Blog

So yesterday the 1st March 2020 was the Cape Provincial Tournament.

This was shot at the infamous Protea Sports Club which never disappoints with providing challenging windy conditions.

We started the tournament 1hr later due to the angle of the sun(basically you were blinded by the sun and unable to aim at the target)

I can’t say that I shot particularly good scores but I was able to put together something respectable considering the conditions. With a 25kph winds and gusting up to 50kph everybody struggled.

Overall it was a challenging day, but I was able to take first place in the Men’s Recurve division.

Thanks to my fellow archers on my target for the scoring and fetching of arrows.

After my successful 2019 when I was privileged to represent South Africa at the 2019 Para Archery world champs that took place in Holland. I would not have been able to attend this event without the kind sponsorship from MTN, I am humbled by their generosity, again Thank You MTN

In my category there were 75 archers from all over the world, each archers eyes on the limited spaces available for the 2020 Paralympics taking place in Tokyo. I ended up finishing 33rd overall and just outside the required finishing positions. I was very please with my trip, I made some good contacts from around the world and learn a lot about the sport, and the pressure in competing at this level.

As a side note I was the only Archer in the top 50 who had a normal 9 to 5 employment and had to train in my spare time. All the other archers were either professional or semiprofessional which means archery is pretty much their only focus.

Of course I have continued with my training and used the latter part of 2019, to maintain fitness and a competitive shooting level.

For 2020 I decided to no longer compete in my Disability class and chose to compete in the highly competitive, however it was agreed that any scores achieved would count towards my Disability qualification scores and Provincial/National/African records.

I have competed in 3 events since the beginning of the year:

Bellville Sunrise: I took Men’s Gold at this event
February Qualifier: 2 new provincial, National and Africa records and the highest score shot my any men, women or junior in South Africa this year so far. (306,305=611)
IFAA indoor: I again took men’s Gold. This is the 3rd year in a row I have won this event. I was also awarded my Provincial colours for this format.

I only require 1 more Protea qualifying score from the next 3 competitions between now and Easter weekend and I will then qualify to compete at the last event to obtain a Paralympic spot for Tokyo 2020. This event will take place in Czechoslovakia in June 2020. This will also be a self funded event as was the Para world champs in 2019.

I would lastly like to thank MTN and all my colleagues for all their support over the last 2 years which has enabled me to chase my dream of a second Paralympic Games.

So I’m going to start using the Herbalife 24 sports nutrition products.

Let’s see how they work out, for those interested I’ll do a few updates on taste, ease of use and if they help with my shooting.

The main reason I’m interested in these products is the fact they have none of the nasty artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame.

*****Great News*****

I have received an official letter from the South African National Archery association to say I am eligible for selection for the upcoming Para Archery World champs in June.

As with all good news there is always a catch, as Archery is a minor sport in South Africa all the selected archers are required to self-fund the the costs of the trip. So will need to urgently raise about R50k.

So last Weekend was the Cape Provincial Tournament.

The day started overcast, then we had some rain and it finally ended with bright hot sunshine.

I am very happy with my shooting today and here is why.

As we move into the 3rd month of the year I figured it’s about time I posted an update.

Thus far I’ve completed in 3 competitions and 1 qualifying event.

The first competition was the Bellville Sunrise which had a very early start. I entered in the men’s able-bodied category. I won the event even though the wind was not favorable for a weekend if shooting.

The second competition was an indoor IFAA event. This has no disabled category so once again I shot against the able-bodied archers. Once again I win the event with a very respectful score of 290/300 a very rewarding day. This score is also a national Qualify score. This is my second qualifying score. Unfortunately I am unable to attend the IFAA Indoor championships taking place in JHB the week after the Outdoor National champs.

The third competition took place in JHB first day was qualify rounds (shot another Protea colours qualifying score ) the second day was a Round Robin event with the top 4 competing in a single arrows shoot out. I finished in 3rd place.

