MEMBERS of 1st Liphook Scouts rivalled Team GB for their impressive medal tally at an archery competition.

The weather may have been damp but the competition was hot at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Scouts’ Archery Competition in Lyons Copse, Shedfield, last month.

Despite the number of competitors increasing and higher standards each year at the event, Liphook managed to win an incredible 15 medals – six gold, three silver and six bronze.

The team of 19 talented archers range in age from eight-year-old Cub scouts to adult leaders and helpers.

Cub leader and archery co-ordinator Jez Turner said: “The weather wasn’t great but fortunately our first event was ‘field’ so we were in the shelter of the woods.

“In this event the under-14s shoot from one peg and the over-14s from another peg, further away from the target – at strategically positioned targets, uneven ground, trees, branches, ditches, tyres, logs and some small targets all make this event challenging but, at the same time fun.

“Some quite impressive scores were achieved by our archers and a couple of medals were also won – mainly to those that did well on the ‘dartboard’ target.

“A rest over lunch allowed us to get our bows ready for the ‘target’ event, it was quite blustery on the target range, but that didn’t seem to affect some of our archers who scored incredibly well with some reaching over 300 out of a maximum of 360, and the rewards were a mix of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

“After the target shoot, we came home and were back at Scout headquarters at 7.30am the next morning to go back in the minibus for the ‘clout’ competition.

“This Agincourt-style event involves the under-14s shooting at a small flag 60 yards from the shooting line, while over-14s are shooting at a flag the same size 100 yards away.

“It is not an easy event, but fun and the trick is to get your eye in early. Some pleasant surprises on the scores were welcomed by some of our archers and again we managed a couple of medals.”

The next big event for the Liphook Scout Group Archery Club is the Scouts National Archery Competition Nationals in May.