I know that some of you live too far away to come out, but I hope you'll join us in spirit ... maybe sponsor a competition in your area this year.
The Lehigh Valley Fukiyado Association (LVFA) competitions are cancelled only for the following reasons:
a. Snowfall (active) expected to exceed 3 in.
b. Heavy, steady rainfall, or accompanied by lightning (drizzle or a light rain, we still shoot)
c. Winds (steady) exceeding 15 MPH, or gusts exceeding 20 MPH
d. poor visibility (fog, sleet, snow, rain); less than 1/4 mile.
All other conditions - game on! Dress for the weather!
The "home turf" for the LVFA is Bear Swamp Archery Complex, located in Upper Mt. Bethel, PA (a liitle bit south of the Delaware Water Gap). There is a 25 yard, 4-person archery range (suitable for 8 blowgunners side-by-side), behind that is an Archery Field course with 14 stations and 16 targets (suitable for the Cherokee style Field Competition). This is a one-half mile long loop course. One of the stations includes a 10 ft. tall platform tree stand (can hold up to 6 adults comfortably - but blowgunners shoot at the three targets there from the ground - too far for the darts, can easily be lost). Across the street from this main part of the complex, and a liitle south is the Archery Olympic Field, which includes an overhead shelter and 10 picnic tables, and 2 charcoal grills. This field is ideal for the Long Distance blowgun competitions, and includes another platform stand that can be used for supporting the Long Distance target for blowgunners.
The Bear Swamp Archery Complex is part of the Northampton County, PA Parks system, is open to the public, and free to use. Reservations can be made in advance (none before 01/01/07 for the upcoming year). Photos of the complex can be viewed in the BlowgunsNW MSN online forum at:
groups.msn.com/BlowgunsNorthwestPlayersGroup/bearswamparcherycomplex.msnwBear Swamp has been the home of three international blowgun competitions, and has seen the 10-meter World Record fall twice during that time! Once from 192 points (a perfect score is thirty darts shot into the 7 point bulls-eye 6 cm diameter ring, or 210 points) to 194 points by Master Morikuni Matsumoto from Japan, of the Japan Sport Fukiya Association, and the following year from 194 points, to 198 points by "Old Wayne" Wilson of Virginia, a colleague member of the National Sport Blowgun Association.
The LVFA will be sponsoring four American Sport Blowgun Association (ASBA) point sanctioned competitions for 2007.
All competitions require advance registration, and begin promptly at 12:00 Noon.
Send registration requests to
craftsman@enter.net 1. New Year's Day Blow-out, at Bear Swamp - fun shoot and 10-meter point competition. Dress for the weather! Monday, Jan. 1, 2007
2. Vernal Equinox Invitational. Competition will be at my home, by invitation only. Three ranges - 2 outdoor: uphill, downhill, and "level" (semi- outdoor). Sat. March 17th, 2007.
3. 4th International Competition at Bear Swamp. Saturday, June 16th, 2007.
4. Fall Open Classic at Bear Swamp. Saturday, September 15th, 2007.