Lastly we had a qualifying event in cape town this was an interesting shoot (double 720 round) as it rained from start to finish. As you can imagine because I Sit on a stool to shoot and not having an umbrella I got fairly wet. Water proof pants and jacket only protect you so much. I did however have a pretty good time. I managed another Protea Qualifying score

I will be sending out some interesting news over the next week so watch this space.

Lastly thank you to everyone for your support thus far. It is always appreciated and I feel very blessed.

Been a little while since my last update so it’s about time to do one last post for 2018.

On the 25th and 26th of November it was the last outdoor tournament of the year, the Western Province 720 Quattro.

Being my 4th weekend in a row this was going to be a tough one. Perfect weather would have been the ideal situation but like the rest of the tournaments in November this one was a challenge.

Day 1 started well I was able to scrape in my 4th Protea Colour Qualifying score. Which in the was good timing as the weather (wind) got worse and I was not able to settle down and get close to the required scores.

I was able to use the rest of the event as a training and fitness session.

For my Outdoor shooting in 2018 I feel very proud and feel I accomplished a lot more that anticipated. I have managed to improve o. Every aspect of shooting and all my Provincial and National records show this. I also feel fitter and have improved stamina it’s strange to believe this time last year I was shooting with no site and my bow poundage was only 26#. Now I’m sitting at 43# and was able to get through 4 tournaments in 1 month.

The last event for 2018 was the BOWTIME TRIPLE THREAT. That’s 3 tournaments and eliminations

World Archery Indoor – Gold in my Disability category, my score was a provincial and national qualifying score

Vegas Indoor – Gold, There is no category for disabled for this round, but I still out shot all the other men recurve archers.

IFAA Field Archery Indoor round – Gold, There is no category for disabled for this round, but I still out shot all the other men recurve archers, with 2 Provincial Colours scores

I was also awarded my IFAA Indoor Provincial Colours

It was a great event and so looking forward to next year.

Yes I know this is a long post but please bear with me

I really need to give thanks to some very important people who have supported me In 2018. No it’s not going to be one of those long Oscar thank you’s, so If I don’t mention you personally please don’t be offended.

First of all to Lucia and Samantha who have had to deal with me being away from home either training or competing, spending eveningS reflecting my arrows coming home exhausted. Although your were not at the competitions to cheer me on. Your support was great appreciated at home and from a distance. Without you there is no me, my accomplishments are our accomplishments.

Noel, Sharon and Luther thank you for everything you have done for me this year to improve my shooting. Your guidance has truly been accepted with open hands. I hope we can continue through 2019 and beyond. You are the A TEAM

A huge thank you needs to go out to MTN South Africa who sponsored me this year so I could travel to JHB, DBN and PTA    Without their help I would not have had the opportunity to shoot my qualifying scores

From my physical fitness side I have to first thank Reinhard with his elbow, needles and ultrasound. This has helped me so much to prevent any major injuries throughout the year, ensuring I was able to keep going whilst I was getting fitter.

To Rone even though we only had a handful of sessions together be assured that I’m getting fitter by the day (except the little extra weight around my middle)

A couple of small mentions for my GP and Pain specialist who made sure all my medication is legal.

Thank you to all the clubs I visited in Jhb, Dbn and PTA. Your hospitality was heartwarming

Lastly to all the members of BOWTIME, Bellville archery Club, Paarl archery , wine lands archery, Protea sports club, Heidelberg archery club and all other archers. Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me, assist with collecting arrows, scoring and helped carry equipment to and from the shooting line. You all made me feel like a member of the archer family here in the western cape.

In the archery community there is one phrase that always comes up  “if you want to shoot good scores or records Come to Durban”

Well with the aid of MTN I competed in the Kings Park Archery Club 720 Quattro over the last weekend.

So lets just say the weather was not ideal for archery, on Saturday the weather was overcast and very windy, the weather guru’s had the wind at about 35kph and gusts up to 65kph. The wind was so strong that even before we started scoring arrows 10 archers pulled out, which at the end of the day may have been the right decision. The shoot for the day was hard work with the wind being the only winner.

