UK Student Archery Association

'16 going on '17 [28/Oct/16]

BUCS has announced its dates and format changes for the Indoor Championships in 2017 and it's safe to say that there is a lot going on.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the dates for BUCS has previously made it impossible to specify a preferred date for BUTC. The preferred weekend for BUTC has been confirmed as 4th/5th March. Bids to host the tournament should be with UKSAA by Monday 7th November - full details in BUTC section.

Round 1 of the E-League is drawing to a close, with scores due to be submitted by Saturday 5th November.

Back to BUCS and where once there was one, now there are three. Two regional qualifiers will now lead to National Finals event in Bristol on Sat 18th Mar. The regional qualifiers will use Portsmouths, but the National Finals will having their ranking round on a FITA 18 and be followed by H2Hs to determine the actual winners. BUCS actually used the 40cm faces from 1980 to 1982.

The changes don't end there however. Smaller scale events brings university hosting back in to the frame, so after 5 record-expanding years at Telford, the Finals event will be hosted by Bristol for the first time. BUCS will determine which of the two regional qualifers (Crawley and Sheffield) each club will be allotted to, with a North/South split is assumed.

Having the two regional qualifers three weeks apart is less than ideal, particularly for novices and for scheduling BUTTS league fixtures, whilst an Aberdeen archer attending both events will rack up 1,800 miles in the process.

Results from the regional qualifers will be combined and a cut will then be made. The National Finals event will not recognise novices as a separate category. Novices can go if they qualify - but must do so inamongst the seniors.

The entry fee has gone up from £14pp to £23.50pp. Those who qualify for the Nationals are not charged any extra. There are three events to pay for rather than one, but a 68% increase is certainly eye-catching, particularly when you consider that many will pay over £20 for the pleasure of shooting a Portsmouth only.

Elsewhere, the regional calendar gets started in October this year with the first SSS match of the season hosted by Dundee and Heriot-Watt and NUTC at York.