DOORWERTH, NETHERLANDS
IFAA Field Championships are not for the feint-hearted. They
are difficult for many reasons. Archers must be able to shoot
112 arrows for four out of the five days of shooting.
They must also maintain the discipline of focus and concentration
needed to execute the shot, repeatedly, in Field and Hunter rounds.
Whilst the Marked Animal round gives competitors breathing space in terms
of the number of arrows shot, it can either make (or break) their competition.
On the week of the August Bank Holiday, four plucky members of IFAF competed in the European Field Archery
Championships. Each attended for their own personal reasons – try something new, shoot with family, challenge themselves
– but all had the same things in common, a love of field archery and the craic of being with fellow, like-minded archers.
An often-overlooked aspect of competing abroad is the opportunity it gives archers, and their families, to visit somewhere
different to sightsee and explore. The province of Gelderland, where Doorwerth and the major town of Arnhem are situated,
is both beautiful and steeped in history. In addition to the competition, it was a pleasure to visit the region as a tourist.
EFAC 2019 was one of the best tournaments in terms of event
planning and tournament hosting. From website to walkout to
weather contingency, they had it covered!
The hosts aced it when they selected Castle Doorwerth as the
venue. By positioning ranges around the base-camp, archers could
walk to and from the course morning and evening. The convenience
of not having to wait for bus transfers was a most welcome change!
This tournament was Lynn’s fourth IFAA Field Championship. Her first was at EFAC 2013, where she won Gold, and follows more recent successes at EFAC 2017 winning a Silver medal and WFAC 2018 where she won Gold.
In advance of EFAC 2019, Lynn trained extensively to hone skills and increase bow-fitness. The result was a 300-point lead over second place to win Gold.
EFAC 2019 was the first IFAA tournament for both James and Dezi. Both enjoyed their time on the course, meeting and shooting with new people, and off the course with their families. At their first IFAA Championship, both shot very well, rising to the challenge of five days of shooting with high spirits and good humour.
Helen has been competing at IFAA Championships since 2010 but this was her first IFAA Field tournament. In preparation for EFAC, Helen put in hours of training to develop a gap system for shooting Field and Hunter. Her efforts paid dividends with her third place and first IFAA Championship Bronze medal. EFAC 2019 is just the beginning of Helen’s Field successes!
