Deborah writes I wanted again, to express my sincere thanks for the grant you provided me with in order to enable me to upgrade my archery equipment. After an initial delay on the delivery date for the bow, it actually arrived almost 6 weeks earlier than expected, so I was able to collect the full order from Merin in Derbyshire on Thursday 23rdNovember 2023.
As the saying goes, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’, so having collected the new bow and accessories on the 23rd, I shot it for the first time properly in club on Saturday 25th November, before heading over to Caldy Bowmen on Sunday 26th November to shoot in their Portsmouth Competition and I managed, I’m still not sure how, to set a new PB of 544 for the Portsmouth round that morning. Sunday 3rd December than saw me travel over to Spinner’s Mill to shoot in their Double Worcester Christmas Shoot. So, just 10 days after collecting my new set up, here again, I was able to set a new PB for both the Worcester and Double Worcester rounds of 288 and 567 accordingly, and I came away with the trophy for Lady Compound. I didn’t rest there though, and Sunday 10th December saw me back at my home club of Clwyd Archers, formerly Gronant Bowmen, shooting in our Double Portsmouth Competition. I shocked myself on this occasion and increased my PB for a Portsmouth by 12 points, from 544 to 556! It gave me a real lift to see my scores improving and coming closer to those other archers I regularly meet in competitions. Despite a period of poor physical health, I refused to rest here and whilst this was the final competition of 2023 I was straight back into club and just yesterday, 23rd December, I was able to again increase my PB for a Portsmouth round such that It now stands at 557.
I am astonished at the gains I seem to have made in only the first 4 weeks since collecting my new bow set up. I have been working on my hand position on the bow, and also the raise, aim and release phases of shooting. Since only taking archery up in October 2022, it has given me a great boost to my mental health. I can immerse myself in shooting and forget all the others stresses of life. I simply cannot thank you all enough, without your support it would never have been possible for me to get a PSE Dominator Duo. I have attached some pictures of my first time shooting the bow in club back in November.
My next Competition Shoot is scheduled to be on the weekend of 3rd/4th February 2024 when I am headed to Cheshire Bowmen to participate in both the individual and team shoots, which are also forming the NWAS Indoor Championships. I am particularly looking forward to the outdoor season, when I can get back to shooting the longer distances, but before that I have many more competitions booked in. I look forward to seeing you at some shoots next year and will do my very best to keep you regularly updated on my progress.
https://fletchers.org.uk/index.php/the-trust/item/480-grant-to-deborah-illman-roberts#sigProId7d3ad47f43