July 2013 Bracken Newsletter

Newsletter
July 2013
Issue 15
Cranborne School Summer Fayre - Archery “Have-a-Go”
Friday 21st June 2013
The annual Summer Fayre took place under blue skies and warm temperatures which seemed to
encourage many potential archers of all ages to “Have-a-Go”. About a dozen club members turned up at
various stages of the event to lend a hand and all help was gratefully received as we were kept busy from
word go to the very end. Over 100 people tried their hand; the exact number is a bit difficult to estimate as
many had more than one go. The young lady on the right of the picture above came back 4 times! Here
Andy, Kevin and Nick introduce the next generation of archers to the sport.
Just to prove it wasn’t only
the girls trying their hand,
Kevin prepares to place
the arm brace on the only
young man to have been
captured on camera.
Many thanks to Lynda
Baynham who, as well as
the picture above, also
took this shot of Saskia
Kenworthy guarding the
takings.
All change at the School field:
Over the course of the summer members will
notice a couple of changes to the School which
will affect the way our archery is conducted.
Due to refitting of the science laboratory a
contractors compound has been set up east of
the existing mobile classroom for the duration
of the summer. The old path is temporarily
closed so members must route via the field
keeping close to the fence and classroom and
being careful not to stray too far onto the field.
More importantly, a new mobile classroom is to
be positioned on the existing hard standing
which we use as our safety area. This means that
our operation will have to be moved so that in
future we will shoot down the field, It is believed
that the existing shelters will also be
repositioned but exactly where is unclear at the
moment.
We have been assured that access to our W.C.
will be unaffected by this work but members are
requested to take great care when accessing the
new shooting area whilst this work is in
progress.
AJB
New safety area, shooting
line and shooting direction.
Existing hard standing
and shooting direction.
Temporary
contractor’s
compound.
Communication within the Club:
The Committee would like to remind members
that we have a number of different means of
communication within the Club. In no particular
order of importance they are:
Text and/or e-mail alerts: These are generally
short term alerts mainly concerning cancellation
or modification of shoots due weather. It goes
without saying that if you wish to avail yourself
of this facility we must have your correct mobile
number/e-mail address, so please ensure that
Secretary Nick Kenworthy has these details.
Facebook: This too has been used for short
term alerts but it is mainly used for more long
term announcements and positive comment.
Please remember that this is a public forum so it
is definitely NOT the place for any negative
comments or moans that you may have about
aspects of the club. We have a private forum for
this purpose which can be accessed from -
The Club Website: (www.dorsetarchery.co.uk)
As well as being the entry portal for the club
forum, the results database, competition
calendar and much other useful information
about the club, it also provides a rolling news
service about events as well as a weather widget
showing conditions at the field. It also allows me
to distribute the electronic version of The Newsletter: Now well into its second
year, with its monthly publication schedule this
journal may not be the quickest way of
informing members of news and information
but is is probably the most certain since
everyone should receive either a printed or
electronic version. You will find Committee
news, articles, competition reports, Sales and
Wants and much else archery related within
these pages so please keep those contributions
coming in!
AJB
All Wrapped Up with Gas Pro Vanes:
A few months ago I was chatting to Andy
about upgrading my arrows when he
mentioned he had a spare set of 10 ACEs that
might suit me. As luck would have it the length
and spine of these arrows was exactly what I
needed and so a deal was done.
As soon as I started shooting with these
arrows my scores began to improve but I did
notice a few problems with the fletchings. These
were small, bi-colour spin vanes which, although
they looked very distinctive in the quiver, I found
to be quite difficult to isolate when surrounded
by other arrows in the target when scoring. They
were also difficult to fix securely mainly due to
there being very little for the anchor tape to
grip. Finally, due to their small size, I found them
to be quite unforgiving of poor releases, so
probably too good for my standard of archery.
But what to replace them with? Some research
was required.
finally settled on a version of the club colours;
fluorescent red wraps with black vanes and
nocks. Having shot this combination for a few
weeks I can say the wraps certainly make the
arrows stand out in the target and they make it
very easy to spot any errant shots that finish in
the grass but the jury is still out on the black
nocks. Stylish, but not easy to spot through the
‘scope at longer ranges.
