooting the field.

Twilight Season Has Arrived - Oct 5

Finally, Twilight Competition Season has returned. For any of our newer members, during daylight savings, we have a club competition shoot Thursdays, with first arrows flying at 6:00pm. We aim to be a bit more casual than the Saturday competitions. Everyone shoots the same round in a single division. We haven’t seen the calendar yet, but the first few weeks will tend to be indoor shoots, as the light is still a bit restrictive. So, bring your gear and be ready for our ‘surprise’ opening round this Thursday evening (Oct 5).

Illawarra Archers’ Exceptional Performances at the National Target Championships Sept 29 - Oct 2

Six of our members competed in the National Target Championships held at Samford Valley Target Archers over the Labour Day Weekend. A massive storm rolled in during the 1440 round which resulted in play being abandoned after 90 arrows on Friday. Saturday saw a return to fine weather and the 900 Canberra round was shot. On Sunday it was time for the Matchplay ranking round, and then the Matchplay shootdown completed the championships on Monday. Congratulations to Fiona, Con, Neil, Melissa-Ann, Donna, and Jason for their competition in their individual and team rounds (truncated) 1440, 900, and Matchplay. As a result of their efforts as individuals and in teams, a number of national champs will now be shooting with us! Fiona, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Female Compound, and in the Team Open Female Compound Matchplay. Con, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow Recurve Neil, 1st place in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow. Of special note was the first round of the male open barebow recurve matchplay shootdown where Neil faced Con. Illawarra was guaranteed to advance to the second round! Full results can be found on Archer’s Diary – select Archery Australia for both the RGB and Organiser drop downs. (apologies if we missed some of the results - please let the webmaster know of any mitsakes) 

Six of our members competed in the National Target Championships held at Samford Valley Target Archers over the Labour Day Weekend. A massive storm rolled in during the 1440 round which resulted in play being abandoned after 90 arrows on Friday. Saturday saw a return to fine weather and the 900 Canberra round was shot. On Sunday it was time for the Matchplay ranking round, and then the Matchplay shootdown completed the championships on Monday.

Congratulations to Fiona, Con, Neil, Melissa-Ann, Donna, and Jason for their competition in their individual and team rounds (truncated) 1440, 900, and Matchplay.

As a result of their efforts as individuals and in teams, a number of national champs will now be shooting with us!

Fiona, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Female Compound, and in the Team Open Female Compound Matchplay.

Con, 1st place in the (truncated) 1440 and again in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow Recurve

Neil, 1st place in the 900 Canberra, Age Division Male Barebow.

Of special note was the first round of the male open barebow recurve matchplay shootdown where Neil faced Con. Illawarra was guaranteed to advance to the second round!

Full results can be found on Archer’s Diary – select Archery Australia for both the RGB and Organiser drop downs.

Fiona's Female Team Target Gold Medal Round can be viewed on youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFHxpnRaKgI

Archery Australia Facebook page video of all the finals:

https://fb.watch/nQkevgHPQj/

(apologies for any errors or missing results – please let the webmaster know of any mitsakes)

Another Great Working Bee - Sept 30

Thanks to everyone for their help with the working bee on Saturday. A big group effort saw a good amount of jobs taken care of.

A number of new 122 target faces were glued up, as well as refurbished 122’s for our practice shoots. Special thanks to the budding Picassos demonstrating their self control and keeping the paint within the lines and off each other!

Two target butts were repacked. #4 had 5 points in it, and #1 had 2 points. Here’s hoping the compounders can keep a few more vanes on their arrows. That pretty much used up all the prepared carpet, so we will be looking for more very soon.

The coaching group worked on arrows and equipment registers, getting things ready for the next Beginner’s Course, currently pencilled in for October.

Glen took a line trimmer for a stroll around the Field Course. Not sure how he shoots arrows with that, but he could probably tell a good story if asked.

And, of course, thanks to Andris for the BBQ supplies and paint, and to Gordon for grilling.

