Bull's eye in Walvis Bay

The whistling of flying arrows was the order of the day at the final shoot of the Archery Association of Namibia for 2015, hosted at the Sparta Recreational Club in Walvis Bay on Sunday. Two competitions took place simultaneously during the one-day Sparta Year-End Shoot. This was a first in the history of the sport, according to Namibian coach Karola Woortman, who obtained her Youth International Judge accreditation in October after completing a course in Lilleshall, Great Britain. Twenty-four schoolchildren participated in the National Archery in Schools Programme (NASP) competition. The NASP shooters use Genesis bows and Easton Aluminium 1820 arrows. They shoot over distances of 10m and 15m and are divided in grade 4-7 (junior) and grade 8-12 (senior) categories. Ben Timothy and Zander Els (both aged nine) were the youngest competitors in action in this division. The top 16 NASP players will participate in trials scheduled for March to determine which players will represent Namibia at the NASP World & 3D Challenge in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 22 to 25. Various other national and international competitions and training camps have also been lined up by the Archery Association of Namibia for 2015 and archers can look forward to an action-packed programme. The World Archery Rules competition consisted of a qualification round and an elimination round. Categories are determined according to age and bow type, namely Recurve or Compound bows. Compound bows may not exceed a 60-pound draw weight. The categories determine the different distances being shot and a shorter distance was introduced for beginners. The oldest Namibian participant was Harvey Park, aged 52. He competed in the Compound Masters Men division. Two archers from Germany, Jutta Emmrich and Thorsten Klob, were also in action at the event. The winners at the Sparta Year-end Shoot were: Recurve Men: 1st Xander Reddig (575 pts), 2nd Paul Grobler. Recurve Cadet Men: Adrian Grobler (484 pts). Compound Women: 1st Jutta Emmerich (665 pts), 2nd Connie Smith and 3rd Liezle Schoeman. Compound Men: 1st Thorsten Kloss (680 pts), 2nd Francois Marais and 3rd Ben Van Wyk. Compound Masters Men: Harvey Park (596 pts). Compound Junior Women: Jolien Els (569 pts). Compound Cadet Men: Warren Smit (650 pts). Compound Cub Boys U/15: Dorian Esterhuizen (625pts). Compound Cub Girls U/15: Brigitte Tietz. Compound Boys U/13: 1st Gideon Brink (Jnr) (668 pts), 2nd Sw Khun. Recurve Boys U/13: CF Brandt (610 pts). Recurve Girls U/13: Quinn Reddig (617 pts). NASP Senior Male: 1st Lukas Els (839 pts), 2nd Bendre Bothma and 3rd Adriaan Bothma. NASP Junior Women: Nadia Martins (744 pts). NASP Junior Male: 1st Zander Els (771pts), 2nd Petrus Labuschagne and 3rd Chrisjan Labuschagne. NASP Senior Women: 1st Chrystal De Beer (806 pts), 2nd Dehandrie Labuschagne and 3rd Nicole Visser. Recurve Beginner: 1st Marja Woortman (595 pts) , 2nd Frank Reddig. WALVIS BAY OTIS FINCK