Wrapping and Fletching:
Gas Pro:
No, not the man who comes to fix the boiler
but a relatively new design of spin vane from
Italy. There are four different versions within the
range in various degrees of stiffness depending
on proposed use and bow weight. The design
also includes quite lengthy tags at either end for
the anchor tape to grip.
After due consideration I decided on a set of
medium stiffness Field Efficient vanes which are
designed to stabilize the arrow immediately
after release.
Eight colours are available which, with
contrasting nocks, might be sufficient to make
arrows fairly distinctive but I wanted something
more, which led me to consider arrow wraps.
From top left clockwise; Arrow wraps, double sided fletching
tape, anchor tape, nocks, Gas Pro vanes, all sitting on a
Wrap Application Pad ( otherwise known as a mouse mat!)
and below, a home made fletching jig.
Socx Arrow Wraps:
Wraps seem to be the “Marmite” of archery;
some archers love them, others can’t see the
point. No matter which wrap you choose, they
will all make the arrow more distinctive. Some
are shrunk onto the arrow, others are made from
self adhesive vinyl. The Socx “Comfort” wraps
are of the latter type, designed to fit specific
arrows and come with accurate fletching lines
printed onto the wrap thus making fletching
and refletching very simple and quick. They
come in six solid and five fluorescent colours, so
with the possible colour combinations of the
vanes and nocks it should be possible to come
up with a pretty distinctive combination. I
The two photos above show all the bits needed
to wrap and fletch arrows. The fletching jig isn’t
absolutely necessary when using pre-marked
wraps but you will need something to hold the
arrow steady while applying the vanes. I made
mine from Plasticard, a material I use in my other
hobby. Without ready access to such material it
would probably be cheaper to buy a commercial
jig.
The first task is to thoroughly clean the shafts
of all traces of the old fletchings and glue or
tape, both physically and then with a
de-greasing agent. To my mind the best of these
is 100% acetone, NOT nail varnish remover
which is not only diluted but contains additives
which you don’t want on your arrows. The use
of Acetone with carbon arrows is another thing
that seems to split opinion within the archery
world. Some swear by it, others say it will melt
your arrows! If you were to leave the shafts
soaking in acetone for a few months then I’m
prepared to believe there might be some
softening of the carbon coating but a quick
wipe with some acetone on a soft cloth will not
cause any damage. Acetone is so volatile it will
have evaporated long before you can wipe it off.
Health and safety warning; acetone is a highly
flammable liquid and you really don’t want to
breath the fumes too much so, as with
anything else, just use some common sense
when handling it. After de-greasing the shafts
try not to handle them more than is absolutely
necessary.
Before you begin to apply a wrap do read the
instructions otherwise you might position the
arrow and wrap the wrong way round and run
the risk of one of the fletching lines being
obscured by the overlap. Don’t ask me how I
know this!
Remove the nock as this might cause the
shaft to rotate eccentrically as you roll it onto
the wrap. Carefully remove a wrap from its
backing paper and lay it, sticky side up, on the
mouse mat with the nock end of the wrap to the
left.
Continue to roll the arrow onto the wrap
maintaining a firm pressure on the shaft to expel
any air bubbles.
A final smooth down of the overlap and
that’s it - job done.
Now for the Gas Pro vanes:
Align the end of a clean shaft with the left side
of the wrap and ensure the shaft is parallel with
the long side of the wrap.
Gently begin to roll the shaft towards the wrap
checking it remains parallel to the long edge
until you just see it start to pick up the edge of
the wrap. Stop rolling and do a final check that
all is square and the end of the shaft and wrap
are aligned.
As before, I advise you carefully read the
instructions but this time I suggest you file them
in the bin and ignore them! The official way to
attach a vane to a shaft is to apply the double
sided tape to the vane and then try to stick this
onto the shaft. Personally, I believe that is asking
for trouble bearing in mind the shape of the
vane and the difficulty of holding such a light,
springy piece of plastic firm enough to apply the
tape in the correct position. Far better, I think, to
apply the tape to the shaft along one of your
fletching lines and then offer up the vane held
in a suitable clamp i.e. a bulldog clip.
Take a pre-marked shaft, either via a jig or from
using the Socx wraps and, if using a fletching jig,
insert a nock. The orientation is not important at
this time as you will be fletching to the marked
line and not to the nock position.
Place the shaft in the jig or whatever you are
using to hold the arrow steady and arrange for
one of the fletching lines to be positioned so
that you can apply the double sided tape along
one edge.