Club ordinary meeting and AGM this Saturday, 26 August 2023

The club’s ordinary meeting and Annual General Meeting will be held this Saturday morning, 26 August. The ordinary meeting will be at 10am as usual, and the AGM will follow the ordinary meeting. If you’re interested in who will be managing the club and holding various responsibilities for the next twelve months, please attend and cast your votes. The agendas for the meetings are in your recent emails.

Provisional members are particularly invited to attend to be introduced to the members.

After the meetings, the club will supply a free BBQ lunch, followed by the club shoot.

South Coast Field – it’s a wrap - 21 August 2023

The South Coast Field is over and done for another year, and what a great event it was! The weekend was enjoyed by entrants from Illawarra Archers and from other clubs far and wide, including SOPA, Warringah, Southern Highlands, Penrith, Sydney University, Coast, Bathurst, Sawtell and Ku-Ring-Gai. Full results here.

Our Field Captain, Glen Chrystal, set up a great field course with a few interesting changes to surprise us, and in case we became bored or just too comfortable after Saturday’s shoot, he threw in a few more changes for the Sunday shoot! Thanks for all your work, Glen. It was a terrific weekend of field archery.

Thank you to all the other volunteers who helped make it such a success, including those who set out the range for parking; Fiona for all Recorder duties and medal presentations; Chris and Fiona for donating their judging services; Con and Mick for grocery shopping; Gordon and Andris for manning the barbecue; Mick for photography; Ros, Dani, and Marilyn for running the canteen; and Helen, Sala and others for providing the home-baked afternoon tea.

Ranges closed this weekend 19-20 August for South Coast Field - 13 August 2023

On Saturday and Sunday, 19th and 20th August, Range A and Range B are both closed to individual practice...

On Saturday and Sunday, 19th and 20th August, Range A and Range B are both closed to individual practice for all members, while we host our annual two-day event, the South Coast Field.

Only event entrants will be able to practise, and only during the official practice time. 

Great time had by all at the Executive Team Challenge - 3 August 2023

We all had a great day at the inaugural Executive Team Challenge on Sunday.

Executive Stress (Andris, Diane, Con and Glenn) was challenged by three teams, Exhaustipated (Hoggie, Tim, Donna and Marilyn), Barely Lethal (Melissa-Ann, Scott, Atonya and Helen) and the late entry, Serendipity (Gordon, Steve, Tristan and Chris). Fiona, DOS for the day, kept the event moving along with leader-board announcements after each end, and threw in the wild-card of reverse scoring for each discipline’s last end! At the finish, Executive Stress lost their Challenge to Serendipity – the ring-ins! Full results here. The award for best cheerer and jeerer went to Scott – no surprises there!

Thanks to all who helped make the day a great success, the teams and supporters, Glenn for the idea and format, Fiona for scoring, DOS-ing and keeping us all laughing, Andris and Gordie for the BBQ lunch, and Helen and Shanti for the delicious home-baked afternoon tea. Photos here.

What to do if your arrow loses a point in a butt - 28 July 2023

Hi everyone, 

You might have noticed in the last couple of weeks that several target butts have been temporarily closed. This is because several members have had arrows damaged by hitting points that have been left in the butts. Besides the expensive, and usually fatal, damage to members’ arrows, these butts then have to be stripped completely down, the lost points located and removed, and the butts rebuilt. The butts that have been rebuilt over the last couple of weeks have all been found to have multiple points left in them.

Losing points from your arrows in target butts can happen to anyone, anytime. What’s important is what you do next:

•  Check your arrows after each end of shooting, in competition or practice 

•  If a point has been left in a butt and you can remove it without injuring yourself, do so

•  If you can’t see the point, or can’t get to it, make a note of whereabouts in the butt it is, and of course, which butt

•  Advise a senior member of the club or make a note on the external whiteboard

•  On the “lost points board”, mark the area of the lost point and write the target number

Thanks for your help with this. It will make shooting more pleasant for all of us.

Illawarra Archers members excel again - 27 July 2023

Last weekend, Illawarra Archers life-member, Fiona, competed in Penrith Archery Club’s Golden Arrow event. This is a two-day annual event comprising a 60/900 (the Canberra shoot) and a clout shoot on the first day, and a field shoot on the second day. Fiona came home with the coveted Golden Arrow for the Women’s Compound division. Well done, Fiona! Please congratulate Fiona when you see her around the club.

