This week I’m taking you behind the scenes of a little two-day “mini Masters” competition we ran at my local club here in Nelson, New Zealand. The South Island Masters Games archery side didn’t happen the way it should’ve (a bit of miscommunication and the event shifting around), so instead of just moaning about it, we decided to run our own weekend. We had archers come up from Christchurch to support it, we shot on our range on council land, and even with a proper five-minute downpour right before we started (and some very gusty wind after), it turned into a cracking weekend. Day one was a 720-style round with different bow types and age groups. I shot compound at 45m on an 80cm target, and we split groups across compound, recurve, and longbow/barebow. Day two was a 36-arrow shoot followed by match play, and we purposely made it a bit different—sets for compound first (because I like that one bad arrow doesn’t instantly end your day), then cumulative scoring as well. The big takeaway for me is that serious shooting doesn’t need miserable vibes: good competition, a barbecue, a laugh, and a solid club atmosphere is exactly what keeps archery traditions alive.