Archery
was Orkney’s only source of island games glory in 2003, and as the county’s
team get set to take their biggest-ever squad to the event, they are hoping to
hit the medal target once again. Team captain, Jim Middlemas, whose recurve
head-to-head bronze medal was enough to spare Orkney’s 2003 blushes, believes
that the squad’s increase in size can have a notable effect. The six
archers who will be making the trip to Shetland are Jim Middlemas, Graham Brough
and Annabel Eltome, who all took part in 2003, plus Ian Brough, David Kennedy
and Ian Kennedy. Gaining increasing popularity, archery is now one of the
most toughly-contested sports in the island games. Players have two medal
opportunities, firstly in the individual tournament and then in the team match. Competitors
have a tough four days at the games. Shooting from various distances, archers
compete in the individual tournaments for the first three days before the competition
boils down to the team head-to-head on day four. Jim, who knows only too
well about the demands of the games, is optimistic about the squad’s prospects. He
said: “This will be the biggest squad we have ever brought to the island
games. “The last time, there were only four members, so, hopefully,
with the added members, we can do well.” The archery squad travelling
to Shetland has a mixture of island games experienced players and debutants. Jim
continued: “The games is a great challenge and we are obviously all looking
forward to it. “We will have some players coming to Shetland who have
games experience and also some members who haven’t been before. “For
the players who haven’t been before, it will be a great experience and will
hopefully benefit the standard of archery in Orkney.” After taking a podium
place last time, Jim is hopeful of a repeat performance. He is, however, aware
of the challenges that lie ahead. He continued: “To be honest we want
to do better than we did last time. If we can, then that’s great. “Archery
is becoming increasingly popular, which means the standard is getting a lot higher.
We are aware of this and continue to do our best. “We all want to have
good individual showings, but there is also a really competitive team event as
well, so we will do our best in that also. “The standard is high at
the island games, so it is really difficult to know where you stand going into
the tournament. “All we can do is prepare ourselves as best we can,
and then go out and try to win as much as we can. “It is important
to be positive and not to put too much pressure on yourself. If you think about
it too much, it can go wrong, it is all about the moment. If you are relaxed it
is a big bonus.” Preparation has been ongoing for Orkney archers. Meeting
every week to practise, the team look certain to be in the best position possible.
It’s not just about the practice, however, but the added experience of competitive
match play. In February, Jim, Graham and Ian Brough competed in the Scottish
indoor championship at Cluny Clays. All did well individually, and, encouragingly,
they finished fourth overall in the team event. This level of performance
will be needed by all island games competitors if the Orkney archers are to succeed. Unfortunately,
Orkney will have to adjust from indoor to outdoor quite rapidly for the games.
Compared to some of the islands competing, the Orkney squad has had to practice
indoors for the majority of their preparation time. Jim said that it is
important for the team to get outdoors as much as possible from now until the
start of the games in July. He said: “The biggest change for us is
going from indoors to outdoors, which naturally makes a big difference. “The problem for us is
getting somewhere big enough to practise. From now until the games, we really
need to get out as much as we can, continued practice is really important and
we are preparing as much as we can.” Speaking of his island games success
two years ago, Jim said he was just pleased that Orkney managed to win a medal. He
said: “I was just pleased that someone won something. It was a tough competition
in Guernsey and I was pleased to win a medal. I try not to think about that though,
I just want to go out this time and do what I can. “If I can do better
than I did last time, then I will be delighted.” With the Clickimin
leisure complex being the venue for the tournament, archers will be playing at
the games’ centre stage. This will be the hub of the event with six sports
in total being contested at the centre. It won’t just be a mass of
spectators, but also competitors at the event — 87 archers from 11 different
islands are set to line up on the archery field therefore, Orkney’s archers
will need to be at their very best to gain success. The main danger will
come from inter-county rivals, Shetland, who have emerged as the best archery
squad in the island games. Winning team and individual golds at the last
two games, they are the team to beat. Threats will also come from island games
giants Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Still, as the side managed
to prove two-years ago, medals are there for the taking. | 