Another of our members, Jason, is currently competing in China after having been selected for the Australian team representing Australia in the World University Games. World Archery has named the World University Games as one of the five biggest international events to watch in 2023. The archery competition runs from 27 to 31 July. We congratulate Jason on being selected and send our very best wishes for him to shoot well and have a great time.

Increase to Archery Australia membership fees - 24 July 2023

Increase to Archery Australia membership fees

On 30 May all members would have received an email from Archery Australia advising that they are increasing the AA portion of the membership fees from the beginning of July. This means that our individual membership fees are therefore increasing.

Because of the Archery Australia increase, our membership fees are going up by $10 per adult member to $206, by $5 per junior member to $154, and $20 per family subscription. 

For your information and interest, your membership fees of $206 (adults) are made up of three portions:

• Archery Australia           $100 

• ANSW                           $26

• Illawarra Archers           $80

There is no increase to the club portion of your membership fees. 

Executive Team Challenge

Executive Team Challenge and ANSW Waratah shoot

Thanks to everyone who turned up at short notice for the working bee on Thursday. It was a great roll-up, and lots of targets were completed. Now, to use up some of those targets, we have a couple of competitions next weekend.

Executive Team Challenge Sunday 30 July

We now have four teams in the Executive Team Challenge next Sunday, 30 July, but there’s still time to enter, even if you don’t have a team made up. Just list your name and we’ll do the rest.Each four-person team will consist of a compound, a recurve, a barebow recurve and a longbow. Each archer shoots only 36 arrows on a 122cm face, made up of 18 arrows at each of the two distances below:

• Compound 60m and 50m

• Recurve 50m and 40m

• Barebow recurve 40m and 30m

• Longbow 30m and 20m

Scoring is off-bow – no handicaps – which means you can enter even if you haven’t achieved a rating yet.

We’ll start at 10am, with compound archers shooting first, followed by recurve. We’ll then have a BBQ lunch before resuming the shoot with the barebows and finishing up with the longbows. Even if you’re not shooting, come along and cheer us on, and enjoy lunch, good company and a bit of archery with us. Please enter your team in the list, either online or on the hard copy in the clubhouse.  If you don’t have a team yet and would like to participate, put your name in the appropriate column, and we’ll team you up.

ANSW Waratah shoot - 23 July 2023

Over the weekend ANSW is running the Waratah Postal Shoot. We won’t be able to fit it in on the Saturday, because we’ve been getting such good numbers to our Saturday comps, however we can fit it in on Sunday, running parallel to the Executive Challenge, starting at 10am.

Members who want to do the Waratah event should enter through the ArcheryNSW Portal in Archer’s Diary, choose the right day, then the round pertaining to your age group, either a 1440 round and/or a double 720 round. For the 720 round this year there is also an AA20/720 (20 metres) for U11 archers who may not be ready to shoot 30m.

Waratah Awards will be given to those who achieve scores of 1050, or 1150 or 1250 or higher.

The password for day 1 – is waratah1

The password for day 2 – is waratah2

Working Bee this Thursday 20 July - 18 July 2023

Because of increasing numbers at our Saturday competitions and more of our keen members practising throughout the week, we’re pleased to report that we’re running low on 122cm targets. To address this very welcome shortage, we’re having an extraordinary working bee this Thursday morning, 20 July, at 9am, specifically to get more targets ready for you.

If you’re available on Thursday morning, please come to the range at 9am and we’ll get you started. You don’t need experience or special skills for this job. It’s as simple as working in pairs to glue the paper target faces onto the cardboard backing. The club will provide the equipment and materials and experienced members will show you how it’s done. All we need are your willing hands.

Hope to see plenty of people there.

Illawarra Archers take gold and silver at Gympie - 15 July 2023

Two of our members, Helen and Glenn, trekked all the way to Gympie in Queensland last weekend to compete in a traditional archery tournament, the Gympie Field Archers Phoenix Muster. 

