For news about competitions, please see the 2011 competitions page.

2 December – at last we have everybody with all their 'silverware':

Last Sunday we presented Adam and Isaac with commemorative medals from the club in recognition of their respective first County records (first photo).

Tonight the new Gloucestershire Chair, Denise Bunce, came to our indoor venue to present Dave with the gents' county Joyce Harding salver for the biggest handicap improvement between 1 January and 30 September 2011 (second photo). Denise informed us that Joyce Harding had been a member of Bristol Bowmen many years ago, it seems fitting that at last we've won one of the salvers.

Adam and Isaac get to keep their medals, unfortunately Dave only has the salver for a year and then has to return it so that it can be presented to the 2012 winner.

9 December – the Gloucestershire Archery Society Joyce Harding Salvers page has been updated and is now showing Dave as the 2011 Gents' winner.

9 December – we regularly have new archers setting records on their first shoot as members or with their first submitted scores, now we have our monthly associate (temporary) members doing it as well. Well done to Ewa Philips for setting new overall club and annual indoor records with her first submitted score.

11 December – another new County record? Gary has beaten his score from 30 November and we don't even yet know if that has been accepted as a County record.

16 December – our Christmas indoor fun competition. Please see the Christmas indoor section of the Competitions 2011 page for the results.

17 December – County have updated their records pages. Both Adam's score from 20 November and Gary's score from 30 November have been accepted as County records, along with the various distance splits. That means we will be claiming Gary's score from 9 December as yet another County record, unless, of course, he beats that score again before the end of December.

17 December – Happy birthday Isaac nine years old today.

18 December – Gary hasn't beaten his score from 11 December, but he has got his third Bowman score, so he is now the third Bowman in the club. Well done.

26 December – Mild and quite still weather brought three archers to the line, although two of them nearly didn't make it: Sheena's front door has swollen in the rain and when she tried to pull it open, the inside door handle broke into three pieces. She ended up 'phoning a neighbour and getting him to come and push from the outside. Then Clive got stuck in the mud at the ground. Luckily there was a rugby match on, so one of the spectators came over in his Land Rover and pulled him out. With so few shooting we decided to hold over the best gold and worst white trophies to see how many turn up on New Year's Day.

So our special thanks go to ex-member Lance Whitelegg, for rescuing Sheena and chair of KRFC Brian Ballinger for organising Clive's rescue.

27 December – Happy birthday web site, five years old today.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery for setting new overall 2011 and club records, which also included beating his own County record, reducing his handicap by one point and gaining his second Bowman score (11/12). For qualifying as Bowman (18/12).
• Michelle Carey for setting new group 2011 and club indoor records and reducing her handicap by three points (09/12). For setting a new group 2011 record, reducing her handicap by three points and getting her second third class score (18/12).
• Sheena McCullagh for setting new overall 2011 and group club records (26/12). For setting new overall 2011 and club records (28/12).
• Adam Perkins for setting new indoor overall 2011 and club records (09/12).
• Andy Perkins for reducing his indoor handicap by three points (02/12).
• Ewa Philips for setting new indoor overall 2011 and club records (09/12).
• Mark Pollard for reducing his indoor handicap by two points (02/12). For reducing it by a further two points (06/12).
• Bob Taylor for beating his own indoor 2011 record and reducing his handicap by one point (06/12).

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1 November – what a lovely way to start the month, County have confirmed that the Short Metric IV that Adam and Isaac shot on 2 October is a County record for each of them: Isaac in the gent's under 9's recurve and Adam in the gent's under 12's barebow. They also have the various distance records as well. The County web site is yet to be updated, but the confirmation has come from the County Records' Officer, so it is official. A big, big congratulations to both. Unfortunately, as we thought, the Short metric V was too short a distance for Adam's category.

4 November – after submitting the County record claims for the juniors we thought we'd see what we could claim for the adults, and we've just heard back, the New Western that Gary Avery shot on 12 October has been accepted as an adult gents barebow County record. Well done Gary, you are currently the only adult in either club with a County record.

5 November – if October was the Adam and Isaac show, November is fast turning into the recognition from County show, not only do we have the country records, we've now heard that Dave Fullerton has won the gents' Gloucestershire Archery Society Joyce Harding Salvers for 2011. It's not showing on their web site yet, but we have had official notification.

There are four salvers, one each for gents, ladies, boys and girls and are awarded annually for the highest handicap reduction between 1 January and 30 September in any given year. As such to be eligible a person has to hold a handicap on the 1 January and then at the 30 September each club submits the highest handicap drop for each group, regardless of bow type. Dave is our first ever winner and achieved this with his compound bow, reducing his handicap by a massive 27 points from 85 to 58 over the course of the qualifying nine months. Well done Dave, being 'first' is an achievement that can never be taken away from you.

