Day 1 was Clout, which is shooting arrows at a clout on the ground, 125 metres away for Ella-rose, and something she had never done before. Although finishing last she thoroughly enjoyed the event and very happy with the fact that her last end of 53 out of 60 was actually the same as she had achieved for the total of the previous five ends.  

Day 2 was one of the target rounds – a Fita 40/1440 which is 144 arrows over four different distances. The weather gradually worsened throughout the day making conditions very challenging with strong winds and rain.  Starting slowly, Ella-rose continued to climb the ladder and after top scoring at the second distance had moved in to fourth place.  The end of the third distance saw her move into second place and on target for a personal best round.  Unfortunately the weather forced the cancellation of the final distance, meaning Ella-rose won silver. Coach Dennis Carson described the win as a great achievement. “Ella-rose remained very strong and focused throughout the day and well deserved her placing,” he said. 

Day 3 was field day which comprised of 24 targets set out similar to a golf course with three arrows being shot at each target.  These are set out distances from five to 50 metres. After a long day of target the previous day Ella-rose found the trying weather difficult and finished the event in sixth place.

Day 4 was once again a target event of 72 arrows shot at a distance of 40 metres and once again the conditions were wet, cold and windy.  Once again Ella-rose started slowly gradually moving through the field finishing the event in fourth place.  

Weather conditions improved but remained cold for the next two days which comprised of a ranking round and match play event.  This was for under 20 and cadet competitors meaning Ella-rose had to shoot 60 metres against older competitors. After ranking, a round robin was then held with the top archers in each pool shooting off for medals.  Five matches were contested by each archer and Ella-rose won two and lost three, winning one in a one arrow shoot off against one of the higher ranked archers and losing another one in yet another shoot off.

There was also a team match play where all archers were placed in teams of three according to rankings.  This was Ella-rose’s first experience of team match play. In this event each archer shoots two arrows per end and is scored in sets with two for a win, one for a draw over four ends.  Ella-rose’s team was very determined making the gold medal match and winning it 6-2.

A wonderful way to finish a tough week.