The Great Britain team out in Yankton, South Dakota, USA have completed the first day of official competition for the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships.
The team arrived in the US early on Saturday morning, and had two days of unofficial practice to get themselves accustomed to the changeable conditions and time difference. Monday morning was official practice which posed a challenge in terms of the gusty winds and colder temperatures than the days previous. And finally, Tuesday was the all-important WA 720 qualification round which sets the tone for the rest of the competitive week to come.
Starting the day off, the compound men and women competed in the morning session for qualification. Throughout the course of the 12 ends, the winds were varied in direction as well as strength, throwing some very tricky and at times challenging gusts at the archers. This round was all about who could keep their nerve and produce good shots despite the conditions.
Adam Carpenter, at his first-time senior world championships, topped the GB compound men in the qualification round with a 688, placing him 25th overall. Not far behind was James Mason in 29th position with 687, and Adam Ravenscroft in 32nd place also with 687 points. Mason and Ravenscroft were among seven archers all on 687, separated by the Xs and 10s they shot, of which Mason had 45 and Ravenscroft 42.
Ella Gibson came first out of the GB women with 692, just behind first-seeded Sara Lopez who shot 693. Layla Annison came in 18th place with 672, and I [Izzy Carpenter] came in 36th place with 659 points.
"It feels great to finish qualification in 2nd. The conditions today were really tricky and rough, we had quite a lot of wind and gusts," Gibson said.
Then there are the team qualifications where each of the three members' scores are combined to give them an overall ranking against the other countries. For the compound men, they ranked in 7th place with 2062 points, equal to the team from France who also scored 2062. GB will have a bye in the 1/12 round and will then face the winner between either Mongolia or RAF. The compound women team ranked in 2nd place, beating the team from USA and placing just behind the very successful team from Colombia. This is the highest placing after the qualification that the GB compound women team has ever earned. In the 1/8 round, the women will face off against the team from Chinese Taipei.
The compound mixed team is ranked in 3rd position going into the head to heads. They will have in a bye in the 1/12 round, and then in the 1/8 they will meet the winner of the match between Guatemala and Croatia.
Next up in the afternoon session, the recurves shot their qualification round. The temperature picked up slightly, but the wind remained just as challenging.
Patrick Huston came first out of the GB men with 648 and is placed 13th. James Woodgate came in 32nd with 641, and Tom Hall scored 639 points and completed the round in 37th place.
For the women, Bryony Pitman has 625 points and is in 14th position. Yulia Larkins finished in 27th place with 615 points, and World Champion first-timer, Penny Healey, scored 597 to earn herself 49th place in the rankings.
For each of GB's recurve team ranking positions, the men are in 5th place giving them a bye in the first round, and then they will meet either Belgium or Bangladesh. The recurve women are in 8th position giving them a bye in the 1/12 round, and in the 1/8 they will face the team from Ukraine.
Huston and Pitman shot in their first mixed team round as well today, where Slovenia defeated them 6-2.