6 November – yet more claims submitted to County. Adam and Isaac went out a distance and shot the Short Metric III, both look like they could be County records and new distance records as well. Isaac was also shooting a brand new bow today and both reduced their handicap as well.

13 November – county haven't so much confirmed that Isaac's and Adam's scores from 6 November were new county records, they've simply updated their website instead:

• Isaac now holds in the gents' under 9 recurve, Short Metric III and IV, plus the distance records for the 30m and 20m on an 80cm face. He also holds the record for the Short Metric III in both the under 12s and under 14s sections. Not bad going for an eight year old.
• Adam now holds in the gents' under 12 barebow, Short Metric III and IV, plus the distance records for the 30m, 20m and 10m on an 80cm face. He also holds the record for the Short Metric III and the 30m and 20m distances in the under 14s section and the 30m distance records in both the under 16s and under 18s categories. So Adam is not yet 12 and he's already got records under 18s category, that's impressive.
• Gary now holds in the gents' barebow, New Western.

18 November – we are pleased to welcome our third monthly associate (temporary) member this year, Ewa Johansson Phillips, who is working in Bristol for a few months. Ewa's home club is Hampstead Bowmen in London.

20 November – most barebow and longbow archers are content with putting holes in the flag, cutting the flag pole in two, or generally shooting chunks out the stands. Not so Adam, once again he does things differently, as the photo shows, neatly splitting the flag pole and leaving his arrow wedged in it right up to the fletchings without breaking either, making a rather pronounced bulge in the wood in the process. Not quite a Robin Hood, more a Friar Tuck.

Oh and we're also claiming Adam's score and distance splits from today as new county records.

23 November – happy birthday Adam, 12 today, so he jumps age group into the gents' under 14 category. Luckily Adam had already shot enough qualifying rounds in this group that he doesn't drop back a classification level, unlike so many juniors when they change age group.

24 November – welcome to our first ever General Associate Member, and an international one at that, Judy Dyster who lives in Chandler, Arizona (just to the east of Phoenix) and shoots with Paseo Vista Archery Club in Chandler. Judy wanted to join us as her ancestors came from Bristol and her maiden name is Butts: 'Butts were marks for archery. In most parishes places were set apart for this necessary sport which were called 'the Butts,' hence, the name was given to a person residing near such a spot, as 'John at the Butts''. (Taken from Ancestor search: Butts.)

30 November – just to nicely round off the month, Gary Avery has shot what appears to be another new county record, both the overall round and the distance splits. Hopefully at some point in December we'll find out if both his score from today and Adam's score from 20 November have been accepted.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery, for setting new overall 2011 and club records (02/11). For setting a new overall 2011 indoor record (11/11). For setting new overall 2011 and club records, reducing his handicap by one point and getting his first ever Bowman score (30/11).
• Michelle Carey, for setting a new group 2011 record, gaining her indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'E' (25/11). For setting a new group 2011 record, reducing her handicap by a massive seven points and gaining her first third class score (27/11).
• Isaac Eamer, for setting new group 2011 and club records, reducing his handicap by one point and qualifying as second class (06/11). For setting a new group 2011 indoor record (18/11).
• Dave Fullerton, for setting a new overall club indoor record, reducing his handicap by one point and qualifying as 'F' with his compound bow (01/11).
• Rod Luton, for setting new overall 2011 and group club records (09/11). For setting a new overall indoor 2011 record (12/11). For beating that same record (18/11). For beating it yet again, reducing his handicap by three points and setting a new overall 2011 record (26/11).
• Sheena McCullagh, for setting new group 2011 and overall club records (02/11). For setting new overall 2011 and club records (06/11). And again, but on a different round, this time beating her own overall club record by 116 points (20/11).
• Andy Perkins, for gaining his indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'H' (04/11). For setting a new overall 2011 and club group record and reducing his handicap by three points (06/11). For reducing his indoor handicap by four points and classifying as 'G' (11/11). For reducing his handicap by a massive five points in one go (13/11). For setting new overall 2011 and club group records, plus reducing his handicap by another four points (20/11). For reducing his indoor handicap by three points and classifying as 'F' (25/11). For reducing his handicap by one point (27/11).
• Adam Perkins, for setting new overall club and 2011 records and reducing his handicap by one point (06/11). For gaining his indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'G' (11/11). For setting new 2011 and club group records, getting his second first class score and reducing his handicap by two points (13/11). For setting new overall 2011 and club records, the last time he'll do this in the gent's under 12 group, he turns 12 in three days (20/11).
• Mary Perkins, for gaining her indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'G' (11/11). For gaining her outdoor starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (20/11).
• Mark Pollard, for setting a new overall 2011 indoor record (01/11). For changing bow type, setting a new overall 2011 indoor record and reducing his handicap by one point (04/11).
• Bob Taylor, for setting a new overall 2011 indoor record and reducing his handicap by one point (01/11). For beating that same record (04/11). For beating it yet again and reducing his indoor handicap by three points (11/11). For setting a new overall 2011 record (13/11). For beating his indoor record yet again and reducing his handicap by two points (18/11).
• Joedy Taylor, for gaining his indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'F' (04/11). For reducing his indoor handicap by one point (11/11). Fore reducing his indoor handicap by one point and classifying as 'E' (25/11).
• Lee Taylor, for reducing his handicap by two points and qualifying as third class (06/11). For reducing his indoor handicap by one point (11/11).

