The cancellation is based solely on considerations of safety and the wellbeing of all involved. We recognise the disappointment this may cause and thank all members for their understanding and continued support.
— On behalf of the Committee

Well, what a day, little did we know what we were in for but the weather did not disappoint and finally gave us a good spell of decent sunshine.  The subscription for the event and turnout for early setup assistance was very well attended with almost more hands than needed.  The upshot was that the field was setup and ready in good time for the scheduled start.

It must be said, at this point and throughout the morning, the detail and preparation by both Matt and Metz in bringing this event together was what made it for me and made it easier to relax and concentrate on just shooting.

The previous introduction of the marker carrots to the field was now evident for it’s benefit in lining everything up and spacing the targets and archers on the line. The die was now set for the upcoming and future events that are to be hosted at Cobham, making things far easier and hopefully quicker to implement.

Whilst we were all aware of our individual scores on the targets, the overall placings would have to wait until Matt, Metz and the laptop had done their final reckoning of all the scores.

We all gathered in one of the club meeting rooms where we were looking forward and eager to learn of our results and could then relax and partake of the fine hot and cold finger buffet that Cobham had kindly laid on for the participants and attendees.

Final scores and positions were awarded (Alan taking yet another medal to add to his trophy cabinet) with all archers gratefully accepting their results to rapturous applause.

Well done and congratulations to all of those who participated in the event and once again thanks to Matt, Metz and all officiating members that organised and made the day a memorable one.

Finally, but by no means least, thanks to Chris and the catering staff for laying on a fine spread and the facilities that Canford Magna Bowmen are able to enjoy as part of their membership.

The final potions and score from the day can been seen here

More images from the tournament can be found here

Club Forums
We’ve launched dedicated forums for discussing all things archery! Currently, we have a few key forums set up, including a coaching section that complements our regular sessions led by Geoff. Geoff envisions this as an essential resource for members to engage in two-way communication, especially through his “Idea of the Week” posts:

“I plan to post a new ‘Idea of the Week’ regularly, encouraging members to engage and discuss, making this an interactive and beneficial resource for everyone” – Geoff Gunson

We invite you to create an account on the forums, which will require approval to ensure only members join. In the future, we may consider opening the forums to the broader archery community.

Join Canford Magna Bowmen Forums (Also available through the main menu)

Helpdesk
Need help with equipment repairs? Have a general issue or lost an arrow? Raise a ticket through our Helpdesk!
The Helpdesk allows us to track and manage any issues efficiently, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks, and everything is addressed in a timely manner.

Submit a Ticket via the Helpdesk (Links are also available in the main menu)

Get Involved!
We encourage all members to take full advantage of our club’s resources and actively participate. Whether it’s through engaging in the forums or using the Helpdesk, your involvement strengthens our community.

We are also seeking enthusiastic bloggers to contribute regular articles to our website. If you have a passion for writing and archery, this is a fantastic opportunity to share your experiences and insights with the club. Your stories can inspire others and encourage more participation in club activities.

As part of the refresh of the website, we are looking at social media.

We have a facebook group, but it’s not very well supported… This will be revamped and updated and we encourage all members who use facebook to join and help make that an active and useful resource for the club and the wider archery community.

Additionally were would you like the club to have a presence on social media, what would be useful to you? Please comment below as to your thoughts and ideas.

One of our members, Carl McLaughlin, has become closely affiliated with Purbeck Archers and helps out organizing their major annual tournament and volunteering at country shows with them.

Through his enthusiasm for Purbeck and field archery many of us have joined Purbeck Archers and been signed off by Andrew or Kenn of Perbeck Archers to safely follow field protocols and shoot 3-D.

Every couple of months Carl organises an informal competition on a Sunday morning followed by a post-match analysis in a pub with lunch. This time eight of us drew lots and competed as four pairs, whilst two of our newer members were taken around by Andrew to be trained and signed off as safe and competent.

We set off into the woods as two groups of two pairs in direct competition for eighteen kills, the winning pairs from each group then go head to head for the next eighteen kills to settle first and second place, the other two pairs settle third and fourth. This is a great system, as it gives people a chance for a catch up, a bit of banter and some friendly rivalry.

After demanding three recounts of the lot drawing I still ended up partnered with Alan King, so I resigned myself to not winning and just got on with enjoying the day, which I greatly did. It’s a wonderful woodland to shoot in, on grounds run by Purbeck Shooting school, the facilities are good and there are some wonderful views and great wildlife. Recently Robyn spotted a Barn Owl carrying prey and we followed it for a while, the air carries skylark song, siskins, long tailed tits, woodpeckers, goldcrests and we have got close to Sika deer on occasions. It’s very restorative just to be under the pines, following the trails getting some gentle exercise and laughing.

The course is fun, with challenges as small as a stoat and as large as a bear, with dinosaurs, big cats and other kills ranging from five or so yards to fifty or more. The trees and ferns add to the challenges, it really focuses the mind, and the course is changed regularly to keep things fresh.

