Raglan father and son Rory and Kieran O’Brien have returned from the World Field Archery Championships in the United States with strong results, including a gold and silver medal.
The Lakeview Archers members represented New Zealand as part of the Black Arrows team at the championships, held at the NFAA Easton Yankton Centre in Yankton from 24 July to 1 August.
Kieran won the B Grade Junior Male Freestyle Unlimited division, while Rory placed seventh in the Adult Male Bowhunter Unlimited division.
Rory also helped New Zealand secure silver in the Bowhunter Unlimited Style Team competition alongside Simon Young and Terry Bassett.
“I’m really proud of what my son Kieran and I achieved,” Rory says. “Shooting good scores in competition and representing New Zealand on the world stage. To come away with a silver medal for the Bowhunter Styles Team was amazing and something I will always cherish.”
The championships attracted competitors from 15 countries, with New Zealand fielding the second-largest contingent of 22 archers.
Across the event, competitors completed five rounds comprising two Field Rounds, two Hunter Rounds and one Animal Round.
Each Field and Hunter Round featured 28 targets, with competitors shooting four arrows at each target for a total of 112 arrows and a maximum possible score of 560 points. In the Animal Round, archers faced 28 coloured animal targets and could shoot up to three arrows at each, stopping once they recorded a scoring arrow.
Conditions and terrain in Yankton presented a different challenge from those normally encountered by New Zealand field archers. While local courses are often set among gullies, bush and forestry, the American course was largely flat, with wooden towers used to create angled shots.
The extreme summer heat was another major test for competitors arriving from a Waikato winter.
Simon Young said temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius on the opening day of competition.
“The biggest challenge we found was dealing with the heat. America is currently going through a heat wave and on our first day of competition temperatures rose to 42 degrees Celsius. Coming from midwinter Waikato temperatures, it was a shock to the system.”
The wider New Zealand Black Arrows team brought home six gold, one silver and one bronze A Grade individual medals, as well as two B Grade gold medals. Many of the archers also recorded personal-best performances.
Simon, Linda Lainchbury and Mike Lainchbury represented New Zealand in the Champion of Nations competition, placing second behind the United States. The United States scored 1934.9 points, followed by New Zealand on 1714.1 and Australia on 1394.7.
Lakeview Archers is based at 265 Horahora Road, around 20 minutes south of Cambridge. The field archery club welcomes people of all ages and abilities, with equipment hire and instruction available.
For more information about the club or to arrange a visit, contact Christine on 027 489 4457 or email arrowflinga@gmail.com.