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1 October – welcome to a trio of new members, Mary Perkins who joins after completing our general beginners' course earlier in the year and Michelle Carey and Andy Perkins who join us after completing the specially run 'family and friends' beginners' course.

2 October – welcome to two more new members, Chris Musselle who had done most of the beginners' course at Archery GB HQ in the summer and came for a couple of weeks 'top-up' and Isaac Eamer who join us after completing the specially run 'family and friends' beginners' course. In keeping with so many who join both shot new overall 2011 records with their first shoots as club members. In addition, Isaac's score was third class. To put that in perspective, although he is only 8, he is shooting in the Gents' under 12 category, so he's having to get scores the same as boys three years older than him in order to classify.

2 October – and not to be outdone, Mary Perkins, who'd joined the day before, but not shot then, set new group club and 2011 records with her first shoot as a member, beating her own 2011 record set while on the beginners' course. Meanwhile young Adam Perkins wasn't going to let his mum take all the family glory for the day and for the first time shot a round he could classify on. Obviously not content with doing things the 'usual' way, he jumped straight in with a second class score, and new overall 2011 and club records to boot. His handicap for the round was so good, that had he been shooting the next distance out, it would have been first class, not second.

9 October – this month is fast turning into the Adam and Isaac show. On a very windy day, our two young gents went out a distance and nailed it:

Isaac is still using club equipment and at the 30 yards had to aim his sight at the top of the flag. With light-weight arrows and bow, the wind blew his scores all over the place yet still he managed to shoot to a better handicap than he's ever shot before and scored just 11 points below the lowest scoring newbie adult shooting that distance. He even managed to set a group 2011 record and got his second third class score. And don't forget, he's only eight-years old.

Adam, well what a day. He took the overall 2011 record from his dad, set on a perfectly still evening, beating that score by 84 points. He also took the overall club record for the round by six points, a score set in May 2008, by another under 12 gent. Today both his parents were shooting the same round as Adam, his dad with a new bow, but with sights on, and his mum shooting barebow, like Adam. So how did Adam do compared to them? He beat his dad by 143 points and his mum by a whopping 193 points. Oh yes, and he also got his first first class score.

14 October – and Adam's first indoor shoot. No Isaac tonight, so Adam was left to steal the show on his own. Not content with trouncing the adult newbies, he's now started beating the experienced archers hands down, increasing the overall score for the year (adult) by four points and nearly doubling the score of the only other barebow archer that night (also adult). He even beat several of the adult recurve archers present, experienced and newbie alike, beating his dad's score by more than double. He also took the overall club record by 220 points, but that had been set by a under 13 lady a few years ago.

23 October – and the Adam and Isaac show continues. Isaac beat his own 2011 record, but more importantly, three submitted scores and he has reached third class. What's more today's score was actually second class. No record for Adam, but having achieved the status of Archer on his last outdoor shoot, he's now jumped straight to second class, completely bypassing third and reduced his handicap in the process.

23 October – welcome to returning member Liz Ewins. Liz completed our beginner's course and joined a couple of years ago, then life got in the way, specifically she started working in A&E at Weston-super-Mare hospital and had to drop out. Now in a job with more sociable hours, she has returned to us. Welcome back Dr Liz.