They both shot really well, with Helen winning the silver medal in the woman’s longbow division and Glenn winning gold in the men’s primitive division.

Of interest to long-standing members, on the way they stopped to have dinner with ex-member, Pat, who sends her greetings to us all.

Illawarra members perform brilliantly at the National Indoor Championships - 12 July 2023

Congratulations to Illawarra Archers members Fiona, Marilyn, Melissa-Ann, Rebecca and Con who all competed in the State and National Indoor championships over the weekend. While the NSW Championships results haven’t been aggregated over the three venues yet, our archers did very well in the National Championships. 

Rebecca finished 11th of 29 in the very competitive Open Female Compound division. Melissa-Ann, after shooting compound for only a few months, finished 6th out of 16 with ratings in the 80’s in the 50+ Female Compound. Con took Bronze medals in 70+ Male Barebow Recurve and the Barebow Recurve States’ teams event. Marilyn took the silver medal in 70+ Female Longbow and Fiona took the gold medal in 60+ Female Compound.

Well done to you all and thanks for representing Illawarra Archers so brilliantly. 

Full results here

Half marked and half unmarked field shoot - 6 July 2023

This Saturday morning is our special club field competition, half marked distances and half unmarked distances. Within each peg colour, we’ll shoot 12 targets with the distances marked as usual, and 12 targets with the distances unmarked. It should be lots of fun.

Register on Archers Diary as usual, and bring a charged phone for scoring purposes.

Join in the Executive Team Challenge 10am 30 July - 13 June 2023

Come and have some fun with us in the Executive Team Challenge on 30 July.

Join in the Executive Team Challenge 10am 30 July

Come and have some fun with us in the Executive Team Challenge on 30 July. Teams can challenge the Executive team in a 144 arrow competition, but don’t worry, each archer shoots only 36 arrows, so it shouldn’t be too taxing for anyone. We’ll start at 10am, with compound archers shooting first, followed by recurvers. We’ll then have a BBQ lunch before resuming the shoot with the barebowers and finishing up with the longbowers. 

Even if you’re not shooting, come along and cheer on your fellow members, and enjoy lunch and good company with other archery lovers.

Format

• Each four-person team will consist of a compound, a recurve, a barebow recurve and a longbow

• Each archer shoots a total of 36 arrows on a 122cm face, consisting of 18 arrows at each of two distances

• Scoring will be off bow, no handicaps

• Compound distances 60m and 50m

• Recurve distances 50m and 40m

• Barebow recurve distances 40m and 30m

• Longbow distances 30m and 20m 

Please enter your team in the list in the clubhouse.  If you don’t have a team yet and would like to participate, put your name in the appropriate column, and we’ll team you up.

ASNSW Short Course Championship results - 2 June 2023

Last weekend saw the Archery Society of NSW Short Course Championships held at SOPA (Sydney Olympic Park Archery club). The Short Course Championships are so named because they are 90 arrows in total as opposed to the Target Championships which are 144 arrows.

Several Illawarra Archers participated, achieving great results as follows.

• Jason – Open Male Recurve - Bronze

• Donna – 60+ Female Barebow Recurve – Gold

• Fiona – Open Female Compound – Silver (in the morning)

• Fiona – 60+ Female Compound – Gold (in the afternoon!)

Well done to you all!

See Saturday’s results here and Sunday’s results here

If you see Jason, Donna or Fiona around the club, give them your congratulations.

Working Bee Saturday 20 May, 9am to 12noon - 19 May 2023

Tomorrow morning we’re holding our Working Bee. We hold a working bee every two months or so to keep our facilities and equipment up to scratch for members, and to keep the club running smoothly. 

It’s a great opportunity if you’re unable to help more regularly, for you to give something back to the club, and to get to know other members better. No matter your skill set, we’ll find something for you to do, and give you a free BBQ lunch as well!

The Club shoot will follow lunch, 90 arrows on a big face for all divisions. If you’re trying to qualify at 20m, 30m or 40m, tomorrow’s competition is for you!

