BASINGSTOKE archer Steve Burke was right on target as he won a double at the All British and Open Field Archery Championships staged by Raven Field Archers of Petersfield at Buriton.
The event, held in the woodland of Queen Elizabeth Park, had some steep slopes and was a true trial of skill for Britain’s top field archers.
On the first day of competition, Burke shot a marked distance World Archery Federation round of 24 targets.
He built a good lead with his traditional English longbow, well ahead of second-placed Marshall Barron of Royal Richmond Archers.
On the second day, he shot a different course of 24 targets at unmarked distances.
On each day the 24 targets were over a varied course.
The target diameter sizes are made of a mixture of 20cm, 40cm, 60cm and 80cm, divided into six scoring areas, at distances of five to 50 metres.
Burke finished up with a score of 365 to take the Gentlemen’s Long Bow Championship, which was 108 points ahead of his nearest rival.
The Basingstoke archer was also part of the team selected to shoot for England at the Championships. They became Home Nations Champions, beating Wales, Northern Island and Scotland.
The only other local archer shooting at Buriton was William Jones of the Overton Black Arrows. He took part in the Bare Bow class, finishing 10th among the English archers and 12th in Great Britain.
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