31 October – just to nicely round of this exceptional month for both Adam and Isaac, it's looking like the Short Metric IV that they both shot on 2 October is going to be a County record for each of them: Isaac in the gent's under 9's recurve and Adam in the gent's under 12's barebow. They may also get the distance records for 20m and 10m on an 80 cm face and Adam may also have the county record for the Short Metric V, shot two weeks before, and the 15m distance record as well. We're not sure about the latter round for Adam as it may be too short a distance for his age group. We've submitted the figures to County, now we'll just have to wait and see, but it'll be good to have our juniors once again setting County records as we haven't had any since Harry Francis (gent's under 12 recurve) and Mark Dare (gent's under 14 barebow) set several in 2007 and 2008.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery, for reverting back to barebow and setting a new overall 2011 record (05/10). For shooting a two dozen longer round and setting new overall club and 2011 records (12/10).
• Michelle Carey, for setting new group 2011 and club indoor records (28/10). For setting a new 2011 group record, gaining her starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (30/10).
• John Chappell, for reducing his handicap by three points (05/10).
• Isaac Eamer, for setting a new overall 2011 record and gaining his first third class score on the day he joined the club (02/10). For going out a distance, setting a new 2011 group record and gaining his second third class score (09/10). For beating that same record, gaining his starting handicap and his first second class score, which was also his third third class score, so qualifying him as third class (23/10). For reducing his handicap by two points and getting his second second class score (30/11).
• Dave Fullerton, for gaining his longbow indoor starting handicap and classifying as 'G' (07/10). For reducing his indoor barebow handicap by five points (14/10). For setting new overall 2011 and club indoor compound records (21/10). For beating those same records and reducing his handicap by one point (28/10).
• Ian Lassman, for reducing his indoor handicap by two points (04/10).
• Rodney Luton, for setting new overall 2011 and club records (02/10). For setting new overall 2011 and group club records (12/10).
• Sheena McCullagh, for reverting back to barebow and setting a new overall club record and 2011 group record (05/10). For beating those same records (07/10). For shooting a two dozen longer round and setting new overall club and group 2011 records (12/10).
• Chris Musselle, for setting a new overall 2011 record on the day he joined the club (02/10).
• Adam Perkins, for setting new overall club and 2011 records and getting his first second class score which was also his first third class score (02/10). For going out a distance, setting new overall club and 2011 records, getting his starting handicap, classifying as Archer and getting his first first class score, which was also his second second class and second third class – Phew (09/10). For going indoor for the first time and setting new overall 2011 and club records, taking them from different people (14/10). For reducing his handicap by one point, gaining his third second class score and so qualifying as second class, completely bypassing third class in the process (23/10).
• Andy Perkins, for gaining his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (30/10).
• Mary Perkins, for setting new group club and 2011 records with her first shoot as a member (02/10). For beating those same records (09/10).
• Mark Pollard, for trying out his compound bow indoor and taking the overall 2011 and club records (14/10). For reducing his indoor recurve handicap by two points and classifying as 'F' (23/10).
• Jerry Sly, for reducing his handicap by three points and gaining his first third class score (05/10). For reducing his handicap by a further two points and gaining his second third class score (12/10).
• Bob Taylor, for setting a new overall 2011 indoor record (21/10). For beating that same record (28/10).
• Joedy Taylor, for reducing his handicap by one point (09/10).
• Lee Taylor, for gaining his indoor starting handicap and qualifying as 'E' (28/10).

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1 September – Our AGM in the club house at KRFC. All officers were returned unopposed.

3 and 4 September – Saw our intrepid temporary member Matthew Cranham braving the wilds of the West Midlands, Meridan Archery Club, to be precise, in the hunt for his last major club record. In seven weeks of joining, Matthew has 'captured' every one of the major GPA overall recurve records, that's the York, Gents' FITA (twice) and now the Gents' Double FITA. His score was so high that if we had combined overall records, he would hold that one as well. With his score on the Saturday he also bagged his 1000 FITA star and his white English Cross. From the weekend as a whole, he has personal bests on the Gents' FITA, Long Metric, Short Metric, and the three dozens at each distance, ie 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m.

4 September – Meanwhile, back in Keynsham, our annual club championships. Warm and windy weather created problems for some, but two 2011 records were set and several people reduced their handicap by one point. One person, who shall not remain nameless, Yvonne Buchheim, managed to do both. The results are in the Annual championship section of the Competitions 2011 page, the congratulations are below.

11 September – Welcome to our first new member of the month, Adam Perkins who is the latest person to join after completing our beginners' course in the summer. You may remember back in May when Adam was on the course, on a very windy day, shooting in groups of three, he got a three gold end, so we gave him a medal. Not to be outdone, his father, Andy Perkins had his first lesson today, again very windy, but shooting in groups of six, he got a six gold end, so we gave him a medal as well.

