Ryan and Syme win Gizzy Vegas divisions

GIZZY VEGAS SHOOT: Cambridge archer Andrew Syme, above, won the compound division. Pictures by Liam Clayton

Shaun Ryan of Tauranga and Andrew Syme of Cambridge were the big winners in Gisborne Archery Club’s Gizzy Vegas competition at the weekend.

Ryan won the recurve and Syme, the compound.

Gisborne archer Chris Underdown won a combined division, in which archers shot both bow types, for the second year in a row.

Some of the best archers in New Zealand took part in the competition.

Based on the real Vegas shoot, which is one of the biggest and most intense archery competitions, this tournament is unique to the Gisborne Archery Club.

Archers shoot against each other for a cash prize determined by the entry level.

The Gizzy Vegas shoot has two divisions — one for recurve and one for compound. Divisions according to gender and age do not apply. Because the shoot is at 18 metres, poundage is not an issue.

This year 44 archers — 14 recurve and 30 compound — took part.

The shoot started with everyone shooting a ranking round, which determined their ranking and who they would face in the matchplay rounds.

Competition was close. Gisborne archers held their own but did not make it through to the medal matches.

In the compound division, the finishes for Gisborne archers were: Dean Williams 12th, Chloe Underdown 16th, David Croskery 18th, Chris Underdown 19th, John Ellery 23rd, Joel Walker 27th and Colin Marshall 29th.

In the recurve division, the Gisborne archers’ finishes were: Chris Underdown sixth, John Ellery ninth, Justine Anderson 12th and Joel Walker 14th.

Also held was a combined division in which archers shot both bow types. This is a tough division as the archers shoot a lot of arrows over the two days. For the second year in a row, Chris Underdown from the Gisborne club shot well to win the trophy for this event.

The tournament ran smoothly, with archers shooting some good scores.

Final placings —Recurve: Shaun Ryan 1; Tim Chant 2; John Ellis 3; Warren Ellery 4; Vaughan Anderson 5; Chris Underdown 6; Ocky Blignaut 7; Murray Prowse 8; John Ellery 9; Judy Hunt 10; Caleb Anderson 11; Justine Anderson 12; Ian Harding 13; Joel Walker 14.

Compound: Andrew Syme 1; Rynard Van Tonder 2; Marcus Barclay 3; Riku Van Tonder 4; Lorne Roodt 5; Neville Clark 6; Brian Rowe 7; Levi Wesford 8; Ocky Blignaut 9; Gustav Bam 10; Hanlie Bam 11; Dean Williams 12; Shane Reid 13; Tiana Rongokea 14; Ben Trim 15; Chloe Underdown 16; Ary van Onselen 17; David Croskery 18; Chris Underdown 19; Ray Houston 20; Chris Gorman 21; Warren Ellery 22; John Ellery 23; Alyssa Mowbray 24; Vaughan Anderson 25; Soo Anderson 26; Joel Walker 27; Simon Young 28; Colin Marshall 29; Ben Florance 30.

Combined compound/recurve: Chris Underdown compound 19, recurve 6, total 25, medal match score 100, 1; Ocky Blignaut 9, 7, 16, medal match score 84, 2; Warren Ellery 22, 4, 26, 3; Vaughan Anderson 25, 5, 30, 4; John Ellery 23, 9, 32, 5; Joel Walker 27, 14, 41, 6.