Three members of the Bairnsdale Field Archers recently made the trip to Colac for this year’s ABA State Titles, hosted by the Colac Otway Archers.
It was a bit of a hike between the campsite and the field courses, but a few clever locals showed the intrepid hunters some local knowledge, which saved their feet.
Day two brought stronger winds and the threat of rain, but the course was well sheltered by trees and tight shooting lanes. Arrows that missed the butts, were nearly
impossible to find and thankfully everyone came home with a full quiver.
All four courses proved challenging to read distances, especially for the tight and closed in lanes, with some learnings taken away and some ideas for lanes and shooting peg placements
to bring back home for the local course.
David Hattam shot consistently across both days with only eight points difference between rounds, finishing the weekend on 1304 points.
Damien Politz set a new personal best on day one (724 points) and was tied for third place, just 24 points behind first place in “B” grade.
He finished the weekend 32 points short of third place, but he definitely should feel proud of his achievements with a score of 1414, well ahead of last year’s ABA State score of 1200.
Ewa Foksa shot her first state-level event, smashed her day two scores with a new three-arrow round personal best and improved by 124 points over day one, earning herself an impressive second place medal.
The Bairnsdale contingent enjoyed catching up with other Gippsland Branch members and seeing familiar faces from across the state.
