It’s not just about the competition, Twin City Bowmen secretary Craig Nolan tells BEN ROBSON. The club camaraderie is what makes this sport worth a shot.
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NEXT weekend will see the biggest gathering of men and women with bows and arrows since Robin Hood was traipsing around Sherwood Forest.
Perhaps not quite, but Twin City Bowmen’s invitation shoot will bring together shooting enthusiasts from near and far to compete and test themselves on the club’s challenging course.
Based at Jindera Gap, Twin City Bowmen was established in 1972 and is still going strong.
Club secretary Craig Nolan joined just over three years ago and has never looked back.
“I just find it so addictive,” he says.
“That’s all I can put it down to — it’s an addiction.”
And club vice president Dean Harbridge agrees.
“It’s not all about the shooting,” he says.
“But it’s the camaraderie that goes with it.”
The club has a course of 40 targets, 3D targets and a “running pig” on a fly wire that zips by as bowmen aim for it in a knock-out style competition.
But Craig says that before anything else, safety comes first.
“The biggest thing we push is safety,” he says.
“All the time it’s safety, safety then safety, because there’s no two ways about it, it’s a weapon.
“So we instil, especially with the younger kids, the right way to do things.
“It’s like training a football team — if you teach them the right way right from the start they’ll be set for life.”
Youngsters as young as four and five have been to the club.
“A couple of real young ones come with parents or grandparents,” Craig says.
“Obviously they’re never let loose on their own.
“But we have nearly as many kid shooters as adults.”
Among those youngsters are Craig’s daughters Hayley, 11, and Zoey, 9.
And Hayley has her sights set on lofty targets.
“I like shooting because I can have a good career with it because I’ve started at the right age,” she says.
“And I want to represent Australia and go to the Olympics.”
Craig says the club has a grading structure, and sections for almost every type of bow you can think of — traditional, longbow, compounds, the list goes on.
At the end of the year scores are tallied with an average of shooters’ best six shots.
Next weekend is a one-off competition, with invitations sent out everywhere from Shell Harbour to Gippsland, and 80 to 100 are expected to compete.
“It’s just a good, old-fashioned get-together for those who share a common interest and share an enjoyment in archery,” Craig says.
I became involved after I had a shot of my brother’s bow — he lives up in the scrub at Batlow. And that was it, I was sold. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I found it very challenging to start. A couple of times I reckoned I was going to throw my bow in the trailer, and I don’t think I’m alone there. It’s all about repetitive shooting, doing the same thing over and over and learning the right technique.
No, but I’m not a trophy hunter. The kids have won a few for encouragement and achievement.
Patience. It’s not one of my strong points, but it’s taught me a lot about patience. It’s not just, put your stick on the string and let it fly. It’s how you hold your bow, it’s how you draw back and anchor your string to the corner of your mouth. And it’s being spot on with that every time so you can execute the best shot you can.
We meet on the first and third Sunday of each month from February to November. I’ll bring both my girls and that’s what it’s about, we want families to be involved. It’s no secret society or secret men’s business, we have quite a few women shooters and I’ve made friends out here you wouldn’t believe. We mainly compete against ourselves and there’s a lot of friendly banter goes on.
Absolutely, come on down. We’d love to have them and everyone’s welcome. There’s no you and me here, it’s us.
To find out more about the Twin City Bowmen visit twincitybowmen.com.