PRESIDENTS REPORT GROTTS GRUMBLE AUSTRAILIAN LONGBOW MUSTER
97Redhills Report - May/June 97
PRESIDENTS REPORT GROTTS GRUMBLE
AUSTRAILIAN LONGBOW MUSTER
97
It has been a very busy month or so since the AGM and I have not been able to put a lot of effort into the Club however the holiday is now over and it’s time to get cracking. Wednesday nights will see some new activities and we want to see large numbers of members along to partake in these. The first such activity was a V Shoot which is a one on one shooting game that was thoroughly enjoyed by all who came along on the first night, especially Josie who scored twice as much as Wayne, Cheryl who dealt to Russell and Daniel who won the shoot.
Sundays are also going to be busy with the Ifaa League round being closely followed by a 3D shoot on July 6th. This shoot also sees a new top course being set out which along with Steve’s course will ensure we can continue to shoot two top quality courses. The big event coming up is the Hinchco Memorial which will involve one round on Saturday September 6th and two rounds on the Sunday. This years Hinchco also celebrates our twentieth anniversary of the move to Redhills Road and so we will be making an effort to make the event a special one.
The AGM saw a new committee appointed with some old faces and some new. The enthusiasm is there though to make sure this year is a good one. With the World Ifaa Championships coming up next Easter it is gratifying to see such strong support at committee level for this discipline. As a Club we want to support this event and will be taking up the opportunity to set out one of the six courses to be shot during the tournament. Following a request from Australia we will also be holding a 3D shoot on the Sunday before the Worlds and offering the use of our courses for practice to any interested overseas guests. This is being advertised in Australia and Europe and (as we are a high tech club) on our Internet home page.
During my short break from the Club I attended two archery events with vastly different weather conditions. On Queens Birthday I shot the NZBHS 40th Anniversary Shoot at Glen Massey. The event was well organised and very enjoyable despite the buckets of rain dropped on us over the three days. Massey archers performed well but none more so than Wayne Peters who was the Tournament Champion and even managed to burgle the "Most Improved" award. Congratulations Wayne. The second event had much better weather, being the Australian Longbow Muster in Queensland. The Massey Team managed to hold the Trans Tasman Trophy for another year due to a fine effort by all team members.
The thing that struck me about both of these tournaments is that they were real events, not just another shoot. An event is made by the organisation that surrounds it and the amount of activities that are organised for the enjoyment of participants. An event is not just a shoot with a different type of target. It pays us to remember this as we enter a period that will call for us to organise a number of genuine events but it does of course demand real effort, so when the call for assistance comes your positive response will be appreciated.
Once again Queen’s birthday weekend has come and gone, and along with it, the annual New Zealand Bowhunters tournament, which wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t pissing down with rain.
WHAGNARO HOT SPRINGS HOTEL – The name alone sends many a shiver up a few very jellied spines. After last years tournament I thought that I would try and be a bit more organized this year, and set about arranging accommodation for team Grott imeadatly after returning from Whangerai. On TV at this particular time Whangaro Hot Springs were running a big ad campaign, after seeing their ad a few times I thought to myself, that’s just the place for the team, there’s; a pub, hooters, accommodation, pub, hooters, close to the tournament, pub, hooters, hot pools, and did mention the HOOTERS?! I should have realized after the first phone call that this was going to be a disaster, upon ringing to book (bear in mind that this was just after the Whangerai tournament), here’s the phone conservation;
Grott "Hi, I would like to
book a room for 4 adults"
Idiot "Sure. Name"?
Grott "Lainchbury"
Idiot "HUH? How do you spell that"?
Grott "Correctly"!
Idiot "HUH? No, I mean can you spell it"?
Grott "yes"
Idiot "HUH? No, I mean how is it spelt"?
(No sense of humor)
Grott "just put down Berry"
Idiot "HUH? How do you spell it"?
Grott "Oh, for Christ sake, anyway friggen way you
like" (Grotts phone charm started to kick in at this point)
Idiot "Oh", slight pause for brain to
keep up "Ok, when would you like the room"?
Grott "Queens birthday weekend"
Idiot "That’s in October isn’t
it"?
Grott "NO"! By now I am leaving my fingerprints
indented to the phone "The first weekend in JUNE"!
Idiot "IM sorry, but that is all booked up,
anyway, wasn’t last weekend Queens birthday weekend"?
Grott blows his cool totally "YOU IDIOT, I WANT IT
FOR NEXT YEAR"!!!!!!