Fun Day - thanks and photos - 8 May 2023

The Family and Friends Fun Day yesterday was a great success with around 70 people in attendance, over 50 of whom were guests enjoying their first taste of archery, ably assisted and fed by around 20 volunteers. We hope your guests had a wonderful time.

Thank you to all members who brought guests and thank you especially to those members who volunteered their time and expertise to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. As Marianne, who coordinated the event, said, “supreme effort from a good group of club members.”

Photos can be seen here 

Field QRE and Golden Gong 2023 - 8 April 2023

The field QRE on Saturday was great, with a small but dedicated group of archers, who braved the drizzling rain at the beginning, and were rewarded with dry skies for the shoot after the first couple of targets. Results can be found here in Archers Diary . Thanks to all who entered, and all members who helped to provide the event, including our event judge, Peter.

The Golden Gong on Sunday was an outstanding success, with thirty-eight novice archers ranging from Under 14 to Over 70 age divisions, coming from Warringah Archers, SOPA, Sydney Bowmen, Shirewood Forest Archers, Southern Highlands Archers, Shoalhaven City Archers, Illawarra Archers, and eleven from Bathurst Archers who hired a minibus for the trip! Results can be found here in Archers Diary . All archers seemed to have a good time, and they learned a great deal that will stand them in good stead as they progress in their archery careers.

Thanks to all our Illawarra Archers members, too many to name, who worked tirelessly before, during and after the shoot to make it the great day that it was, and to raise the profile of Illawarra Archers high in the company of NSW archery clubs.

Photos here

A big weekend! Field QRE and Golden Gong - 30 March 2023

We have a very busy weekend at the club this weekend.

On Saturday we have our club field shoot, and a field QRE which is run concurrently with the club shoot. 

Members who wish to shoot the club field shoot can register by emailing recorder@illawarraarchers.org or by putting their names on the whiteboard in the correct column for their division. We’ll fix Archers Diary entries before the shoot.

On Sunday we have the Golden Gong, our very popular novice shoot, where we teach the entrants as much as we can about being in tournaments. We have 36 entrants for the Golden Gong, many from our own club, and others coming from clubs north and south, and even as far away as Bathurst.

We have a few volunteers listed for specific jobs:

• setting up the ground – Andris, John, Brian, Glenn, Glen

• operating the canteen - Helen

• shopping for and cooking the BBQ lunch – Andris and Gordon

• DOS (Director of Shooting) Eric

• Helping archers with scoring etc at their targets – Scott, Neil, Diane

We still need a few more volunteers to assist with such areas as:

• directing parking

• judging (not required to be accredited, just experienced)

• more target helpers to assist competitors

• runner/message carrier

As all twelve targets will have archers, we need more helpers to assist the new competitors. This is very important, as tournament competitors really have to know how to do both paper and electronic scoring.

There may be other things not listed, so please email me if you’d like to assist and we’ll be pretty sure to find you something to do.

Hope to see you at the weekend.

Attention new members - the Golden Gong is for you! - 23 March 2023

On Sunday 2 April, Illawarra Archers will hold the Golden Gong, an event that’s become very well-known throughout NSW archery clubs, and that we recommend to all our new members.

The Golden Gong is for novice archers of all age divisions and bow types, and makes the perfect introduction to archery competitions in a relaxed environment. The event is conducted under normal tournament rules and conditions, however experienced Illawarra Archers members will be there all day to help you with all you need to know and generally support you in gaining tournament experience. You’ll also meet archers from other clubs, and may even win your first tournament medal!

All entrants will shoot a total of 90 arrows, made up of 30 arrows at each of 30m, 25m and 20m. (You don’t need to have completed distance qualifications for the Golden Gong, because it’s a controlled shoot.)

Register here  Registration is your first lesson in tournament shooting.

Clubhouse – where we’re up to - 5 March 2023

As some of you are aware, at a future Special or General Meeting, members will be asked to vote on whether we repair or replace our clubhouse because of extensive termite damage. The Executive anticipates that either option will involve a significant expenditure and before the members make that decision the Executive wants to provide them with all the relevant information, in particular, quotes for same. 