Sunday brought about some different challenges, when arriving at the range the weather was perfect, just a little light rain and no wind… Of course as soon as practice finished and we prepared for scoring, the rain came down in buckets and made shooting difficult.

When we got to the second half of the day the rain stopped and wind dropped, with the overcast conditions the weather was perfect. At last the conditions we were promised, you could see straight a way that all the archers on the line we starting to improve..

Instantly i was able to take advantage of the conditions, I was able to equal my national record that I broke the previous weekend in Pretoria. This led to me shooting my 3rd Qualifying  score for Protea Colours.

I’ll chalk the weekend up to good practice in challenging conditions with a bonus of a good qualifying score.

As always it is work in progress. Still lots of training needs to continue to maintain and improve on my current form. Then the scores will also continue to improve.

Its been a while since i have posted an update on my progress, lets just say family, procrastination and work has kept me very busy.

So since my last update I competed in the South African National Indoor champs held in Durban. Was not my best shooting but i did shoot a Indoor Qualifying score for National Colours, I would have also finished 3rd in the Recurve me ranking round. So whilst not my best competition but still a very respectable result.

November is quite a full month of shooting,the first weekend in November was the Malcolm Todd Tournament which was a double 1440. The first day of shooting the weather was not too bad a little windy but manageable, my score was a respectable 1141 with a a Personal best and New provincial and National record at 50m. Day 2 was a little more hectic with the wind and everybody’s score dropped, I ended with a 1041  my final total for both days 2182 is a new record for the double 1440 round.

For the 2nd weekend in November i traveled to Pretoria for the Jan & Lala challenge hosted by TUKS archery. this was a 720 Quattro

The first day was very warm with a bit of a breeze that was a little confusing as the flag on all the targets were not always blowing in the same direction or force. Beside this added challenge i managed to shoot pretty decent scores, I broke national records for the single unit 304, double unit (720) 587 and at the end of the day the double 720 national record of 1138.

Day 2, wow its was very very hot and the wind returned to try and make things more interesting,  I started well, felt a little stiff from the previous days shooting, however this may have improved my focus as i managed to shoot another 304 for the single unit (my last arrow of the round was a lazy shot and scored a 5) the second unit was also a strong round of 294, which gave me a final score of 601, my first ever score over 600 for a 720 round and a new National record. the final 720 of the day was a challenge with the ever changing wind and the increased heat, I was feeling drained. With the encouragement of the spectators and other other archer I held it together to shoot a respectable 569 which gave me a final double 720 score of 1170. an increase of 32points over the record i shot the previous day.

I ended with a new national record for the total weekend score 2308

So to recap, over the 2 days i broke 6 national records and shot 2 Protea colours qualifying scores. Not a bad weekend….

This coming weekend i am off to Durban for another 720 Quattro and the weekend after that i’ll be back at Bellville archery club to shoot another 720 Quattro. lets hope this old body of mine manages to survive November…..

Since my last post I have  been preparing for the upcoming South African National indoor champs taking place in Durban on the weekend of 19tj-21st October.

Of course focus has been on 18m indoors but I have Also worked hard on ensuring my setup is also ready for the kick off of the outdoor season  over the first weekend in Novembet

November will be a busy month with a tournament on all 4 weekends.  2 of which will require me to do some travelling.  Let’s hope this old body of mine can recover.

Feeling good about my shooting. Lots of things are falling into place .

I just want to thank my team, Noel, Luther, Sharon, Reinhard, Rone and of course MTN.#wegotu

This is the A team, they help me in so many different ways to ensure I  fully prepared for any tournaments that come up. MTN’s support ensures that I don’t have to worry about finding the Moola to fly around the country.

Next update will be posted after next weekend.

In the meantime be positive, aim for the gold and shoot straight.