The Bob Soutar trophy is awarded each year to the archer who, in the opinion of the coaches and committee, has shown the greatest improvement in their archery over the year. We do this by looking at the improvement in your handicap, any classifications you achieve and the amount and types of rounds you are shooting. So, you need to shoot some rounds and send your scores to the records officer if you want to be in with a chance of winning.
Handicaps are calculated to give you a standard indication of progress across all the rounds that you shoot. We also use handicaps for some of our internal competitions. Nearly all rounds you can shoot, including the 252 scheme, can be used to assess your handicap. If you shoot an AGB-recognised round, it means you also have the chance to claim a recognised classification – complete with badge!
For those of you just starting out, perhaps the easiest way to get your first classification is to shoot one of the Metric 122 rounds. These rounds of six-dozen arrows (so 12 ends of six arrows) are shot at a normal 122cm target at either 30, 40 or 50 metres (not yards).
If you shoot two of these rounds and get a high enough score both times, you will be able to claim yourself a 3rd class, 2nd Class or even 1st Class Archer. The score you need for a classification depends on your age, gender and bow type.
You can of course shoot other types of rounds and claim your classifications. If you achieve a 1st Class Archer classification, you can start working on your ‘Bowman’ classifications. To do this you need to shoot more total arrows (18 dozen rather than 12) and while you can get a Bowmen classification at the club, it needs to be shot under controlled competition conditions. For more details see here
All the details on handicaps and classifications and how they work can be found here and the scores for all the different rounds and bow types can be found here. Scores can be submitted to records@devizes-bowmen.co.uk