Quick toot of my own horn...500 falls!!

[mully]

I don't know if it's the done thing or not to post a breakthrough, but...

I broke the 500 barrier last night for the first time. 502/600, Portsmouth. I'm well pleased, I am, I've only been shooting for a few months. It's all in the release.

Stephen

[Dave]

Congratulations, Stephen

[Archery1st]

Congratulations on your shooting and score, 525 next and I'm sure it won't take you that long either.

[Barry C]

Its a great score for a few months shooting well done! Keep at it even when things seem bad!

[secbridarchers]

Well done. I wish I could achieve such a score I have been shooting for a couple of years and still struggle to get just over 400. Reading Archers do a series of Achievement Badges for the Portsmouth round you should check it out on their website. As Secretary of Bridlington Archers I always make sure our members get awarded for their achievements. Suggestion for your Secretary if they don't already do it.

[Haywain]

I don't know much about target scoring but you can have my congrats anyway. I'm a slow improver myself and have to judge how well I'm doing by the average I score per target at the end of a field shoot. Getting there slowly - soon I'll be able to outshoot my 10 year old son

[cliveanne]

Well done, it took me over 12 months to crack the 500 barrier. best I ever did, was around 525-30. Now...I can just about make 490ish. it's all to do with my string arm, I was not shooting for over 12 months. Now... I'm on the "Dark Side"

[Barry C]

Who do so many people see 500 as a barrier? They feel comfortable with a 499 but one point more and it suddenly becomes a barrier. AT my club we try to ask the novice archers to shoot unrealistic scores to try to get rid of the number barrier.

[cliveanne]

Barry C - 19/6/2005 1:50 PM

Who do so many people see 500 as a barrier? They feel comfortable with a 499 but one point more and it suddenly becomes a barrier. AT my club we try to ask the novice archers to shoot unrealistic scores to try to get rid of the number barrier.

I saw the 500 as a barrier because 499 was a regular score no matter what I did I just could not get past it. Then, one day, I thought "What the hell, forget it, & just shoot" I scored 511. A bit of an anticlimax realy, OK, I broke the barrier but the callenge had gone, so I had to create a new "Barrier". You need a goal. I guess it's all between the ears

[Furface]

Yes, we all need a challenge. 500 is a good one because we all like round numbers, and perhaps we can get a badge out of it!
But it does create massive hurdles in the old noggin. I'm sure we all - from beginner to international - have experience of "If I just shoot an average of n for my last three, I'll...." only to shoot an average of n-1. Or even "If I get a 10, I have the Olympic Gold" is the mantra of the Silver winners through the ages. The answer is ignorance. If you know the barrier you're hoping to break, don't look at your score or let anyone tell you (then, when you succeed, it is not an anti-climax). If you don't know the barrier ("What is the 1st class score for a York for Girls Under 13?") then don't look it up.
Unless you want to practice mental toughness rather than scoring....