Idiot "IM awfully sorry but we cant take
bookings that far ahead"
At that point I didn’t know what to do, so I just hung up
and waited for March to roll around and tried then.
Saturday morning found Jacko, Jaffa, and the Grott motoring southbound faster than diarrhea through your fingers – late as per usual. Finally arriving at the hot springs without incident, we find that the sleeping arrangements weren’t quite right 2 singles and a double – but four of us? Grott dives for the double, that was a bit of me, Jaffa, having gone through this all before in Rotorua quickly snatched up one of the singles, seeing the fear in Jaffas eyes Jacko decided that Les wouldn’t want to sleep in the same bet with me, so Al drew the short straw – Yahoo for Grott. With that all sorted out, it was off to the tournament. It was no longer raining, but instead a continual stream of water was cascading from the heavens. Arriving just in time to catch up with old mates and knock back a few release aids or 12, we were off, into the rain forests. Of course I get sent right to the back of the furthest course and start on a target with a distance of 2000 yards – Grotts up first – PING – Aaaahahahaha a 20, I think it was the only one I got all weekend. At the end of the day we returned to the unit soaking wet, while everyone else is busy turning on heaters, electric blankets and even the oven to try and raise the temperature a bit, Grott took up residence on the bog for the next hour and a half, while every now and then the door would be opened just enough to roll through a bottle of Ice, but was quickly slammed shut followed by a lot of abuse. After MAF quarantined off the head, it was off to the pools. Much to our dismay there were none of the hooters we had all seen on TV, not even a single hoot, did grace our presence. Never mind a good meal will get us in the right mood. Arriving in the dinning room (a little wobbly on the feet) we found the Dargaville mob along with a few MAC boys, and promptly sat ourselves down at their table and ordered a meal. Half an hour later the waitress comes out and tells us that what we have (just?) ordered, they have run out of. This happens twice before w actually get something to eat, not that it was a problem, because there was a bar handy. Seeing a few new faces at the end of the table, curiosity got the better of Grott and as subtlety as I can be, I asked "Who the (rhymes with duck) are you"? Everyone thought that this was hilarious, I just wanted to know who they were, so that set the mood for the evening and a good night was had by all. Day two – still pouring with rain, and I end up in a group with Janice Alan, what a laugh we had, well I did anyway. On a particularly steep and greasy part of the course, Janice was going up first, swearing and cursing all the way as one does. As she just about gets to the top, her legs start going faster and faster, like road runner getting ready to sprint away from Wylie Coyote, then Janice slowly starts tilting forward, until Newton’s law just has to come in to play, WHOMP, a minor tremor is recorded in the Waikato. Janice is now face down in the mud, with her legs sticking out over the edge of the bank, as the seconds pass like hours, gravity slowly sucks at Janices legs to send her shooting straight down the bank she just climbed up, screaming "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow". As everyone else in the group rushed over to see if she was all right, even Watson show a bit of concern, all I could do was laugh my head off. The other funny incident was when Jacko slammed the van door down on Les’s finger. Honestly Les, we weren’t laughing at you those tears in our eyes were sympathy tears. After that it was back for a swim and a meal. Once again we couldn’t get what we ordered, all because Blobby had eaten the last cow. Not tem minutes after we had ordered, six sexy babes walked in, well five, and Alan could have had the pig with the big drooly overbite. But they were soon to be chased off by Jacko, telling them that we just ordered our steaks raw and covered in oysters. Day three, and it was still raining. Jacko and myself decided, bugger all this cold and wet, so we slept in and then spent the rest of the day at the pools – still wet, but oh so warm.
That’s all from the Grott for now, so remember, there is only one thing worse than being talked about, that’s not being talked about, and if you cant say anything nice about anyone – sit next to me.
Grott.
The annual pilgrimage to Queensland for the Australian Longbow Muster has become a Massey tradition and this year I thought I better go along and see what the attraction is. So having acquired a bow and a few arrows I joined the team of 9 Massey members plus our Northern Wairoa guest star Elaine McCracken and her support crew. After all the plans were made it appeared that Tracker Tom and I were to go a few hours earlier to blaze the trail with the others following in the evening flight of June 4th.
Tracker Tom and I along with our Aussie Camp Mother Sarge Bell met the rest of the crew at the airport in the evening and the Tracker and Sarge proceeded to give us an exhibition of aged and infirm trail blazing. Sarge lives about 20 minutes or so from the Brisbane airport but after we drove for 9km before finding the airport exit and then followed Sarge and Tracker on a two hour tour of Brisbane No Exit roads before she finally found her home we had lost all faith in their abilities as Camp Leaders.