Although the Executive are undertaking that process, we are calling on all members who may know a builder, building company or similar and/or have any other ideas for repair/replacement (e.g. container or containers, demountable building, granny flat kit, shed kit etc etc) to obtain a quote for same (including installation if relevant) and to forward that quote to the Executive prior to the next General Meeting on 15 April 2023. 

We intend to apply for a Government Grant or Grants to pay towards the cost of same so only quotes that involve licensed tradesman/companies or compliant structures will be accepted. For the purpose of members obtaining a quote, members can contact Mick who can advise the extent of the current damage and provide any other details required. Looking forward to your assistance.

Junior Archers! Your comp is back for 2023 - 1 February 2023

Just to let you know that your Junior Competition is back for 2023, starting this Sunday 5 Feb at 10am. Please arrive by 9:30 to set up. Registration is not necessary, and there is no fee. So just come and enjoy!

Format of the Comp:  Events at distances from 10 -20 metres.

The whole thing should only take about an hour and a half or so. There will be a coach in charge of the shoot. A parent or responsible adult of under-age participants needs to be there for supervision.

First working bee of the year - 25 January 2023

Call out to all members. This Saturday 28th Jan at 9am is our first working bee of the year. There is a range of jobs that need to be done. Don’t worry if you’re not sure how you can help – we’ll show you how to help to do a job that will suit you.

One housekeeping job that we’re starting is clearing out the lost & found arrow tube. Over the next two months, please check if any of your lost arrows have been found and put into the arrow tube in the clubhouse. Any arrows still left in the tube at the next working bee will be disposed of.

You can help in future to get your lost arrows back by putting your initials or name on the shafts so that we can easily identify the owners. If you aren’t sure how to mark your arrows, ask for guidance from a senior club member.

The working bee will be followed by a BBQ lunch and then a club shoot. Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 will all shoot a WA Indoor - 60 arrows @ 18m on a 40cm face. We hope to see lots of you there.

Welcome back BBQ and first shoot of the year - 19 January 2023

The Saturday club competition re-starts at 10am this Saturday, 21 January, followed by a welcome back barbecue supplied by the club for all members who wish to attend. For catering purposes, please let me know if you’re not shooting, but attending the barbecue.

The shoot is divided into three divisions to cater for most archers, even new ones, and the shoots this Saturday are perfect for distance qualifications.

Division 1: Melbourne – 90 arrows at 50m on a 122cm face
Division 2: Darwin – 90 arrows at 40m on a 122cm face
Division 3: Geelong – 90 arrows at 30m on a 122cm face

We hope to see lots of you there.

Club Christmas party and Wand shoot - 15 December 2022

If you’re shooting the Wand on Saturday, please register on Archers Diary at https://archersdiary.com/EventEnrol.aspx?id=32a9b7c6-a4fc-8f94-9e61-0ea02b6e18b8 even if you’ve already told me you’re coming to the Christmas celebrations.

Our junior archers and their parents will be welcome. Junior archers will be able to participate in the Wand, which is only 36 arrows, from a suitably close distance. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

13 December 2022

The Wand 2022

The club will hold its traditional Wand shoot on Saturday as part of our end of year celebrations. 

For those who aren’t familiar with Wand shooting, the target is a two-inch-wide strip down the centre of the butt from top to bottom. Archers must get their arrows wholly within the boundaries of the strip to score. Line cutters are counted as misses. It sounds difficult, but because we’ll shoot from a distance based on our rating it gives everyone a fair chance. 

If you’re a new archer, your distance may be 10 or 20 metres, while experienced archers will be shooting from anywhere up to 90 metres. Come and have a go. It's only six ends of six arrows each, and you may win the coveted annual Wand trophy.

Annual presentations and Christmas break-up party - 11 December 2022

The Christmas shoot and annual presentations will take place this Saturday, 17 December, at the club. 

The traditional Wand and novelty shoots will start at 9am, then all members and their families will be treated to a delicious Christmas lunch. 

