BATTLE CLOUT Traditional Event - May 18th - Melbourne

[Southern Fox]

That is very good of them to promote the event. If it works out, the black Griffins want to host the next one along with a 3D event.

[Mick Smith]

Only 5 weeks to go ladies and gentlemen!!

I hope everyone has their shield organised.

I saw brand new boogie boards for sale at Annaconda for just $5 each the other day. They were polystyrene ones, but they would certainly do the job.

You could also made your shield out of multiple layers of heavy cardboard, glued together and then painted.

Competitors will need to bring at least 6 arrows, but as there's always a chance you will break one or two, it might pay you to bring at least 8 arrows.

I've got a funny feeling that this shoot might end up bigger than Ben Hur.

Mick

[morgan]

I'm soo keen for this event!

I have an idea to help with sorting out teams, you could have LMS vs the rest? The numbers should sort of work out and it makes it simple

[Southern Fox]

We shall see on the day hey Morgan. You might find yourself vastly outnumbered. You may need to join with the Black Griffins!

[Len]

Southern Fox, Bg's are LMS, thats what he meant.

[Mick Smith]

MMMMmmmmmm... that sounds like a bit of fun.

I think it will be very important to keep the two teams of equal size, otherwise the team with the least number of members will be at a disadvantage. We'll have to wait and see how things pan out.

I was thinking of selecting the teams by where the various members happen to live in the state, ie one team with members to the west of the venue and the other composed of members who live to the east of the venue.

It might be more interesting to have the LMS v's everyone else, provided the numbers balance out evenly.

Either way, it will be a whole lot of fun.

Mick

[Len]

Mick, even if LMS is outnumbered, I think we could take anyone, especially now with our Geelong recruits on board

[Len]

Was wondering about calling the losers French as they didn't really have a strong archery cultre and thought maybe the battle could be based on the battle of Shrewsbury where longbows took on longbows on a large scale for the first time and the archers just about wiped each other out. Or maybe one of the battles from The war of the Roses ? Just a thought and prob my last on this untill we've shot the LMS comp

[hardgainer]

Sacrebleu .......Francais ... Len... iz zis your Berm .

[hardgainer]

Correction...et iz not your berm Len its Kerrilles.

[kerrille]

and kerrille sez let the cheese eatin surenda monkeys name stand

[morgan]

and kerrille sez let the cheese eatin surenda monkeys name stand

I love it, Kerrille we should give you honorary LMS membership

[Mick Smith]

"There are enough French there to be killed and enough to be taken and enough to run away". This is an actual (slightly modernised, I presume) quote that was made just before the battle of Argincourt by David Gam, a Welsh captain, after returning from reconnoitring the enemy.

I hope we have enough attending the Battleclout also. David Gam sounds like he would have made a good 'Black Griffin'.

Mick

[kerrille]

Morgan i would deem it an honour and a privlidge

[morgan]

Not long to go!!!
Just a quick question (as addmittedly i don't have time to go through the full 8 pages) but has the distance being fixed yet? I am going through the video footage of the LMS event on the weekend and was amazed how many people couldn't make the 125metres we used for the clout.

[kerrille]

Yep just finished me spear on the weekend ...So i'll be of.. sword spear shield and axe to battle i will go ...Oh yeh and bow...nev..

[hue]

hey Morgan

Vlad, sorry Hue here, that hardest of taskmasters, Mr Smith felt anything under 145 mtr. was woosy, so we wil work our way down. we've lost "the white whoever they were" group who couldn't make that distance, so only real archers need attend (hell, i've got a kid shooting a 30lb club recurve crappy club arrows shooting that distance)

bring it on

Vlad, the impaler (aka Hue)

[Mick Smith]

Hey morgan, we're going to start shooting at the full 145 metres and we will continue to shoot at this distance for the first 6 rounds (6 arrow rounds). On the 7th round (if we make it that far) we will reduce the distance by 20 metres for each subsequent round until we reach 60 metres where we will slog it out until the bitter end.

I'm very keen for as many people as possible to shoot from 145 metres, as this is more in keeping with the actual historical distances that were involved in most medieval battles. I'm also slightly concerned that some people might wish to shoot from 90 metres simply to ensure they're more likely to be able to hit the shields, even though they actually might be able to make the full distance.

For the people who genuinely can't shoot 145 metres, they will be allowed to shoot at a reduced distance (probably 90 metres, but yet to be determined). After the main body of archers have released their arrows at 145 metres, the whole group will move forward to the reduced distance shooting line and from there, the people who are unable to make the full 145 metres will shoot and then everyone then proceeds to inspect the damage done and do the scoring for that round. It won't take much extra time to allow for this to happen.

