It’s competition weekend, and I’m doing something I honestly didn’t expect to be doing this year: shooting my first ever compound competition. I drove down from Nelson to Christchurch (roads were a bit spicy with the weather), built the bow, packed the sunscreen and bug spray, and tried to keep the nerves under control. Day one was a full 1440 round—four distances, 36 arrows at each—70m and 60m on a 122cm face, then 50m and 30m on an 80cm face. I’m normally a recurve shooter, and I’ve only been on compound for four months, so this was always going to be a “learn a lot and hopefully don’t implode” kind of weekend. On the Saturday I ended up shooting 1291 for the 1440, which absolutely shocked me. I was getting tired in the heat near the end and dropped a couple of rough ends, but my goal was simply “over 1000,” so I was stoked. Sunday was two 720s at 50m on an 80cm face—another 144 arrows—and the wind made it more interesting. I started slow, even had a miss from a flinch, but I finished with a 618 and then a 631 (a PB), and I walked away with a gold medal. Biggest takeaway: budget gear and a no-sponsored setup can absolutely show up—if you keep shooting and put the practice in.