At the NFAA Sectionals, here in North Carolina, it was hot. Not record setting hot, but the second highest temperature that had been recorded for these two days. Shooting in 95°F was hard on a lot of people. The heat combined with the rugged terrain was more that some people could handle.
The first day was the hardest since there were three rounds. Two were field rounds and there was one animal round.
The field round, as expected, had plenty of long shoots. There were eighty-yard targets, mixed in with 70, 60, and 50 yarders. The second day was a “hunter” day and the distances remained the same. Lots of long shots. Long shots are fun shots. There’s something audibly rewarding to loose an arrow then wait awhile to hear the pop of it striking home. It’s visually rewarding to land on a center ring.
There were no freebees. When there was a short target it was often arranged at a difficult angle. One such was a “walk-up” where the first shot was only 11 feet away. After taking the short 11-foot shot, archers walked closer until four arrows had been fired.
Initially, it sounds easy. It wasn’t easy. The target was at an angle such that archers needed to contort creating a radical bend from the waist simply to see the target. In fact, it was a fun target.
The heat and rugged terrain did take a toll. On the second day there was a pronounced reduction in competitors. It was a tournament of attrition.
This was my first field archery event. I look forward to getting into as many of these as possible. (238 shots in 2 days -very cool)