The annual trophies will be presented to the 2022 winners in the early afternoon, followed by afternoon tea.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Farget wrap-up - 5 December 2022

The Farget on Sunday was great fun. We had a smaller group than past Fargets, with only twelve entrants, who came from Ku-Ring-Gai Bowmen, Liverpool City Archers, Southern Highlands Archers and as far away as Bathurst Archers, along with six from Illawarra. We all had a great time shooting twelve targets in our lovely field in the morning, and an old National round (60 yards and 50 yards) in the afternoon, with a couple of relatively new archers learning to shoot a tournament in the wind.

Even a small event needs a lot of people to make it happen. Thanks go to all who were involved, including:

• Field Captain Glen, who set up a great 12 target field, a little bit challenging but not too much, and turned it all back into our normal 24 target field afterwards

• Target Captain Glenn, who set up the target range for the odd distances and performed as DOS (Director of Shooting) for the National Round, as well as doing barbecue duties for lunch

• Recorder Fiona, who set the event up in Archers Diary for entries, and in Iscored.today for event scoring, organised the lucky dip prize draw, shopped for afternoon tea and did the introductory talk at the muster. (Fiona set the tone for emphasis on fun with instructions such as “Anyone caught taking it too seriously will be disqualified”)

• Vice President Andris, minister in charge of barbecue grocery shopping, who provided the supplies for the BBQ and made sure all entrants and volunteers were well fed (as he does for most club BBQs)

• Vice President Mick, intrepid official photographer, looking very fetching in his hi-vis Media vest as he trekked through the bush, and whose photos of the event will be available on our Facebook page soon

• John, Andris and all the others who continually maintain our grounds, mowing the range, clearing bush paths, and tweaking the field to provide archers with new little surprises

All in all, it was a most enjoyable day, and after a couple of years without it, we hope to re-grow it in the future to again be an end of year fun event looked forward to by archers from across the state. Photos here

Last junior comp of the year - 4 December 2022

To all juniors and your families, just a reminder that the last Junior Comp for the year is on next Sunday. Should be lots of fun.

As it’s the last day of the trial Comp for this year, it will be a fun-filled event with novelty shoots and lots of small prizes to be won. Come and join the fun!!

Please arrive by 9:30 to set up. Registration is not necessary, and there is no fee. So just come and enjoy!

Format of the Comp:  Novelty events at distances from 10 -20 metres.

The whole thing should only take about an hour and a half or so. There will be a coach in charge of the shoot. A parent or responsible adult of under-age participants need to be there for supervision.

Illawarra Farget this Sunday - 1 December 2022

The Illawarra Farget is on Sunday 4 December 2022! This is a one day fun event including both field and target, and is aimed at recreational and tournament archers alike. It consists of a 12 target Marked Field and a National Target Round (48 arrows at 60 yards and 24 arrows at 50 yards with 5 ring scoring). In the morning, half the archers will shoot the field in while the other half shoot the target round. There will be a BBQ/sausage sizzle lunch then the groups will swap and shoot their other round. Prize-giving and afternoon tea will complete the day.

Final day of the Junior Comp trial Sunday 11 December - 12 November 2022

As many of you will know, the Club has been trialling a new format for a Junior Competition for young archers. Under the leadership of coach Glenn, the first events have been quite successful and we’d like to finish the trial with a bit of fun and some small prizes for the young archers.

The final day of the trial Junior Comp is on Sunday 11 Dec at 10am.

Glenn is seeking your support in donating small prizes for the shoot. Small prizes under $5 in value, such as deck of cards, fidget spinners, pencils, notebooks, highlighters, usb’s etc (no chocolates please) can be left in a box in the Clubhouse.

On the day the prizes will be placed in a Santa sack and drawn lucky dip style by the young archers as they achieve results. We’re expecting a fun-filled day of novelty shooting events at distances from 10-20m, with prizes being awarded all morning.

Vale, Bruce Pascoe - 19 October 2022

It’s with great sadness we announce to members the death in hospital of our dear friend and fellow member, Bruce Pascoe, on Friday 14 October, after a motorbike accident. 

Bruce was a member since 2011, and a past president. An instructor for many years, many members will remember undergoing their beginner’s course with Bruce.

