By Chris Elliott….
As many CyprusScene readers will know I took up archery a few months ago and I will be writing about this exciting and very demanding hobby soon, but in the meanwhile, I decided to share with you how I spent my leisure time on Saturday 5th November with the Girne Hunting and Shooting Sports Club at the Raif Rauf Denktaş Shooting Range in Karaman which is alongside the Girne bypass and close to the GAU roundabout.
Normally I spend Saturday mornings on the range near Chateau Lambousa with the Lambousa Archers but two of the members were invited as TRNC Archery Federation members to take part in an archery competition and I decided to tag along to meet other archery enthusiasts and also see what I may eventually reach out to as my archery skill improves.
The Raif Rauf Denktaş Shooting Range is a most impressive, and a huge place with a clubhouse, restaurant, and other buildings and was created in 1981 and I gather with further expansion in 1995 and 1996 and hosts Skeet Shooting, Sport Shooting, Paint Ball Shooting, Archery, and Darts.
So when I arrived I met Lambousa Archers, Nick Gough, and Atilla Berberoğlu who were preparing with other participants for the Monk 3D Archery competition in the jungle walk where they would be shooting at various animal figures and I did manage to follow them over very uneven terrain to the 3rd shooting point before my knee told me it was time to retire and take a rest and wait for the competitors to return from their trek around the competition course which they all did, looking a little tired but very happy especially the children…
I managed to talk to Istiklal Metay and Osman Tez from the Girne Archery Club who were coordinating the competition and I guess during the day there were around 100 competitors and their families enjoying the day from the Girne, Famagusta, Lapta, Lefkosa and Lefke clubs which included a big group of children who excitedly took part in the competition.
During the time I had to walk around the centre, I watched the Paint Ball shooters where groups were attacking each other under the watchful eyes of safety marshals, and then later in the afternoon the Skeet shooters arrived and were rapidly shooting at what for me at a distance, was unseen fast moving targets.
So the day ended with many happy people and children and it was a delight to see the winners and runners up, of the Monk Archery 3D competition standing on the podiums to receive their prizes which included Nick and Atilla the 2 club members from Lambousa Archers who got 3rd place in the Master’s category.
So what a great day out I had meeting new people and learning more about the fascinating art of archery
Note: Click here to see a list of archers taking part in the competition
