The weekend of the 17^th and 18^th of August saw the largest competition hosted by the Orkney Archery Club to date.  The North Atlantic Competition, which was last held in 2010 was a clear choice when it came to holding a test event in preparation of the 2025 Island Games.  Competitors from Orkney, Shetland, The Faroes and for the first time, the Western Isles withstood difficult conditions over the weekend as high winds challenged even the most experienced archers.  

A total of thirty six competitors shooting both recurve and compound took part; five from the Faroe Islands, eighteen from Orkney, seven from Shetland and six from the Western Isles.  For many, this was their first ever competition and it was proven to be an excellent jumping off point for the beginners despite the wind and a smattering of rain.  The tight bond between the Orkney, Faroese and Shetland teams has long been established as evidenced by the cooperative as well as competitive spirit fostered and the Western Isles team is a welcome addition to the family.  

After the initial practice shoot on Friday, most had a taste of the tricky conditions as well as the fantastic layout of the field at the Pickaquoy Centre.  On Saturday, two events were held; some archers shot a full FITA over the full day and the less experienced archers shot a short metric in the afternoon.  A FITA consists of thirty six arrows at four distances, adding up to one-hundred and forty four arrows.  In the morning, the first two distances were shot; ninety metres for the gents, seventy metres for the ladies followed by seventy metres for the gents and sixty for the ladies.  In the afternoon, the beginners and juniors joined for the remaining two distances; fifty metres and thirty metres (the same for gents and ladies).  The blustery winds meant the scores were generally lower than usual but at least everyone who was shooting their first competition were guaranteed a personal best!   After an exhausting day of competition, the top scores were as follows:

Recurve Men

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Jim Middlemas (Orkney Islands)	967
2	Benjamin Harrier (Shetland Islands)	888
3	Dylan Murphy (Shetland Islands)	874

Recurve Women

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Katie McFarlane (Shetland Islands)	735
2	Danielle Van Niekirk (Western Islands)	577
3	Charlotte Savage (Orkney Islands)	383

Compound Men

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Joannes Poulson (Faroe Islands)	1,273
2	Nikkel Peterson (Faroe Islands)	1,263
3	Michael Leslie (Orkney Islands)	1,254

Compound Women

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Helen Corsie (Orkney Islands)	1,175
2	Rakul Dam (Faroe Islands)	859
3	Rochelle Van Niekirk (Western Isles)	669

Recurve Men Short Metric

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Aaron Brough (Orkney Islands)	455
2	Rikki Gutcher (Orkney Islands)	429
3	David Henning (Orkney Islands)	390

Recurve Women Short Metric

Position	Competitor	Score
1	Charlotte Savage (Orkney Islands)	383
2	Roseanne Copland (Orkney Islands)	232
3	Heidi MacLeod (Western Isles)	205

Recurve Team of Three

Position	Island	Score
1	Shetland	2,497
2	Orkney	2,210
3	Western Isles	1,814

Compound Team of Three

Position	Island	Score
1	Orkney	3,679
2	Faroe	3,395

Overall Team (Top Recurve Plus Top Compound)

Position	Island	Score
1	Orkney	2,221
2	Shetland	2,103
3	Western Isles	1,381

The shoot on Sunday was less formal with no awards but still lots to play for including a valuable chance to practice individual and team head to head events, which can be very fast paced.  To allow for the maximum amount of shooting for everyone, a “round robin” format event was held in the morning where every archer gets the opportunity to compete against every other archer in a head to head competition.  It gives everyone a chance to get to know each other and for the beginners, an important chance to ask lots of questions to glean information and experience from the more seasoned archers.  In the afternoon, a similar round of team head to heads was held until the increasing winds cause an early finish to the fun as safety began to be a concern.  

Over the course of the weekend there was a lot of discussions about techniques, training and equipment as well as swapping stories from past shoots and shared excitement for the Island Games in 2025.  There were many individuals and groups that provided invaluable help to make the weekend as successful as it was.  With the exception of the weather, the whole event ran like clockwork under the skilled guidance of Malcolm Alexander and Curtis Hirst of Northern Area Scottish Archery, who assisted with crucial equipment, making sure everything was running seamlessly and collating scores.

The club is now the proud owners of twenty brand new high quality target bosses, each hand made by Tenzone Targets and shipped at great speed and efficiency by Caledonian Logistics and Isbister Brothers.  Tenzone really pulled out all the stops to get the targets here on time when a disastrous fire destroyed their workshop but after a herculean effort by them, the bosses arrived in Orkney with days to spare.  This would not have been possible without the generous support from local businesses and other organisations. A huge thanks from the Orkney Archers go to S R Paterson’s, Rendall Furnishings, Torvaug Inn, Brough Brothers, William Shearers, Orkney Dons, the Royal Company of Archers, Sport Scotland, the Community Development Fund and the St Andrews Community Centre.

The Pickaquoy groundskeeper, Ewan Mackenzie made a fantastic job of painting the lines for the field, working closely with the club to ensure all the very strict guidelines were adhered to.  Next year will provide an even bigger challenge when a further twenty target bosses and over one hundred and twenty archers will need to be accommodated.

The unique crystal medals were engraved and supplied by Stuart Wylie of Orkney Crystal.

Now, the countdown to Orkney 2025 really begins and we look forward to welcoming everyone back again, to see old friends and make lots of new ones.

Anna Laird.