The Sunshine Coast Bowmen held another Trad day on August 19. The club grounds are in a pretty heavily timbered rainforest area and it wasn’t till we all walked back out to our vehicles that we realised how windy the day was as we had been protected fairly well in the scrub. There was approximately 40 archers, some had travelled from Brisbane, some from Gympie who had joined many locals for the shoot. One archer was an exchange university student from Hungary who enjoys shooting her own handmade Longbow at shoots in Europe, so was very excited to find a club close to the university where she could continue her shooting, albiet with ‘borrowed’ gear and at the end of the day to also receive a medallion just made her day complete.
The layout of the field course necessitates that everyone goes out at the same time, and it’s always a social occasion as the course winds in and out around the trees along a pathway. You always bump into a group or 3 as you go.
First we shot 2 arrows at 20 x 3D targets from the orange peg, stopped for a cuppa and a sausage sandwich then went out again shooting the same targets, this time it was from the green peg which was in a different position. The field course setup made perfect use of all the foliage available, with a small amount of foot shuffling required. A couple of “setup” shots where you were to shoot the predator, not the prey.
After we finished the 2nd round we enjoyed lunch and a lot more conversation.
We weren’t expecting any presentations so said our goodbyes and started to walk back down the track toward the vehicles when we asked to quickly come back. The presentations were done then we set off again. A huge thank you to the Sunshine Coast Bowmen crew who put in big effort with a great field course set up for us to enjoy, and also to the kitchen hands who kept us hydrated with tea and coffee and well fed with a good hearty lunch.
The clubs next Trad day is November 18 which we are now all really looking forward to. Mark it on the calendar and join them for a day of Traditional archery fun.
added with edit -sorry folks the photos are doubled up and I can't work out how to 'fix' it - cheers