March 2nd and 3rd of this year marked two of the biggest indoor competitions this country has ever held, the National Student Indoor Championships and the National Indoor Championships, both of which were held at Nemo Rangers Sports Complex, Cork City. For the past three years UCC Archery Club has played host to the largest student event of the season, the National Student Indoor Championships, and this year, they are proud to say, has been their most successful competition yet.
Due to a phenomenal demand for both the Irish Student Archery Association event on the Saturday and the Archery Ireland event on the Sunday several archers from clubs around the country were required to shoot their qualifying arrows for both days on the Saturday where possible in order to accommodate the vast amount of competitors for the Sunday event. Ninety-six students took place in the Saturday competition, and were accompanied by some forty non-students from Cork City Archery Club and a number of other competitors from around the country. It was an exciting day of shooting with some impressive scores and an enjoyable day was had by all. The highlight of the day was the head to head knock-out rounds that resulted in several exciting one arrow shoot-offs.
Cork City Archery Club, like UCC Archery Club, has held the National Indoor Championships for the past three consecutive years. For the event, over one hundred and eighty archers were registered which, by anyone’s standards, is quite a substantial number. It too was a hugely successful day for Cork City Archery Club in terms of organisation and results. Even with the sheer quantity of archers present, the day ran smoothly and without incident. Also, as with the Student Nationals, the head to head rounds were what it was all about. That is where the true quality of this country’s archery really came to the fore. It was a pleasure to watch and even more enjoyable to take part.
All in all, the weekend was a huge success for both UCC Archery Club and Cork City Archery Club. We would like to thank all those who were involved and who helped in the organisation of the event. A special thanks to Tony, Dave and John, our judges, who spent their entire weekend in the hall. We would also like to thank Nemo Rangers for the use of their fantastic facilities and the refreshments that were provided during both days. Finally we would like to thank all those who made the journey to Cork for the competitions, whether to compete or just to show support. It was very much appreciated by both clubs and we hope to see you all again next year and throughout the outdoor season of 2013.
Andrew Egan,
UCC Archery Club and Cork City Archery Club.
