My first competition of 2009 and a relatively positive start. Again slowed down and lost my rythym, but am slowly understanding why and which technical element it is that is letting me down in this area. Shot 575 and 574, with some real patches of inconsistency throughout. If I can just keep that timing fluid and keep things moving, should see the inconsistency disappear. Gained alot of confidence and I plan to build on it further at the indoor selection shoot next weekend.

Yesterday afternoon I looked at the GNAS website to find out that I had been named the BOA's 'Athlete of the Year' for archery. This was a huge shock to me and never in a million years did I expect to win something like this during an Olympic year, and especially with the great performances by British archers this last year, of which I have acheived very little in comparison to them.
I think the award should be renamed 'team of the year', as I know certainly from my situation, it was not just me who did all the hard work and gave myself support along the way. So I think the 'Tom Barber team' deserves a big thankyou.
Thankyou very much to my Dad, who tirelessy has run all over the country taking me to training camps and competitions, helped me tremendously when I shoot at home, and has followed my performances where ever I am, even if it means staying up through till 4am! Thanks to Mum also who keeps me well fed (as some of you know) and organised with my school work. A huge thanks to Peter Suk, my coach and knowledgable mentor who has helped me progress further than I could have imagined, and who has always been there to console and help me through difficult times.
Last but certainly not least, thankyou very much Graham for supporting me financially through the years and supplying the equipment. Most importantly, thankyou for helping me right from the start.

Wishing you all a Happy new year and all the best in 2009!

After a 4 hour drive across on Saturday morning, it was not the performance I had anticipated at the junior indoor nationals. Could not strike up any sort of rythem and was also struggling with some form of dizziness, and it felt like I was swaying all over the place at full draw. Finished on a 582. In my head I believed it would not be enough to win, but to my surprise it was and I won the Junior indoor title for the first and last time. Just 1 more GNAS Junior event left now. well done to all the Thorpe Hamlet juniors who went along, especially to Barney Hewitt who also won his age group.

On Sunday the 30th I went along to the Fita 18s at Fakenham, and enjoyed THE best steak sandwich I had ever had the pleasure of eating! As for the competition, it was not the best but still full of positives. Shot 570 in the first session after a poor start, and then 554 with 2 misses (!!). Will definately be returning next year after a superbly run shoot this year.

Carrow Road was the venue for Norfolk Council's meeting with Olympic Sports and Culture minister Tessa Jowell. Various things were discussed (most of which went over my head), but more importantly the lunch desert strawberry cheesecake was spot on!

About the remainder of this year is that;

It didnt go well, I didnt make the Olympic team, had a poor World championships and to be honest, was a little narked.

But in the last 2 weeks, the new Era of British archery has begun. Im moving back upwards, getting stronger every day, and an outdoor world championship medal in Korea next year is the prize. Watch this space....

Been a while since my last blog but you will be pleased to hear that I have just made the admin login my homepage, so you should be geting weekly (if not daily) updates from the Barber camp. Look out Neil, George and Michael!

Well heres the low down on the 1st World Cup event of the year in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Personally, shooting was ok for me and made another few steps up the ladder in qualifying 18th and shooting in the team event for the 1st time. However, things didnt go quite to plan when the rain struck on the elimination rounds, and ended up out first round. On a more positive note, I was one of the higher losers, coming 37th I believe. Was still disapointed though and need to learn how to aim off better when conditions change.
Team event was valuable experience and my 1st match was a little nerve-racking, although I settled down in our next one and we were unlucky to lose to Italy in the quarter-final 218-219.
British success at the event included a 4th place for Liam Gimwood, a gold for the recurve girls and an unlucky 4th place for Compound girls.
A very enjoyable event and hopefully be coming back here next year.
Next comp for me is the 2nd World Cup event in Croatia, and Il fill you in as soon as I get back ;)

You Clickers fans will be glad to hear that both me and Mike had a good weekend. On saturday, had the best performance of my career so far with a 671 and 667 making 1351 with added bonuses and leading from Mike and then Larry. On Sunday it wasnt quite as good but still maintained good consistency and was unlucky. Finished 3rd behind Mike and Larry, who had more win bonuses throughout the day. Its still so close - only 8 points seperating us! The next one is 4-5 June, so a while yet.
The next event is the 1st World cup of the year in Dominican Republic next week. Il fill you in on everything from the heavenly beaches to the Rasta-jamming!
T

Earlier this month, i went to what was formerly known as the European Championships, got knocked out in 8ths (finishing 13th), and ended up watching passionate Italians making us all feel useless and obselete for most of the week, as they pretty much cleaned up the medals aswell. It wasnt all bad though, had a few positives to take away from Qualifying, and also watched Nicky Hunt (resident clickers team member) turn in another great performance to win bronze individually, along with a team bronze with Nichola Simpson and Lucy Holderness. good shooting girls!
For me, a dissapointing result, but I have to look at the bigger picture and to be honest, preparation was minimal for the event. Cant really ask for more shooting against the indoor specialists!
The 'big one' is up next, the 1st Olympic selection shoot (and Europeans selection) at RAF Cosford. Il let you know the goss as soon as I can.
T