A range of bows were used on the day, no classes or handicaps, a simple scoring system of 3 points a win, 1 point each a draw, zero for a lose based on the total score for each pair on any given kill.

After a bit of a ding dong the day was settled on a tie break and Jez and Ryan came first overall after a majestic pair of double pro kills on the python took it to a decider on the dodo and they beat Alan and Jason into second place. Alan proffered numerous excuses as to why it was a draw, but Ryan offered only an impression of Alan’s loser shuffle, head down, shoulders slumped, emanating a high-pitched grizzle. It was uncanny, he’d clearly seen this a lot. Handshakes to close and Jez and Ryan became the current Best Archers in The Woods

After a car park medal ceremony,

we decamped to The Horse and Groom for a roast, some homemade pork scratchings and then ice cream at Tillys. Appetites were good. Everybody happy.

Lindsay and Heidi were the newest converts to field after their morning signing off with Andrew and after that, eighteen kills with Carl showing them around. So, the competitive field for CMB archers on a Sunday in the woods continues to expand and the next competition will likely be in early September.

If you are interested in trying field archery come speak to us for a full introduction. We have some animals here at the club that can be set up as a taster as well, to offer a sense of how it all works and as an alternative to targets on club days. It’s easy to get involved, just let us know if you are interested and we will help you get started.

We will be holding the 2nd Bray 1 Knockout Tournament over the last weekend of November and the first weekend of December.

Saturday 30-Nov-2024 09:00 – Ranking Round

Shoot a single Bray I round to get your tournament ranking.   (Two and a half dozen (30) arrows, at 20 yards on a forty cm target).

Saturday 07-Dec-2024 09:00 – Head to Heads

Head to Heads, where you shoot knockout matches of five sets to knockout your opponent and move to the next round.

Please add the dates to your dairy’s, come along and have some fun!  Sign up here 

This is currently a club tournament, but if there is interest and agreement from the club we accept entries from local clubs.

Full details and prospectus

We are pleased to announce The Rictus 4 Tournament, to mark the clubs updated logo, shooting shirts and other apparel. Full details will be available soon, once the new designs have been finalised and apparel is available for purchase from the shop

This tournament will give all members who participate the opportunity to buy a shooting shirt at a subsidised price, shirts will be handed out on the day of the tournament

We have added a new feature to our website.  A Helpdesk.

If you need help with anything on the website, or have questions that can’t be answered using the forms on the various pages. 

Then our new Helpdesk is where to go to get help & answers

Canford Magna Bowmen Helpdesk

Great news to all new archers and existing club members who would like a challenge and develop their skills further with the bow.  We are changing our existing clubs 252 challenge to the new Archery GB Progress award scheme.  This will allow archers to progress through to and link up with other AGB awards, like the classifications scheme:-

• Archer Tier: Third, Second, First Class
• Bowman Tier: Third, Second, First Class
• Master Tier: Master, Grand Master, Elite Master

For more information on the classifications scheme, see out classifications page

So, what is the “The Progress Award Scheme”?

The scheme is a set of awards for new archers after completion of their beginners’ course

The Archery GB Progress Awards Scheme is for new and current archers who wish to boost their skills and knowledge. The scheme is a great motivator, encouraging archers to go further in the sport while having fun – with badges and certificates awarded for achievement along the way.

The nice thing about the awards is that it doesn’t matter which bow style you use, all archers are welcome. It also doesn’t matter about your gender as there’s not a separate scheme for women and men.

There are five badge colours you can receive – White, Black, Blue, Red and Gold – each colour depicting a particular skill level, and you can gain them in any order you like. So, if you have a particularly good session and get the scores for a Red or Gold before you’ve received your White? Then that’s perfectly fine. You just can’t claim more than one badge from one set of scores.

There’s a separate set of badges for indoors and outdoors, so you can chart your progress across both seasons. The indoor rounds are shot at 20 yards and are shot on a 60 cm Portsmouth target.  The outdoor rounds are shot at difference distances, but they are either on an 80 cm face or a 122 cm face.

You’ll need three qualifying scores to be awarded each badge. To gain a qualifying score, you will need to shoot 36 arrows in a single session, and everyone gets six sighter arrows to start.

Scores

There are five different age groups: U12, U14, U16, U18, and Seniors.  Clubs can also offer an Over 65 award group, should they wish, using the U16 scores.

Outdoors for ALL bow styles, 5 zone scoring is used for the 122 cm face and 10 zone scoring for the 80 cm face. Indoors, 10 zone scoring is used for ALL bow styles but Compounds must use the inner 10 ring to score 10.

How to claim a badge

After completing each round, you must get a witness to sign your card. Once you have achieved three scores reaching the required amounts pass the cards to me or take a photo to send. After i have received and checked your scores i will present you with the appropriate badge. Please ensure you have your name, category, bow style, distance, total score, golds, arrows shot and misses.  (Hopefully not too many)

If you any questions regarding this exciting new award scheme please let me know. My contact details can be found here.

A summary of the AGB Progress Scheme including the required scores, can be found here on our AGB Progress Awards

Good shooting!

Phil