This is it … the final day of the Vegas Shoot 2015. The past two days have seen the gathered archers compete in bloody combat in an attempt to get ranked as high as they can. The victors earn everlasting glory amongst the archery world. Tears have been shed, dreams have been crushed, and those left standing are preparing themselves for one final day of cutthroat competition ...
Well … cutthroat might be a little extreme. In fact … ignore that whole last paragraph. In reality, the convention halls were filled with smiling archers encouraging each other to do their best. It may be the final day of competition - but for most archers this is the most relaxed they've been all weekend. The shock and awe of the tournament has worn off and they have finally settled into enjoying themselves and this wonderful event. And besides … archery really isn't about doing better than others. Its about being the best that you can be and working on improving oneself.
 |
| Brandon Tenner loading an arrow in the final day of Las Vegas Shoot 2015 |
But for some archers … the stakes were a little higher.
Brandon Tenner found himself ranked 9th in the 1st flight after the second day of competition. This means that he has a real chance of breaking "into the money" and really shining at this major archery competition. One more day of strong shooting and all his hard work will have paid off. Not to mention all the money he's raising for Active Heroes …
So for Brandon, the pressure is still on and he wants to do his best. Not just for himself, but for those he is helping as well.
Adam Parrott was ranked 9th in the 2nd flight entering the final day of competition. His goals this tournament were to place in at least the 3rd flight and to hit at least one score of 270+. His score of 279 yesterday solidified both goals, so today he'll just do the best he can and see what happens…
At noon the archers once again took the line. Nerves were present, but not as much as the first day. The anxiety from the beginning of the tournament has been replaced with raw focus. Just 30 arrows left. 30 chances to move up or down the ranks. 30 arrows to send flying down range, hopefully into the gold.
Brandon shot a solid score of 287/300 … missing besting his first day score (and tournament PR) by only 1 point! He was shooting on a single spot instead of the favored "3-spot" target and was obliterating the center rings so much that he had to switch out for a new target mid-tournament. His focus hardly wavered as he consistently slammed his arrows into the X ring time and time again. And it paid off … when the dust had settled, Brandon had moved up 4 rankings to claim 5th place! This is his highest ranking ever achieved at Vegas!
Adam shot a solid round as well, scoring in his average with a 269/300. His first 5 ends were a little shaky, dropping one 23 round and having trouble finding the center of the target. But he made up for it in his final 5 ends, settling into his rhythm and raising his score with each arrow. He finished 7th in the 2nd flight … much higher than he was anticipating when he first set foot on the field last Friday!
 |
| Adam Parrott sends and arrow down range in one of the final ends of Las Vegas Shoot 2015 |
The true winners of this competition though are the charities that Adam and Brandon were shooting for. Active Heroes and St. Mary's Home For Boys will hopefully benefit from the donations they receive based on our two archer's performance. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped these two wonderful organizations out by pledging for our archers!
If you didn't get a chance to pledge for this tournament, there will be many more opportunities to help many more organizations in the future! Please like us on Facebook and follow along on our blog. We will have many things archery related added soon!
Thanks again everyone for making this such a wonderful first event!
 |
| Thank you EVERYONE for helping us make a difference! |
~Adam and the AFC Team
