UK Student Archery Association

SWWU wins give Bristol title [10/Jun/22]

Bristol won SWWU matches 6 and 7 to win the overall SWWU championship for the first time. Cardiff were second in both matches and finished second in the overall table, their best ever finish.

SWWU match 6 was also SWWU's Outdoor Championship. It was held on a WA900 in Bristol on 22nd May and it was the hosts who ran away with a 500 point win, with 2951 against Cardiff's 2451, with Bath in third on 2360. Bristol's success came from strength in depth - their 4th highest score was nearly 200 higher than any other teams's 4th best. Plymouth pipped Swansea to fourth spot by a single point. in Top scorers in the match were Alex Rowe (Plymouth) on 812 and Aaron Cardwell (UWE) on 802.

Match 6 left Bristol 4 points ahead with one match to play. Match 7 was a WA50m hosted by Exeter on 4th June, but any thoughts that Bristol might throw away such a lead were swiftly dispelled by a dominant performance. The top 4 recurve scores all came from Bristol archers as they swept to the match and title. Cardiff were second again, just keeping ahead of hosts Exeter. Will Black (Bristol) was top individual on 542.

Plymouth won both the novice matches, but second place from Swansea in match 6 meant they were assured the title, despite an incomplete team meaning the Welsh side had a wobble in match 7. Andrew Bacon (Plymouth) was top individual both times.

Bristol end the season on 64 points, with their nearest competitors Cardiff on 59. This is a best ever result for both teams. Bristol recovered from fielding an incomplete team in match 1 and dropping 5 points off the lead, to take the title by the same margin. But that contribution, whilst small, was crucial. Had Bristol fielded no archers at all in match 1, Cardiff would be champions instead on match aggregate. Bristol join East Anglia and Heriot-Watt as first time league champions. Sheffield and Oxford delivered their first titles since 2012 and 2003 as the post-Covid season saw regional league honours shaken up a bit.

Exeter's third place in SWWU match 7 helped them erase a 3 point deficit and nick third place overall from Bath on match aggregate after both teams ended on 51 league points. UWE, who attended two matches, ended seventh overall and will hopefully take a full place in the SWWU league next season.

Swansea claim the SWWU novice league title by a full 8 points, despite a late charge from Plymouth who matches 5, 6 and 7. This is Swansea's fifth SWWU novice title ever and their third in the last four competitive seasons. Swansea also won the compound league title.

Final results and tables are on the SWWU 2021/22 page.