25 September – Do we have a new Robin Hood in the making? Adam Perkins got his own bow today and shot the same round as the adult beginners had shot the week before. Boy did he do well, beating not only his dad's score, but also Michelle's and they were both shooting adult recurve whereas Adam is under 12 barebow. He even managed a six gold end at the longer distance and scored 206 out of a possible 216 in his last two dozen. Go Adam, go Adam, go Adam.

Congratulations go to:

• Yvonne Buchheim, for setting a new group 2011 record and reducing her handicap by one point (04/09).
• Michelle Carey, for setting a new overall 2011 record on the third week of her beginner's course (18/09). For going out another distance and setting a new group 2011 record on her fourth week (25/09).
• John Chappell, for reducing his handicap by one point (04/09). For reducing his handicap by four points (21/09).
• Matthew Cranham, for setting a new overall club record and gaining his 1000 FITA star and his White English Cross (03/09). For setting a new overall club record (03 and 04/09). For beating one of his previous overall 2011 and club records (07/09). For beating that same record, reducing his handicap by one point and gaining his first Bowman score (09/09).
• Isaac Eamer, for setting a new overall 2011 record on the fourth week of his beginner's course (18/09). For going out another distance and setting a new group 2011 record on his fifth week (25/09).
• Dave Fullerton, for setting a new overall 2011 indoor record (05/09).
• David Hayden, for reducing his handicap by two points, that's impressive at a floodlit shoot (30/09).
• Peter John, for getting his first second class score (04/09). For getting his second, second class score (11/09).
• Ian Lassman, for reducing his handicap by one point (04/09).
• Rod Luton, for beating his own overall 2011 and club records and reducing his handicap by one point (07/09). For beating his own overall 2011 and club records on a different round (10/09). For doing the same again (11/09). For beating those same records (26/09). And again (28/09).
• Sheena McCullagh, for setting a new overall 2011 record and reducing her handicap by two points (02/09). For setting a new overall 2011 record (04/09). For putting the sights back on her bow for the first time in three years and setting new overall 2011 and club group records (09/09). For beating those records by 60 points and setting an overall club record as well (14/09). For setting a new 2011 group record on a different round (16/09). For beating that same record (21/09). And doing the same again (28/09).
• Steve McDonald, for qualifying as second class (25/09).
• Chris Musselle, for setting a new overall 2011 record on the second week of his top-up beginner's sessions (25/09).
• Adam Perkins, for setting new overall 2011 and club records with his first round as a member (18/09). For moving out a distance and setting new overall 2011 and club records with his second round as a member (25/09).
• Andy Perkins, for setting a new group 2011 record on the second week of his beginner's course (18/09). For setting a new overall 2011 record on his last day as a beginner (30/09).
• Mary Perkins, for setting a new group 2011 record on her last day as a beginner (30/09).
• Jerry Sly, for setting a new group 2011 record (09/09). For reducing his handicap by two points (28/09).
• Joedy Taylor, for reducing his handicap by one point (04/09). For reducing his handicap by another point (11/09). And doing it again, this time at the floodlit shoot (30/09).
• Lee Taylor, for reducing his handicap by one point (04/09). For reducing his handicap by four points and gaining his first third class score (25/09). For reducing his handicap by a further two points and gaining his second third class score (28/09).

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3 August – Welcome to two more new members John Chappell and Jonathan Colton who both join us after completing our beginners' course. John joined on the Wednesday afternoon shoot and Jonathan came down to the evening one.

7 August – The three photos at the side were taken at today's shoot, by Sheena's son Benjamin McCullagh. He'd bought himself a new camera in the week and wanted to take some high speed shots. Ben's beautifully captured the flight of a longbow arrow as it leaves the bow.

10 August – Welcome to two more new members, partners Ronnie Close and Yvonne Buchheim who both join us after completing our beginners' course.

11 August – And welcome to another new member, Alex Forster who also joins us after completing the beginners' course, the fifth to do so this month.

