ON TARGET: Matt Kearney showed why he is one of the Orange and District Bowhunters Club’s best up and coming shooters with an impressive performace at the club’s annual Walkabout Shoot last weekend. Photo: JEFF DEATH 0127jdbowhunters
THE Orange and District Bowhunters’ juniors provided the home club with reason to smile at the annual Walkabout Shoot over the Australia Day long weekend, rounding out the two-day shoot with seven top-three finishes.
Proving bowhunting isn’t just an older man’s game, cubs Zac McKinnon-Braid, Matt Kearney and Ryan Schick along with junior boy Bryce Cummings defied the heat on Saturday then the damage the torrential rain left on the course on Sunday to dominate the lower age categories.
Competing in the Australian Bowhunters Association (ABA) paper round on Saturday, McKinnon-Braid won the cub boys’ freestyle limited shoot with a first round, three arrow score of 340 and a second round, one arrow score of 306.
In the cub boys’ freestyle unlimited, Kearney (380, 384) won while Schick (354, 248) managed third.
Cummings, with scores of 326 and 282, finished third in the junior boys’ bowhunter unlimited flight two.
The quartet of Orange shooters then backed it up with equally impressive numbers in Sunday’s three-dimensional round at the club’s Lewis Ponds course.
Kearney made it a double in the cub boys’ freestyle unlimited, winning with scores of 376 and 382, while Schick rounded out the top two with 368 and 362.
In the junior boys’ bowhunter unlimited flight two, Cummings finished second with 346, 352.
Orange and District Bowhunters Club president Nigel Livingstone said the feats of the club’s junior stars was one of the most pleasing aspects out of the weekend’s shoot, one of the biggest on the ABA calender in 2013.
“We’ve got some of the best set ups in the country,” Livingstone said.
“Historically, we’ve held Australian and world titles there. All of the feedback for this year’s event has been very positive and certainly the young juniors we’ve got gave a good account of themselves over the weekend.”
Another strong performer at the 2103 Walkabout Shoot was Jessica Warren.
Taking part in her first competitive shoot, Warren finished the Saturday paper round of the ladies’ bowhunter unlimited flight two in second with scores of 314 and 310 while those numbers improved in the three-dimension round to 332 and 322, netting her first place.
Tony Wearing was second in the men’s bowhunters limited flight two and backed up on Sunday with another second with scores of 294 and 280.
Rod Schick (370, 378) finished first in the men’s freestyle unlimited flight two.
Livingstone encouraged anyone interested in taking part in the sport to head out to the club’s range on Lewis Ponds Road, with the first three shoots free.