UK Student Archery Association

Archery's coming home, it's coming home [09/Mar/10]

Sadly this wasn't the theme tune to BUTC. Nottingham won the BUTTS Indoor Championships and by doing so carried off the overall BUTTS Senior League title for the first time. This only two weeks after contesting the BUTC final, also on home soil and the opposite feeling to this time last year where the BUTTS title had slid from their grasp at this event in 2009. Contenders Loughborough scored 2210 but could not match Nottingham's 2247. Warwick shot 2206 to finish third in the tournament and third in the League table.

Further down the table a 2172 from Cambridge was not quite enough to overhaul Oxford (who scored 2144) in the overall League table as although the old rivals finished level on points, the Dark Blues' five match aggregate was still just high enough.

Nottingham, Birmingham and Cambridge all went in to the tournament level on points at the top of the BUTTS Novice table and it was hosts Nottingham who made it a double - their team of four novices going over 2000 and successfully defending a title they won last year. Defending a novice title is always very tricky because, obviously, you have to start completely from scratch. Birmingham were second and finish second, whilst Cambridge slipped to fifth in the Championships, but retained third place in the overall table.

Individually the top three gents were from the top three clubs and finished in the same order. George Harding (Nottingham) scored 584 to force Matt Cole (Loughborough) into second despite a 581. A little behind Matt Dale (Warwick) scored 570, with Warwick team mate Andrew Shreeves fourth on 564. Top lady recurve was Laura Bell (Nottingham) on 553. No less than seven gent novices broke 500, but the runaway winner was James Dunbar (Oxford) with 534.

In the last few seasons BUTTS clubs have traditionally occupied many of the top places at BUCS Indoors and as that tournament approaches, the Midlands clubs can again expect to be jostling for those BUCS points (the top 8 for senior teams and the top 4 for senior individuals) and for some, shiny medals.

See the final BUTTS league standings for 2009/2010. For more detail and lots of stats, see BUTTS' own website.