Congratulations go to:

• Yvonne Buccheim, for setting a new group 2011 record with her first score as a member (21/08). For beating that same record (28/08). For getting her starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (31/08).
• John Chappell, for getting his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (29/08). For reducing his handicap by one point (31/08).
• Ronnie Close, for getting his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (31/08).
• Matthew Cranham, for setting a new overall club record (10/08). For setting new overall 2011 and club records on a different round (17/08). For doing the same again on yet another different round (19/08). And doing it yet again on another round (21/08). For setting a new overall club record on a completely different round (24/08). For changing round yet again and setting new overall club and 2011 records (26/08). And yet again (28/08). For reverting back to one of the rounds he'd previously set new overall 2011 and club records on and beating that score and reducing his handicap by one point in the process (29/08). For setting new overall 2011 and club records on another round that he'd previously set records on (31/08).
• Nick Griffin, (a guest shooter from Bitton Archers) for setting a new overall 2011 record (19/08).
• David Hayden, for gaining his third third class, so qualifying as third and reducing his handicap by one point (07/08). For reducing his handicap by another point (21/08).
• Roger Hobbs, for getting his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (14/08).
• Peter John, for setting a new overall 2011 record (28/08).
• Ian Lassman, for finally submitting enough scores to get his classification back, the first time in several years (21/08).
• Rod Luton, for setting new overall 2011 and club records (03/08). For putting his sights on for the first time this year, setting new overall club and 2011 records and reducing his handicap by one point (14/08). For beating those same records and reducing his handicap by another point (17/08). For sneaking in a barebow shoot and setting new overall 2011 and club records (20/08). For going back to recurve and setting new overall club and 2011 records and reducing his handicap by two points (21/08). For going back to barebow and beating his existing overll 2011 and club records (28/08). And doing the same again (29/08).
• Sheena McCullagh, for switching to barebow and setting a new overall 2011 record (29/08).
• Steve McDonald, for setting a new overall 2011 record, reducing his handicap by three points in the process (07/08). For reducing his handicap by another two points and gaining his first second class score (14/08). For reducing his handicap by another point and gaining his second second class score (21/08). For setting new overall 2011 and club group records (29/08).
• Jerry Sly, for gaining his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (03/08). For reducing his handicap by two points (10/08). For reducing his handicap by another point (17/08).
• Joedy Taylor, for gaining his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (03/08). For reducing his handicap by a massive five points (14/08). For reducing his handicap by another two points (31/08).
• Lee Taylor, for gaining his starting handicap and classifying as 'Archer' (28/08). For reducing his handicap by four points (31/08).

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Cast your minds back to August 2009 when we were joined by Phil and Sandie Warnes of Rivernook Bowmen who were shooting their way around the country, and came to us to shoot a Bristol in Bristol. They have finally completed their journey, including going to the USA to shoot, well, an American, a Vegas and a Western and have sent us a write-up of The Quest (Word: 31.0 KB).

1 July – Welcome to new member Jerry Sly who joins us after completing our beginners' course, the first of this year's beginners to do so.

10 July – Welcome to two more new members Steve McDonald and Andrew Newman who are both returnees to the sport and join us after having had an assessment to make sure they hadn't forgotten too much.

17 July – Welcome to four more full members, brothers Joedy and Lee Taylor and husband and wife Chris and Michelle Townsend, who all join us after completing our beginner's course. It's a while since a new member has done so, but Michelle set a new record on the day she joined, beating her husband's score by 12 points in the process.

17 July – Welcome also to our first ever temporary member Matthew Cranham, who is home on holiday from Warwick University. His membership lasts until 17 September and will give him full shooting rights during his time with us, including club records and competitions. They seem to do things differently at university, we only ever have to keep an eye out for low flying seagulls and ducks, they had a swan land in the middle of their ground during a shoot.

31 July – Until two weeks ago we'd never had a temporary member, now we've got two. Welcome to Laura Church, who is in Bristol on a work placement from Loughborough University. Although at different universities both Laura and Matthew shoot in the BUTTS League, the name of which has nothing to do archery targets, but stands for 'Birmingham University Toxophily and Toucan Society'. Quite what toucans have to do with archery, I'm not sure, but if our ground has ducks and seagulls and Warwick University was 'invaded' by a swan, one can only wonder at the flora and fauna around Birmingham's campus.

Congratulations go to:

• Matthew Cranham, for setting a new overall 2011 record and gaining his first, first class score (23/07). For setting new overall 2011 and club records and getting his second first class score (24/07). For qualifying as first class (27/07).
• Dave Fullerton, for setting a new overall 2011 record and reducing his handicap by four points in the process (06/07). For beating that same record and reducing his handicap by another two points (13/07). For setting new overall club and 2011 records and reducing his handicap by yet another two points (20/07). For setting a new club group record (27/07).
• Peter John, For setting a new overall 2011 record and gaining his second third class score (10/07). For getting his starting handicap and qualifying as third class (24/07).
• Ian Lassman, for reducing his handicap by one point (31/07).
• Rodney Luton, for setting new overall club and 2011 records (20/07). For doing the same again on a different round (27/07). For beating those same records (31/07).
• Steve McDonald, gaining his first third class score on his first shoot as a member (10/07). For getting his second third class score (13/07). For gaining his starting handicap and qualifying as third class (17/07). For reducing his handicap by one point (27/07).
• Jerry Sly, for setting a new group 2011 record with his first submitted score as a member (20/07).
• Bob Taylor, for setting new overall club and 2011 records (24/07).
• Michelle Townsend, for setting a new group 2011 record on the day she joined (17/07).