The hospitality of Sarge and Pete Bell along with the Lakeside Archery Club in Brisbane was appreciated though as we had a very enjoyable day or so in Brisbane, shooting a couple of rounds at Lakeside and being entertained by their members at a barbecue. We also made a valiant effort to become thoroughly acclimatised to local conditions by ensuring we had enough Aussie performance enhancements to almost guarantee immunity.
The Friday saw the team make our way north towards Maryborough, the site of the Muster. After a compulsory stop at the Etamoggah Pub we finally reached our destination just before dusk set in. Having organised our beds and a meal we made our way to the camp bar where old friends were met and a session of lie telling commenced.
The Saturday’s shooting commenced with everybody having a single shot at a deer from a distance of about 60 yards. The winner (our Camp Leader Pete Bell) was the one closest to the freckle and he was awarded a special Muster Arrow as his trophy. Following this we got into a couple of novelty events, the bow birds and the running deer. The running deer is a moving target shot from 5 different positions with your bow being on the ground when the target is released. A little bit different from what we do here but a lot of fun. After lunch we set off to shoot the first course, thirty Australian Style 3D targets set up very well and showing a cruel streak of imagination.
For example there was the shot at the pig with a tree above it and what looked like a large rock below. On closer inspection the rock became a decomposing beef carcass which really made arrow extraction enjoyable. Then there was the goat on a tree branch with the Mary river behind it. Or how about a rabbit from 35 yards, with the rabbit sitting on a termite nest. The Mary river got used to great effect with the end of the day seeing a massive armada of wooden arrows sailing off to the sea. However I can proudly announce that I lost no arrows, scored in three figures and took a beer off John Rehm who failed to make up the pathetic handicap he gave me.
Saturday night saw more entertainment with the highlight being an auction to raise money for some old folks charity (I suspect Tracker and Sarge picked the charity). As the performance enhancements kicked in some furious bidding took place, especially from Aunty Elaine who seemed determined to buy everything. Frivolity carried on throughout the night with the odd dwarf being spotted diving into rubbish bins in an attempt to find a quiet spot to sleep.
The morning dawned with yet another great day, us Kiwi’s really appreciating the dry warm conditions of about 25 degrees. The Sunday saw us shoot a new course, once again 30 3D targets, with plenty of variety and challenge to create interest. For example there was the deer that you shot across the river. It was sitting on a small peninsula so if you went a bit low your arrow smashed on the rocks. Very low or high and it was goodbye to another arrow sailing down the Mary. The most nerve wracking part of this one though was wobbling your way across the river in a canoe to retrieve your arrows, many a soaked archer on this obstacle. There was the odd goat on rocky ridges, a feral cat on a high branch in a tree, another feral cat that you had to shoot through a hollow log (excellent ricochet kill on that one) and a third pussy placed in the middle of a huge boulder. Then there was an array of targets set in the swamp (miss and you lose the arrow) so all in all it was a challenging round but I managed to better the previous days score and kept John from winning back beer.
Sunday night was dancing and misbehaving around a large bonfire with entertainment being provided by an expat Kiwi on electric guitar. Generally we all made exhibitions of ourselves with Colin once again making high dives into the rubbish bins, a general embarrassment to us all. Aunty Elaine showed great form on the dance floor, looking a little bit like a younger Janice Allen.
Prize giving was on the Monday morning. The New Zealand team did well, winning the Trans Tasman trophy for the second year in a row (obviously no Super League referees involved here). Aunty Elaine tied in third place in the ladies longbow with Cheryl Brown but took the place on count back of lung shots. The ladies winner was Karen Gasgoyne who you may remember as she came along to this years Safari. Tracker Tom was our top performing archer finishing fourth overall with Bruce Scott coming in fifth place. Last years champion, Jelly Roll Burton, was a complete non event this year in the Self Bow section, one suspects primarily due to beverage poisoning. The most pleasing individual result was Tracker Tom winning a Master Fletcher award for arrow making, a very high achievement and a first for a Kiwi archer.
Next year is the 10th anniversary of the Muster and the event promises to be a biggie. It is probable that a large team from Massey will make their way across so if you feel like a bit of fun in the sun during our winter start saving now. Special thanks must be given to Camp Mother and Camp Leader, Sarge and Pete Bell, and I am sure that they and the Muster organisers will ensure your enjoyment of next years event.
PRESIDENTS
REPORT GROTTS GRUMBLE
AUSTRAILIAN LONGBOW MUSTER 97