We're not going to be inflexible in this regard. The bottom line will be that everyone will be given a fair go.

What would you consider to be the ideal shorter distance from your observations? I'm open to suggestions from anyone regarding this or any other matter.

Mick

[hue]

hi Mick

90 metres sounds good

Hue

[Mick Smith]

Thanks Hue. 90 metres it is.

Mick

[morgan]

I was thinking 125m. My girlfriend can make 125m with a 35# bow and the most horrible arrows you have ever seen, so that should be a range acheivable by everyone.

[Mick Smith]

Hey morgan, if we have some juniors who wish to shoot, we might have to set the shorter distance at 90 metres, however if we don't need to go that short, we could have the lesser distance set at 125 metres, if that distance will allow everyone to be able to shoot.

I think we should only have the one shorter distance and that distance should be determined by the maximum distance of the shortest distance shooting archer is capable of shooting.

I think everyone who is able to, is looking forward to shooting at the full 145 metres.

Hows that sound? It shouldn't be too hard to sort out these aspects during the practice rounds.

Mick

[kerrille]

my young bloke [13] has just desided my little bow is to small for him so he wants to have a go at a 43#, for him it will be around 37,38# ,i'm taken him out tomorrow to see if he can make the distance....nev

[Mick Smith]

Alright, all you Battleclouters out there! Are your ready?

We want everyone there at the event at 9am for registration. We will have one hour to register and to set up our shield targets. The actual shoot will begin at 10am on the dot.

The Yarra Bowmen have generously consented to provide breaky and lunch at a small fee, so there's no real need to bring your own food.

The team divisions will probably be - Leongatha Medieval Society/Black Griffins v's everyone else. We won't be dogmatic about it though. If the numbers don't pan out, we might have to do some minor adjusting on the day. If you wish to be included in any one particular team, we will try to accomodate your request.

Leigh and Gavin (Wildwood) have very kindly provided the individual trophies for the "King's Champion Archer" (or best shooter) for both the men's and women's categories. There will be certificates for other place getters and for the overall winning team.

When you place your shields on the field of battle, could you please place them 300mm (a foot) apart and side by side? Could the people placing their shields on the second row (which will be 1 metre behind the first) stagger their shields so that the centre of their shield lines up precisely in the gap that's between the shields in front of them? This should allow a fairly equal likelyhood of all shields sharing a similar exposure to taking arrow hits. One more thing, could the owners of smaller shields please ensure they place their shields in the front row and likewise the owners of larger shields should try to place their's in the back row (a bit like the old class school photos). There will be people on the scene to help you in the placement of your shield. They will also help you to stake your shield up in the appropriate 45 degree manner.

The big day isn't far away now folks. If you haven't got your shield organised, you haven't got much time to do it. It promises to be a day not to be missed. I think it's going to be something really special.

Could someone please post some detailed instructions, or better still a map, of how to best get to the venue? There's going to be more than a few competitors coming from long distances who won't know how to get there.

I'm looking forward to meeting 'you' there on the day.

Mick

[morgan]

I am so mustard for this!

If someone can post the address for the event i can recommend www.whereis.com.au for maps and directions, that is what i used for the LMS website

[aroadik]

And the address is ????????????????????????? Peter.

[hue]

hi there Guys

Hue here from Yarra Bowmen
you can find the club at Bulleen Park, Bulleen Rd, Bulleen, right behind the Carey Grammar Sports Ovals, Melway ref 32 B9.
see ya there

Hue

[aroadik]

Thanks, Hue, see you there!!! regards Peter.

[Mick Smith]

The Black Griffins trialed the Battleclout concept yesterday at our local grounds. We set up half a dozen boogie board shields and shot them up at 145 and 90 metres. They're certainly harder to hit that what you might think, but I suppose it will be easier at the actual event because there will be heaps more shields to shoot at.

We also trialed some different methods of supporting the shields. The quickest and easiest to set up was the support that was made from a 600mm long rose stake (25mm square) to which a small cross piece was nailed, so it looked very much like a grave marker. We simply tied the shield to this cross with some string. The beauty of this method is that it requires just the hammering of one stake into the ground and the horizontal cross piece does give the shield excellent lateral support, holding it firmly, even after the shield has taken a few hard hits from arrows.

I plan to make up quite a few of these shield supports in readiness for the event. It might pay you to bring something of your own as well, just in case I don't make enough supports for everyone.

It was great fun shooting at the shields. It's going to be a fantastic day.

Mick

[kerrille]

got my car serviced today 60000 ks so everything would be good for the 18th and i got some news it looks like my motors stuffed and its just out of warranty not happy jan i gotta go back on friday to see if my mechanic can fix it .Its an xtrail and hasnt done a lot of hard work .....nev