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1 June – What a way to start the month, four new 2011 records set, three of them by people on the beginner's course.

26 June – Midsummer competition and the hottest shooting day of the year so far, still records were set, handicaps reduced and classifications achieved. The results are in the Midsummer Tournament section of the 2011 Competitions page, the congratulations are below.

Congratulations go to:

• Alex Forster, one of our beginners, for setting a new overall 2011 record (01/06).
• Dave Fullerton for setting a new overall 2011 record and reducing his handicap by a massive 12 points in one go (01/06). For reducing by another four points (26/06). For setting a new overall 2011 record, reducing his handicap by a further three points and classifying as 'Archer' with his compound bow (29/06).
• David Hayden, for reducing his handicap by four points, gaining his second third class score and qualifying as 'Archer' (26/06).
• Lewis Harrison, one of our beginners, for setting a new group 2011 record (01/06).
• Peter John, for getting his first third class score (26/06).
• Sheena McCullagh, setting new group 2011 and club records (26/06).
• Michelle Townsend, one of our beginners, for setting a new group 2011 record (01/06).
• Clive Wilkins, for setting a new overall 2011 and club group record (26/06).

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4 May – We've started the beginners' courses tonight. Eight enthusiastic newbies took to the line and did very well indeed.

11 May – Not content to leave shooting the flag to the established longbow archers, one of our beginner's Ross McGrath did it in quite spectacular fashion tonight managing to leave the flag still standing and the arrow in the boss (see photo on the right).

11 May – It was a very windy night, but eleven year old beginner Adam Perkins, the youngest of the Wednesday evening group, proved that you need to shoot with your brain as well as your body. Shooting three arrows per end at a distance of 20 yards, Adam paced himself to between the gusts and was rewarded with three golds. The pressure was really on him for the last arrow as everyone was watching. We don't normally give club medals to beginners, but we thought Adam deserved one for that feat.

Congratulations go to:

• Alastair Henderson for converting to barebow and setting a new overall 2011 record at with his first round (08/05). For beating that same record (21/05).
• Rodney Luton for setting a new overall 2011 record (01/05). For beating that same record (04/05).
• Clive Wilkins for beating his own overall 2011 record (01/05). For taking an overall 2011 record (08/05). For setting new club gents and overall 2011 records, beating the previous gents record by 52 points (25/05). For setting a new overall 2011 record on the biggest round of all, the York (29/05).

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1 April – Outdoor? After dark? Under floodlights? Yes to all three questions. But was it cold? No. We were so lucky with the weather. And as an added bonus, the floodlights made a lot of the fletching colours fluoresce, so we had no trouble finding the missed arrows, of which there were rather a lot due to depth perception going. The results are in the April Fool Floodlit section of the 2011 Competitions page, the congratulations are below.

17 April – Welcome to our first new member of the year Alastair Henderson who is returning to the sport after a 30 year break. In keeping with many of our new members he set an annual record on the day that he joined.

24 April – The Easter competition, weather so warm that some of us got burnt through our clothing and that was with the predicted smog in place. The results are in the Easter Tournament section of the 2011 Competitions page, the congratulations are below.

Congratulations go to:

• Frank Bath for setting a new overall 2011 record at the Floodlit Shoot (01/04). For setting a new club group and overall 2011 record (08/04). For setting a new overall 2011 record on the round he shot at the Floodlit (24/04).
• David Hayden for setting a new overall 2011 record, reducing his handicap by a massive eight points and getting his first third class score, all on his first outdoor shoot of the year (11/04).
• Alastair Henderson for setting a new overall 2011 record on the day he joined (17/04).
• Rod Luton for setting a new overall 2011 record (10/04). For setting another new overall 2011 record (17/04). For beating that same record (20/04).
• Sheena McCullagh for setting a new group 2011 record at the Floodlit Shoot (01/04). For setting a new group 2011 record (08/04). For beating that same record and reducing her handicap by one point (10/04). For beating it yet again and reducing her handicap by two points (15/04). For doing the same again, but this time taking the overall 2011 record in the process, sorry Frank (17/04). For reducing her handicap by another point (22/04). For setting a new group 2011 record on the round she shot at the Floodlit (24/04).
• Bob Taylor for setting a new overall 2011 record at the Floodlit Shoot (01/04). For beating that same record (11/04). For doing it again and reducing his handicap by one point (22/04).
• Clive Wilkins for setting a new overall 2011 record (20/04). For setting another overall 2011 record on a different round (28/04).

