Despite poor weather we had an excellent turnout for our first Summer League shoot.  We will enter three teams.  Thanks and well done to all.

League Shoot Rolls Royce 5th May 2013

Well done to Sarah Oliver and Robert Duda – it was their first tournament, and to Joyce Kay, Nav Narula, Mike Thomason and Steve Attwood.

Well done to everyone that shot

Team Wilford at the 2nd Town and Gown challenge.

Mike Thomason (compound) and Steve Attwood (recurve) won their respective categories at the popular Pie and Peas shoot hosted by Bassetlaw Bowmen yesterday. Conditions were difficult with very strong winds, which eventually lead to the shoot being abandoned for safety reasons after two dozen arrows had been shot. As usual, Bassetlaw Bowmen did a wonderful job.

Jane Timms, who has done a wonderful job as the club secretary for many years has finally decided to hang up her pen. Many thanks indeed are due to Jane for all her hard work.

Gary Meakin has kindly agreed to be the new secretary. Thanks to Gary for taking on this role.

Wilford Bowmen were well represented at yesterday’s Nottinghamshire County Indoor championships. Emma and Mike Thomason, Steve Attwood and new members Nicki Gill and Ben Laws all shot. Nicki and Ben have only been shooting for a few months, so this was an ideal opportunity to gain competition experience.

Well done to those hardy few (Mark, Gary and Henry) who shot yesterday despite the very strong wind.

(Of course I would have been there to join them but for having to replace a central heating pump.)

Work in connection with the tram has re-started on University Boulevard. Expect delays when travelling to the Highfields Sports Centre/Hockey Club.

With regret we have to announce the death of Denis Beresford (87) on 31^st December 2012 after a short illness.  Denis was a well known and much respected archer in Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands, He began shooting in 1951 with the Royal Ordinance Factory Club (ROF Nottingham). The ROF became the Civil Service Archers, which in turn emerged into its current guise as ‘Wilford Bowmen’ in 2004.

An active archer for 52 weeks of the year, Denis quickly acquired additional skills as coach and judge; his wife Doreen assiduously organising his domestic diary around his archery.  His coaching skills were soon appreciated by newcomers to archery requiring him to spend less time shooting and more and more of his time outdoors coaching. In recent decades he only shot outdoors when there were no new archers to develop.  As a coach he introduced hundreds of people to archery.

He was a County Judge, again for longer than most can remember and assisted in many regional competitions.

In 2011 he broke his hip.  He had committed to judging the Wilford Rose Status York/Hereford shoot and was determined to fulfil his duty. So, three months after the injury, he was driven down to the shooting ground at Wilford where he fulfilled his duty; selfless dedication and determination in one act.  Club members walked round him with safety nets; just in case!

Denis was a vice president of the ‘Civil Service Archery Association’ for many years, and stood down only recently.  He has held every official post in the club.  He was awarded the most prestigious regional award, the ‘Ron Smith Memorial Trophy’ a few years ago.  He still competed in the Civil Service Winter Divisional Postal League every season. In addition he organised tournaments, too many and varied to mention.

He shot indoors, twice a week, every year between October and April.  Denis remained an active archer until the end.

He was the simply the star of our club and was widely acclaimed within the county. He was committed to archery absolutely and was a fine ambassador for the sport.

‘One of the lads’ was all Denis ever wanted to be, and he was; a very special lad to us all.

Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go to his widow, Doreen, and to the rest of his family.

The beginners courses that we started in August have been successful and very well attended. The Wednesday evening course has now completed (just as well with the evenings drawing in rapidly). Most of the attendees on the Sunday course, which started a little later have completed the course with just a few due to finish next Sunday.

The feedback has been very positive and we have already gained a number of new members, with more likely.

In order to provide more information on equipment selection and purchase and what to expect in the first year of shooting we will be holding a seminar for the people from both courses on Wednesday in the Highfields clubhouse.