Apply the tape along the line. The wrap also
has a line around the shaft to give a consistent
distance for the vane from the nock.
Offer the vane to the tape
Carefully align both the end and the edge of
the vane to the marked lines.
Carefully remove the backing paper.
Separate one vane from all the others. It is
quite easy to pick up two together as they are so
thin and light. I found that an old fashioned
bulldog clip made an ideal tool to hold the vane
whilst I aligned it with the tape. Ideally I would
have used a slightly larger clip but I couldn’t find
one at the time, but the small one I used was
perfectly adequate.
Smooth the edge of the vane down onto the
tape.
For a belt and braces approach you can, if you
wish, apply the merest smear of superglue to
the overlap of the anchor tape. This does ensure
that it will not unravel in use but it also means
that repair or re-fletching is just a bit more
difficult as the tape will have to be carefully cut
away. Finally twist the nock to give maximum
bow clearance for the two rear vanes.
Remove the clamp - one down, two to go.
Rotate the shaft so that the next fletching line
is presented to you and repeat the process. With
all three done it’s time to attach the anchor tape.
Before and after.
Was it worth it?
Take a piece of anchor tape long enough to
wrap around the shaft at least twice. Carefully
apply to the shaft trapping the ends of the vane
as you wrap the tape around.
Repeat for the other end of the vane and
that’s it. Only the rest of the set to do!
From an appearance point of view the arrows
are certainly different. Even if you are not using
the particular arrows that the “Comfort” wraps
are made for (X10, ACE and Navigator shafts i.e.
ACGs), if you want to customise your arrows to
make them more distinctive there are many
other wraps to consider.
From a performance aspect my top score at
50 yards over 3 dozen arrows with the old
fletchings was about 235. The first time I used
the new Gas Pro vanes I scored 272 followed by
a 258 and a 264 on the next two occasions. 50
yard ribbon in the bag so yes, I definitely think it
was worth it. The arrows seem to stabilise
almost as soon as they leave the bow and
certainly fly straighter. They make me feel much
more confident about my ability to make a
decent score and as about 70% of archery is in
the mind (see Andy’s article in the last issue)
that has to be a good thing.
AJB
Lytchett Owl shoot:
On the 30th June team Bracken attended the
annual Lytchett Owl shoot. This year was one of
our smallest teams with only 5 archers
competing plus Adam keeping a beady eye on
our performance. We were lacking in Lady
entrants as Rosie had to pull out at the last
minute. However, the rest of the field was
packed with entrants from as far afield as
Andover, so overall it was a very well attended
shoot with 36 targets on display and four
archers to a target. The round was a Western
round consisting of 4 dozen arrows at 60 yards
followed by 4 dozen at 50 yards.
Team Bracken arrived early at the field, which is
located on the edge of Poole Bay near to Holton
Heath. We were greeted by glorious sunshine, a
vast expanse of targets and the smell of bacon
butties sizzling. Needless to say that was like a
red rag to a bull for Bracken members. After
setting up the new sunshade, applying liberal
sunscreen, getting our kit together and finishing
our bacon butties we had a little while to relax
as shooting did not begin until 10:30. As the
morning progressed most of us were itching to
get started but the infamous Lytchett breeze
was beginning to pick up and was gusting
nicely across the field.
As shooting commenced it was clear that the
gusting breeze was turning into a challenge.
Most of us struggled to keep on centre with
most groups ending up left of centre. Windage
was moved to the far left and we managed to
pull the arrows back towards the centre. The
halfway point took us to about 1pm and most of
us were moderately happy with our
performance but it was already clear that there
were some other teams that were on very good
form. Chris Grubb from Bournemouth was a
clear contender. However, that didn't stop some
good friendly competition happening on the
targets. Steve Pritchard and Kevin Edge were
having their own little competition and were
neck and neck at the halfway point. Nick
Kenworthy was trying to pull his socks up by
chasing down a newly qualified compound
archer and Andy Fisher and Ralph Wood were
looking quietly confident and keeping their
heads down.