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At last the weather is getting warmer and we're starting to see more members shooting outdoors; even the longbows have made their first appearance of the year.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery for gaining his second C classification (04/03). For setting an overall outdoor 2011 record and reducing his handicap by one point (06/03). For setting an overall indoor 2011 record, reducing his handicap by one point and classifying as C (11/03). For beating that record and reducing his handicap by a further point (12/03). For beating the outdoor record he set on 6 March and reducing his handicap by one point (16/03).
• Frank Bath for setting an overall outdoor 2011 record (13/03).
• Dave Fullerton for setting an overall indoor 2011 record (12/03). For setting an overall outdoor 2011 record (16/03). For setting new overall indoor club and 2011 records and reducing his handicap by one point (19/03). For setting new overall indoor club and 2011 records, reducing his handicap by three points and gaining his first F classification (25/03). For gaining his second F classification (26/03).
• David Hayden for reducing his indoor handicap by three points and gaining his first D classification (11/03).
• Rodney Luton for setting an overall outdoor 2011 record (02/03). For beating that record (06/03). For reducing his indoor handicap by two points and getting his second E classification (25/03).
• Bob Taylor for setting an overall outdoor 2011 record (13/03). For setting a new overall indoor record (25/03).

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3 February – The last evening of our first First Aid course, run by the club nurse, Frank Bath of South West First Aid for Sports Training. We were joined on the course by two people from the rugby club and the wife of one of our members (see the photo on the right). Everyone passed so we now have four qualified First Aiders; Mark-Jan Dielemans, Chris Jones, Sheena McCullagh and Vicky Stevens.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery for setting a new overall 2011 record (04/02). For setting a new overall 2011 record with a different round (05/02). For beating the record he set on 4 February (11/02). For beating the record he set on 5 February (12/02). For beating that record yet again, reducing his handicap by one point and gaining his first C classification(18/02). For going outdoor and setting a new overall 2011 record (23/02). For setting a new overall outdoor 2011 record with a different round (27/02).
• Dave Fullerton for setting new overall 2011 and club records (04/02). For setting a new overall 2011 record and reducing his handicap by one point (11/02). For setting new overall 2011 and club records, reducing his handicap by three points and classifying as G (18/02). For setting new overall 2011 and club records (26/02).
• Roger Hobbs for setting new overall 2011 and club records (13/02).
• Rodney Luton for setting a new overall club record (04/02). For setting a new overall 2011 record (12/02). For setting a new outdoor overall 2011 record (20/02).
• Bob Taylor for setting a new overall club record (11/02).

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1 January – Happy New Year everyone. May all your arrows fly straight and may all the longbow archers miss the woodwork.

Handicap Improvement Medal – this is awarded annually to the club member who has achieved the highest handicap reduction in the previous year. There are very strict eligibility criteria set by the GNAS, so for 2010 those were:

• Being a club member by 1 July 2009 and still being a member on 31 December 2010, and
• Holding a starting handicap in the relevant bow type on 1 January 2010, and
• Having submitted a minimum of eight scores during 2010.

And the winners were:

• Bristol Bowmen Juniors – no one eligible.
• Bristol Bowmen – winner with a handicap reduction of two points, Clive Wilkins (recurve).
• Golden Phoenix Archers – winner with a handicap reduction of nine points, Rod Luton (barebow).

2 January - Temperatures colder than they have been for the last few days, but still four hardy souls took to the line. The first gold of the year went to Gary Avery, shooting 80 yards and achieved in the first end. What a gold it was too, around an inch from the centre cross.

Congratulations go to:

• Gary Avery for setting a new overall 2011 record (02/01). For setting a new overall indoor record (07/01). For beating that same record (08/01).
• Dave Fullerton for setting a new overall 2011 indoor record with his compound bow (14/01). For gaining his indoor compound starting handicap (15/01).
• Corey Gould for setting a new overall 2011 record (02/01).
• Jer Gould for setting a new overall 2011 record and reducing his handicap by one point (02/01).
• David Hayden for reducing his indoor handicap by six points and qualifying as E (07/01). For reducing his handicap by a further two points (14/01). For doing the same again (21/01).
• Rodney Luton for reducing his recurve indoor handicap by four points, getting his first E classification and setting a new club group record (07/01). For setting a new overall outdoor record (23/01).

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