News

Updates on club activities

Update 20/04/26

To round off the 2025/26 winter we held a Teams Shoot in the gym on April 19th. The entry was split into 'West' & 'East', according to whether archers resided west or east of the venue, and we shot a 'Poole' (aka 'Portsmouth') round (5 dozen arrows on a 60cm target at 20yds). The result, decided by the average handicap-adjusted scores of each team, was West 1421, East 1385, proving that West is best!

Next events

Our League continues on May 17th 2026, moving outdoors for an Imperial 6 dozen arrow round at the archers' distance of choice from 20yds to 80yds

Meanwhile, Sunday practice sessions move outdoors to "Kalbarrie" on April 26th from 10am to 4pm, unless otherwise notified, as long as a minimum of two people are present at all times.

Thursday Indoor sessions (7pm-9pm, small extra fee payable) at Piddlehinton Gym may continue on an ad hoc basis fortnightly.

Update 23/03/26

Round 2 of the 2026 League took place in Piddlehinton Gym on March 22nd, archers shooting a 'Double Piddle' event (2.5 dozen arrows at a 40cm target face at 20yards, twice, with a break in between). Handicap adjusted scores produced a clear winner and runner up, but it was very tight for the places through the rest of the field. And a new League leader emerged, but with four more rounds to go the League is wide open at this early stage.

Other events

See the outline 2026 calendar opposite/below.

Update 16/02/26
We held a fun 'Double Pairs' event at Piddlehinton Gym on February 15th, shooting two 30-arrow ends at 20yds on either a 60cm face or a 122cm face. As usual, scores were handicap adjusted, and we then added together the adjusted scores of pairs of archers randomly drawn just prior to the shoot. With biscuits, beverages and blether at half time it was a very sociable and enjoyable shoot.

06/02/26
Hardy Country Bowmen were extremely sad to learn of the passing of Sheila Ryall, widow of our founder John Ryall, on February 4th 2026. Our thoughts are with Sheila's daughter Sue and son Stephen, and all their family and friends.

Update 19/01/26
Our first competition shoot of the year took place on January 18th at Piddlehinton Gym, this being Round 1 of our new Annual League, a combination of Indoor and Outdoor events running until November. A healthy entry took on a 'Poole' (aka 'Portsmouth') round. The top half of the entry all shot better than handicap and scores were very close among the top places. This bodes well for a competitive year ahead!

Update 22/12/25
The second HCB 'Christmas Do' took place on December 19th at the Thimble Inn, Piddlehinton. Once more we enjoyed excellent food, great company and saw all the 2025 Outdoor League award winners receive their trophies.

And on December 21st we enjoyed our annual Christmas Shoot at Piddlehinton Gym, with two elimination rounds followed by two semi-finals and a final to decide the winner. It was a very close fought competition, with Christmas snacks and refreshments during breaks in the shooting

Update 04/11/25
We held a Halloween Shoot on November 2nd in the gym at Piddlehinton, shooting at some novelty if not very scary Halloween-themed target faces. We each shot a number of arrows, shuffling between bosses until we'd all shot at each target twice. Scores were totalled up and then adjusted according to bow style. Suitably themed if meagre prizes were awarded to the top three archers!!Most importantly, good fun was had by all!

Update 29/09/25
The final round of our 2025 Outdoor League was once more favoured with pleasant weather conditions after overnight rain. This sixth event of the season produced the sixth different winner, proof that our handicap-based scoring system gives everyone a chance! The leader of the League after the previous round just held onto the top spot despite not adding to his season's total, with the second and third placed archers only adding a few points to their tallies. Just 23 points covered the top 3 at the end, with the winner on 5773 points, second on 5758 and third on 5750. Competitive fun!

Update 18/08/25
In almost perfect warm, sunny conditions with just a light breeze we shot the penultimate round of the 2025 Outdoor League on Sunday August 17th. The fifth different winner of the year emerged with the only better-than-handicap score on the day. And with the previous League leader missing this shoot this meant a change at the top of the table. But with dropped scores now coming into play (best 4 from 6 scores to count) it looks like being a close finish in the final event of the season.

Update 03/08/25

The club once again provided a 'Have-a-Go' session to the members of the Lodge of our late founder John Ryall at Kalbarrie on August 3rd. As in previous years a good number of novice archers got their first taste of the sport and our kind guests made a generous donation to club funds.

Update 21/07/25
Our fourth competition shoot of the outdoor season took place on July 20th. Once again the elements were pretty kind, with rain before and just after the competition! Our fourth different winner of the season was the only archer to shoot better than handicap this time, and shot well enough to take the overall lead in the Outdoor League at this stage. A very enjoyable BBQ lunch gathering followed the shoot.

Update 15/06/25
We shot our third 'National' round of the outdoor season at Kalbarrie on June 15th in mostly sunny, warm and almost calm conditions. Three archers shot better than handicap to top the results sheet, and suffer handicap cuts for next time! We also had our third winner of the season, showing how open our handicap-based scoring system is. This also saw a new Outdoor League leader at the halfway stage.

Update 19/05/25
May 18th saw the second 'National' shoot of the outdoor season at Kalbarrie take place once again in pleasant Spring weather. As in round 1, four archers shot better than handicap and topped the results sheet on the day, and we had our second winner of the season. However, the archer who finished in second place, who had also achieved the same feat in round 1, moved into the lead of the 2025 HCB Outdoor League, demonstrating the value of consistent good shooting!

Update 29/04/25

The first event of the Outdoor competition season and the 2025 HCB handicap-based Outdoor League took place on Sunday April 27th. This was a 'National' round, Imperial distances, 122cm target, 5-zone (9-7-5-3-1-M) scoring, 4 dozen arrows at one distance and 2 dozen arrows at a 10yds shorter distance. The Spring weather was absolutely superb and a small but beautifully formed entry of 'The Kalbarrie Regulars' thoroughly enjoyed themselves in almost perfect conditions. Four archers shot better than handicap, and consequently moved to the top of the 2025 Outdoor League table after this first round.