2019 Singapore National Games - Part 2

"TBAC Territory"

Team Rogue Archers: Samo, Isaac, and Jeremy

Since Barebow was contested as a team event, the Teluk Belangah Archery Club or "TBAC" in short, has been dominant. They eliminate all their competitors and came up top 3 in the event. For them, it's a clean sweep through and through.
To throw them off the track, Jeremy had waited till the last minute to register our team. I pitched the name "Rogue Archers" which the guys had well received.
The TBAC guys never saw this coming and after day one, we came up tops in our group. While the dominant TBAC archers who formed a great team was numero uno in their own terms. 

Getting ready for the K-O rounds on day 2...

On the elimination rounds, we met the more laidback guys from TBAC consisting of Uncle Tan Tock Seng, Toon Wee, and another old-timer. I met Uncle Tan and Toon at the Sungai Lembing 3D shoot. So, this was a small reunion.
The first game was "easy" as we eliminated the "fun" guys from TBAC.
This was followed by a break before we met the "next generation" archers from TBAC called "Bersatu".

Taking my shot at the finals...

Teamwork at its best... 

"Bersatu" was made up of TBAC's finest young talent. Two guys and a lady made up the team. One of them, Dennis, I met him at the Thailand Princess Cup in Bangkok back in June. Turned out to be quite a decent guy.
During the K-O rounds, our lead archer Isaac had a bad release, resulting in a miss. Jeremy and I made up with some good shots.
Even with a miss, we came up with 11 points higher than our opponents. More apparent was one of the ends with all arrows in the yellow. We were relaxed, didn't lower our guard and had a great match with TBAC's younger and inexperienced team.

Completing the circle...

Our match at the finals was with TBAC's team OK.
We took them on the day before and they consist of three of TBAC's finest archers. They were Ang See Chuan, who won the 2016 Thailand Princess Cup Barebow Open, Dennis Ng and Gary Ang, one of the club's top archers.

Ending TBAC's dominance at the Singapore National Games

Thanking our fellow archers...

Jeremy put his plans into action. He picked Isaac as his running mate and added the final touch with me as the "mystery archer" in the team.
It was psychology warfare with Jeremy keeping the opponents guessing, much to the dislike of some folks. I can see the resentment on the faces of the guys that we have eliminated. But hey, it's just a game. 
We met the last team standing. All our arrows connect and when the last arrow hits the target face on the final end, I can see Jeremy raising his arms, signaling an end to years of TBAC dominance. We congratulated the second-place winners and thanked them for a good game.

receiving our medals from TBAC's coach

Mission accomplished! 

We later received our medals and small prize money. Jeremy took the celebrations with beers and hot-pot at a local restaurant. He was very happy to add another trophy and to him, it was a trifecta. Previously, he won the recurve and compound team matches. Barebow completes the Holy Trinity.
For me, it was living up to the expectations of getting the job done. I am the foreigner whom nobody gives a shit about at the game. So, that said, the Singapore National Games lent valuable experience in teamwork and cohesion in high-pressure situations. I also struck off another of my "Bucket list" which is to shoot in Singapore... 

2019 Singapore National Games - Part 1

Into the Lion's den...

Rogue Archers: Jeb, Samo, Jeremy, and Isaac

 Sometime late last year, my archery buddy from Singapore Jeremy Han had mentioned his intent to compete at a team game at the Singapore National Games.
This actually happened as I traveled to Singapore to compete with his team. 
I have never shared the shooting line with Jeremy and was introduced to Isaac Goh, a fellow teammate earlier this year when I made a trip down to Singapore.
The plan was to crash at Jeremy's home and head down to the Toa Payoh stadium for the shoot.

Logistics...

My plan was simple. Take a bus down to Singapore. This is also the first time I am bringing in archery equipment to the island republic. So, I went in prepared.
There are daily bus services to Singapore from Bandar Sunway which was perfect for me. 
For this game, I packed light and brought my trusty CD Archery WF25X bow with me.
To get past Customs, I first have to declare the equipment at the Sultan Abu Bakar CIC complex near Tanjung Kupang. This was, of course, a pain in the ass.
Next, comes the most trying part: The Singapore Customs...

In the bus, ready to roll...

My ride to the far South...

Arriving in Singapore...

I hauled my gear to the X-ray machine and handed the paperwork to the security staff.
She called a senior Customs officer and two cops. Lots of questions to answer and I was brought to a room where more screening was done. After determining that the intent to bring archery equipment into the island republic was justified, I was allowed to enter.
Thankfully, the bus was still waiting. It made its way to the HarbourFront and my buddies Jeremy and Jeb were already there.

"Annihilate with extreme prejudice..."

Fighting sleep deprivation, we had a full day ahead of us. It started with a light practice at a private range near Teluk Belangah.
Jeremy had set up a new bow which is identical to the one Isaac was using.
Prior to this, I had never shot with the guys.
I sighted in with my bow and was confident of pulling it together at the qualifying rounds on the first day of the team event.

Jeremy sighting-in his bow

Zeroing-in with my WF25X

We met the first team from the Singapore "Boy's Brigade". They came in third last year and was said to be very experienced in the game.
We have two arrows each to land on two 40cmx10ring target faces. One anchor archer with shoot an arrow each on the two faces. 
Since we have never shot as a team, Isaac decided to be the anchor while Jeremy and I took one face each.
We took the first end, the Boys Brigade equalized and the rest of the game belonged to us with an 8-2 win (with one bonus round).

The crowd in the Tao Payoh Stadium

Pep talk with Jeremy after finishing a round...

Counting scores and marking the target faces...

After a good lunch break, we took on four other teams and came up top in our group, unbeaten.
My arrows connected throughout the rounds and I was just glad to be able to do get the job done.

Inculcating good sportsmanship: Jeremy thanking our opponents for a good game...

We cleaned up the rest good including two teams from the Teluk Blangah Archery club. These are premier and seasoned Barebow archers in the island republic who have vast experience competing overseas.
My last brush with them was at Sungai Lembing at a 3D shoot...

Next: Changing mindset...