UK Student Archery Association

North by South West [21/Nov/18]

Full results and tables have been published for SWWU match 1 and the first round of NEUAL fixtures (matches E1, W1 and N1) all from the weekend of 10th November. A review of SSS match 2, (won by Napier on 17th November) will follow shortly.

This is poised to be something of a landmark season for SWWU. The league has always struggled hosting matches inside - since it moved to all vs all matches in 2003/04 season there has never been more than 1 match before Christmas. This season however, no less than 3 are scheduled. This includes a leg split between first time hosts Aberystwyth and Plymouth, who once hosted half a SWWU fixture in January 2016.

Exeter's 2192 took the honours in the first match of this 2018/19 season, 40 points ahead of a fierce battle for second. Despite the having the top two scorers in the match, Plymouth were third on 2148, as Bath squeaked in to second place. Bath were just two points ahead on 2150 and second is their best placing since June 2015. Swansea's seniors were fourth, a point under 2100, whilst the Swans' novice team recorded a comfortable win ahead of Exeter.

The result is Exeter's fourth SWWU match win in a row. Thomas Ledgerwood (Exeter) top scored for his side on 569. Joe Tripp and Alex Rowe (both Plymouth) were the top two in the match on 575 and 570, with Charlotte Lunt (Bath) on 565, Gavin Tsang (Swansea) on 563 and Jamie Diep (Bristol) on 562.

In NEUAL there were match wins for Durham, Sheffield and Keele. Durham won match N1 on 2115, by far the highest score of the 7 teams who took part - they top the table as a result. Sheffield and Keele shot in the high and low 1800s respectively and still both recorded winning margins of over 100 points. Matthew Likely (Durham) and Andrew Johnstone (Salford) scored 565 each, with Lewis Mack (also Durham) adding a 560. The three parallel novice matches were won by Durham, Hull and Keele, with the Northern Conference side once again the highest scorers.

Disappointingly the novice team categories were only half contested. In these matches, 14 clubs competed, but only 10 of them fielded novices and only 7 of those fielded complete novice teams of 3.

See the SWWU 2018/19 page and the NEUAL 2018/19 page.

What's next for both leagues? SWWU match 2 is split across 17th November in Aberystwyth and 25th November in Plymouth. The second set of NEUAL fixtures includes last season's top two York and Central Lancaster, albeit not against one another. Match E2 is Hull vs Leeds vs York and match W2 is Salford vs UCLan vs Lancaster on 17/18th November. There is no N match in this round.