Chester Indoor Championships - Portsmouth Round
Sat 31st January & Sun 1st February, 2004
I pick up my bow and pause for thought, "Right this is it. I'm ready for this. Bring on all opposition! I can take it. I am a gladiator/warrior, this is my amphitheatre and I am the star event. Nothing can scare me now! I will crush all who stand in my way. One look and the opposition will whither away. I will take all the glory. Be decorated with Gold trophies, money and fame. People will awe at the deadly execution of my weapon. I have one purpose.........I must crush them!!!!"
It is time, I'm ready, I move forward to the shooting line, "I am a Tiger all others will fear my roar! I am the biggest, strongest and loudest of all. No would dare stand in my way without the risk of being eaten alive."...........I rest.
I remove an arrow from my quiver and place it onto the string. Next, set up the clicker. Ensure the arrow is sitting perfectly in the arrow rest. I take hold and prepare myself for the onslaught of the other gladiators. I pull back beautifully; I have never felt such finesse. Steady as a rock. They could take photos of me and publish my image in all coaching manuals as the definitive stance. I could stand here all day. Someone please paint me. It would be so perfect that the Tate gallery would display my image and title it "perfection in motion".
The aim looked so good, "Why are we aiming at such large targets. This is no challenge. The way I'm feeling I could hit a 50 pence piece from a mile away." The string feels so good as it now becomes a part of my body. With the slightest pull the arrow passes through the clicker now I'm ready to release.
Instantaneously I release. My hand travels backward like the recoil of a sniper rifle. I have released my arrow, my sibling, off to explore the big wide world. We can now only hope that it has an untroubled and successful path; un-distracted by all the temptations and deceptions this bad world can bring. We want all our siblings to do well, but some will and some won't.
There is a pause...........the journey is long and hard one. Only physics now stands between me and a perfect 10. I can't look. I have a fear that my arrow will have been distracted by a gypsy along its' long road to the land of 10 and been lured away to a new dodgy religious cult that has set up home in the blue ring. Or maybe the arrow has run off to join the circus located in the white with dreams of top billing in a tight rope act. Will I ever see it again............
Thud!! The arrow has landed I'm elated. My baby has landed safely in the warm straw bosom of the boss, but what is it? I look up, it's a ten. "This is easy I'll keep this up and storm the opposition. I'm taking no prisoners. I want 600........anything else will be considered a failure."
I fire the next arrow followed by the last. With the love and respect I've shown the first the next two will surely follow in the proud footsteps gently trod by the first. The whistle blows and we calmly walk with anticipation of what tales our arrows may tell on the path to Gold. My grouping is within a 1 pence piece. I almost expect this. I stand there and admire the target like a Carribean beach sunset. I don't want it to end. How can I fail? I repeat, "I am a Tiger."
The arrows are extracted gently and put to bed in my quiver. They must rest, there it is another long and hard journey ahead. If only the rest of the day was as good as the sighters..............
(this is a personal report by Wayne Houston as he storms the sighters then scores become dismal, resulting in him coming last in the club, selling all his equipment and running off to a Tibetan Monastery where archery is considered witchcraft).