Adam couldn't resist doing a bit of coaching,
as a struggling, newly qualified Lytchett archer
was seeking some advice and Adam stepped
into the breach. After a couple of ends the
archer was then doing better than Nick! The
heat was on! At the end of the competition
Ralph put in a very respectable score of 608,
Kevin was "edged" out by Steve with scores of
612 and 621 respectively. Nick picked up at the
end and managed to pass the compounder with
a score of 668 but top of the Bracken pile was
Andy Fisher with a very respectable score of 688
(max possible score 864). This gave Bracken a
team entry of 2589 points. However, on the day
it wasn't good enough. The 3rd place team entry
won with a score of just over 2600 and the top
spot was just over 2700. The top 3 lady recurvers
had scores in excess of 679 and the top 3 gents
recurve archers all had scores over 760 with
Chris Grubb (Bournemouth) topping the
leader-board with 776.
The day didn't finish till 6:30pm and we all
returned home with a few aching muscles, a bit
of a suntan but no silverware this year. However,
we all enjoyed the day. Club News:
development programme OnTarget. Once on
the scheme clubs are encouraged to work
towards one or more of three Specialisms Community, Young People or Performance. I am
pleased to report the Bracken was recently
assessed for, and has been granted, Community
Specialism status. There will be further reports
in future issues as to what this development will
mean for the club and its members.
--------------At the recent “Have-a-Go” session fletchings
were falling faster than confetti at a wedding!
Many of the arrows are now totally bald. If you
think you could re-fletch a few of these arrows
at home before Ellingham this would be
greatly appreciated. As these are just the “Havea-Go” arrows absolute precision is not necessary;
a good eye rather than a jig will suffice. See Pete
for a supply of arrows and fletchings.
Congratulations to both Adam Brown who
successfully completed his Level 2 Coaching
Course recently and also to Steve Pritchard who
passed his final Level 1 Coaching assessment
last Saturday during the intermediate training
day. Well done Guys!
----------In order to reduce the quantity of paper that
Steve Pritchard, the club’s new Records Officer,
has to deal with, there is now a Ribbon Award
Score Sheet available to download from the club
website. Only fully completed and signed sheets
with all three rounds for a particular distance
should be handed to Steve who will then
process the award.
------------Regular readers may remember that last year
Bracken signed up for Archery GBs club
Nick Kenworthy
AJB
The Bracken Coaching Initiative Continued:
The third session of the intermediate training
program took place on Saturday 29th June with
about a dozen archers present to receive more
expert coaching from Pauline Pillans and
Malcolm Fleet. Unlike the first two sessions the
weather was sunny and dry which prompted
Pauline to remark how different we all looked
without our waterproofs!
It was another “full on” day with scores of
arrows being shot and many areas for
improvement being highlighted by two very
experienced and knowledgeable coaches. Who
knew that moving the string from the tip of the
nose to a side anchor would compensate for
being a bit short in the upper arm and thus
bring the back muscles into play more readily? I
didn’t, but I do now and my grouping has
improved as a result.
Lunch was the usual excellent spread with
burgers and an excellent Guinness cake from
Adam and another beautiful Dorset Apple cake
from Patricia. Thanks to all who brought food
and a special “Thank You” to Pauline and
Malcolm; we must do it again sometime!
AJB
Patricia receives one to one coaching from both Pauline and Malcolm whilst
even old hands like Andy benefitted from the tuition.
Reminder: It is the Club’s FITA 70 competition
on Sunday July 28th and we need all the help we
can get, both throughout the day on Sunday
For Sale:
Sarah Harding has the following junior archery
equipment for sale which may be of particular
interest to some of our new young beginners.
All items were purchased from Quicks in July
2011 and have hardly been used:
Junior Back pack style bow and equipment
carrier Short Rolan Riser, Small adult, (Red) 66” x 14 lb limbs Right hand rest Dacron string 60” x 10 Right hand A&F tab (junior) Rod arm guard and also for setting up on the Saturday. This is
Bracken’s big day so lets have all hands to the
pumps. Names to Adam or Andy please.
Junior sight
Bow stand Bow stringer Plus assortment of finger tabs and bracers
Sarah writes “We paid nearly £200 for the
above and would like to ask £100 ono for all the
equipment. However, I am more than happy to
negotiate on all or part of this offer. I am also
happy to bring the equipment up to the field for
viewing and for prospective purchasers to try
out or alternatively it can be viewed by
arrangement at my home address. My contact
number is 01202 849811 or mobile 07938
861747.”
ALL members are warmly invited to submit contributions for inclusion in the Newsletter.
Items can be either e-mailed to [email protected] or handed directly to me.