A group of three Isle of Man Archery Club members travelled off-island last weekend to compete at the first of this year’s outdoor competitions.

The trio made the journey to Long Mynd Archers in Church Stretton near Shrewsbury for a two-day shoot.

Nicknamed the ‘Blow Away the Cobwebs shoot’ it is a good chance to test set-ups and transition from the shorter indoor ranges to the longer outdoor competitions for the summer months.

But as is the risk with April weather in the British Isles, and very unlike the shorts and sunglasses weather of this weekend in 2025, the archers were treated to the full spectrum of sun, wind, rain, sleet and mud.

Saturday was a double WA720, meaning 144 arrows at a distance of 50m. It was a slow start to the day, not helped by the constant change in weather.

Unfortunately, as the day progressed the conditions worsened and with only 24 arrows left the tournament organisers and judges were forced to call an early end.

Fortunately though, as it was so close to completion, the results were finalised on the current scores at the time and Rhys Moore, having taken a clear lead early in the day, finished in first place.

Ethan Moore and Aalin George both finished second which, despite an eventful day, was a good result all round.

Sunday was a WA720 ranking round before progressing to head-to-head shoot-offs in the afternoon. Thankfully the forecast was not as extreme as the previous day and a full day’s competition was completed.

Rhys continued his form and placed first in the rankings, with Ethan in third. This was ultimately how they finished the afternoon as well, with both taking a convincing win in their respective gold and bronze medal matches.

Aalin also finished in the same placing she started, having secured a third place in the rankings, and went on to take the bronze medal.