Deadeye Dennis shoots to the top

By KELLY EXELBY
If Tauranga woman Robyn McLeod thought husband Dennis already spent too much time on his new passion, she'll be dreading what he's planned next.
The Tauranga marksman went to the national archery championships thinking he was up with the play - until he looked down the line and spied his rivals' equipment.
"I thought my bow was fairly state-of-the-art until I got to the nationals and it quickly dawned on me I looked like Jed Clampett (from The Beverly Hillbillies) standing there with this thing in my hands!"
"It'll cost $3000 for a new bow - twice what my one's worth now - but that's the big goal if I want to go further in the sport."
McLeod, 46, has come back from his first major competition, the national championships in Cambridge, after bagging a superb seventh in the senior men's recurve.
His coach, three-time national champion and former New Zealand representative Allan Fulton, said it was a major achievement considering McLeod first picked up an archery bow a mere 12 months ago.
"That men's senior grade is extremely competitive, so for Dennis to come back with seventh is worth shouting about," Fulton explained.
McLeod still has "no idea" why he took up archery but, after years of competitive cricket and tennis, admits he's found a sport he's passionate about.
"The first year you're not even supposed to go to the nationals but after the hard work and training I put in during the year, to come back with the result I did has put me on a high and made me determined to work even harder over the next 12 months."
McLeod's dedication to pinging arrows at a coloured target up to 90m away can't be faulted.
He has set up an archery field at his Te Puke property and it's no exaggeration to say he spends every waking hour training his eye.
"I do an hour at six o'clock each morning before I go to work and two hours every night, as well as weights and a 5km run.
"I also try and shoot for four hours on a Saturday and club day (at Greerton) on Sunday morning. I occasionally pop in at home to remind my wife what my name is!"
McLeod has no idea what inspired him to pick up a bow.
"It's not like I was watching Lord of the Rings or anything - I just wanted to try archery so I rang around until I found somewhere to do it and my enthusiasm grew from there."
Shooting at the nationals in Cambridge, where up to 150 archers stood in a line at any one time and fired, was a world away from a relaxed club meet alongside the Waimapu Stream.
Not only was McLeod up against the best archers from New Zealand, international competitors had flown in from England, Ireland, Australia, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Fiji.
Winds gusting up to 80kmh buffeted the field at St Peter's Collegiate School, throwing another obstacle at an already nervous McLeod.
"We looked like a line-up from an ancient battle but the wind was so strong that we were aiming at the target next to us. There was a lot of guesswork."
McLeod found the mental exertion of concentrating on hitting targets at 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m intervals harder than the physical strain.
He would regularly stop and observe his rivals, paying particular attention to Tahitian brothers Tearii and Teiva Winkelstroeter, who finished first and second.
"They were a thing of beauty and in the end just one point separated them over two days of competition and 300 arrows.
"I would stand and watch their techniques, taking notes on how they hold their bow and the fact they're never rushed.
"Already it's made a difference since I've been home."