LAST weekend 70 archers descended on the Eurobodalla to compete in the NSW International Field Archery Association (IFAA) State Titles hosted by the Eurobodalla Archery Club at the North Moruya range.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Competitors came from all over NSW and Victoria hoping to bag a state title.
IFAA is a demanding discipline requiring an archer to compete for three rounds known as field, hunter and animal.
The archers shoot 112 arrows at 28 targets in each round and distances can be from 4.5 metres to just over 70 metres.
The North Moruya range offered archers a tough challenge as competitors also had to deal with undulating land, trees and rocks.
The Eurobodalla Archery Club had entrants in each age group – cub, junior and senior – and each bow type – longbow, recurve (used in the Olympic Games) and compound.
After two days of shooting, the Eurobodalla’s Paul Lanfear, Peter Hearne, Chris Allison, Jaxsen Wells, Jesse Jenkins, Alison Lerman, Jeremy Carl, Roy Jenkins and Rob Merigan were all new state champions.
“Seventy archers is a record number at a State Titles, and they all loved the courses we set,” club president Roy Jenkins said.
Next year’s IFAA World Championships are to be held in Wagga Wagga, which has seen a surge in numbers competing in the challenging sport.
“IFAA is truly international but up until now it is relatively small in Australia compared to the rest of the world,” Peter Hearne said.
“With Wagga hosting next year’s worlds it is already starting to change.”
Hearne took out his sixth state championship and was impressed by the number and calibre of junior archers on the rise.
“I will be a senior when next year’s worlds are on but I think we will have a very strong junior contingent in Wagga,” he said.
The Eurobodalla Archery Club will be also hosting a branch shoot later in the year which will draw over 100 archers and their families to the coast.