He will be sadly missed by all members who knew him.

New Executive members, club field championships and BBQ, twilight shoot - 12 October 2022

The Executive is very happy to report that the two remaining vacant executive positions have now been filled. Rosemary is our new Secretary and Glen is our new Field Captain. Rosemary has previously spent many years in the Secretary position, and is also currently the Coaching Coordinator, while Glen has previously served as Field Captain and has spent many years as an instructor. Thank you to Rosemary and Glen for stepping up.

The club field championship will be held this Saturday at 9am. Yes, you read that right: 9am! Practice, for those who desire it, begins at 8am and ends at 8.40am. The championship will be held as an urban field, marked out on the target range. This is a fun shoot, and a great introduction to the multiple types of target and distances you’ll encounter in the field. The championship is followed by a free barbecue, so come and join us.

Twilight comp is again optimistically scheduled for Thursday night at 6pm. The shoot is an Australian Indoor 2, which is 30 arrows at 25m on a 60cm face. Here’s hoping for better weather than last week.

Twilight season, working bee and National Championship results - 5 October 2022

Our twilight season starts tomorrow night, Thursday 6 October at 6pm, with an Australian Indoor, which is 30 arrows at 18m on a 40cm face. The weather forecast doesn’t look good for it but keep an eye on the sky just in case. The full calendar will be available soon.

We have a working bee on this Saturday morning, 8 October, from 9am to 12noon, followed by a free barbecue. Don’t worry if you think you won’t know what to do – our friendly club experts will give you on the job training. Please come and participate if you can – those targets don’t make themselves!

Con, Donna and Jason are on their way home from Brisbane, having just finished competing in the national target championships and matchplay. Jason placed a very creditable seventh from a field of twenty-four in the male open recurve 60/900 and fifth of sixteen in the male open 70/1440, as well as reaching the second round in matchplay. Donna is bringing home silver medals in female barebow recurve 60/900 and 60/1440 in her age group, while Con is bringing home three golds in male barebow recurve in his age group for the 60/900 and 60/1440, and for the barebow mixed team matchplay! Congratulations, Con, Donna and Jason!

Message from your new President - 4 September 2022

Hi members, my name is Diane and I feel honoured to have been elected to serve as your president for 2022-23. 

We’ve been fortunate to have Andris volunteer for the vacant second Vice President position, and Fiona volunteer for the vacant Recorder position. Andris served on the Executive for several years as Target Captain, running our Saturday shoots, and organising much of the work done at working bees. Fiona served for many years as our Recorder, currently chairs the Archery Australia Tournament and Records Committee, and is also the National Ranking List Coordinator. Thank you so much to you both for taking on these positions.

The Executive positions of Secretary and Field Captain remain vacant, and we’ll welcome offers from any member who’d like to serve in these positions. Don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like this before, we’ll support you in every way we can to help you learn the ropes.

Message from the new Target Captain

The most important things you can do for yourself in your archery journey are first to have fun, second to practise. The most important thing to do for your club is to participate. 

On any Saturday at Illawarra Archers you can do all three. If you are a new member and have not had any experience with a competition I urge you to come along and have a go. Not only is it fun but there is so much to learn from interacting with other more experienced archers and members of the club. If you are a member who hasn't participated for a while I can only say come along and support your club, you have much to offer the club and its membership. 

My name is Glenn, and I am the newly appointed target captain. I am at the club most Saturdays and would be happy to meet you and offer any help I can in your archery journey. If I can't help directly, I am sure there are members who would be happy to share their experiences from the many and varied methods of archery practised in Australia. One way or another there is always a place for you to enjoy and grow amongst all the members and friends you can make within the club. 

Hope to see you at the range very soon, whenever it stops raining.

Special letter from the Coaching Coordinator

John has prepared a short letter to all members about the work of the coaching team, and to ask for your help, which we’d encourage you to read. The coaches are putting in a great effort to build interest in archery (it’s pretty impressive when you read the letter), but could do with a bit of help which you can offer in your own time. Please take a moment to read this important letter.

special letter