Hi Again!

 

Right after sorting my admission procedures and Before I arrived at Guildford, I took some time to explore the co-curricular activities that I could be a part of whilst I study here at Surrey Uni. A great way to go about finding more about these activities would be exploring the University website and of-course reading the blogs and talking to the current students at the uni if you know any! What caught my attention was the Surrey Sports Park (SSP – yes I cannot stop talking about it). Before I knew it, I had the whole list of uni sports clubs in my hand and was delighted to see that there was an Archery Club!

 

I had a brief encounter with Archery when I lived in Auroville for a bit and always liked the idea of taking part in target sports! Have a bit of experience with rifle shooting (thanks to NCC), but have never tried Archery as it is not a popular sport back in India. And for some reason I always felt that if I did try it, I would  enjoy it and be good at it! The University of Surrey Archery club welcomes beginners – who’ve never tried archery before (like me) or who have had very little experience! It is also required that if you haven’t done it before, you enroll for the beginner’s course offered after the fresher’s week every year! It’s a basic introduction to everything you need to know about bows, arrows, targets, and how to hold a bow – fix an arrow – aim at the target and Shoot!!

 

The beginner’s course allows you to be a part of the Archery club which trains twice a week! This semester it was on Tuesdays and Sundays where we do indoor shooting in an arena at the SSP, cause you know, it’s cold outside! Outdoor shooting is saved for when the weather is less harsh. If you are a member of the club, it is not required that you buy your own archery kit as you can use the equipment the club already has! But if you enjoy archery, you might consider buying yourself a kit later-on. There are a bunch of experienced archers who will help you and guide you through the whole process of learning how to shoot! You can shoot for leisure, you could do competitive-shooting as well! My scores say I’ve been improving, which is a good sign! We also meet up once in a while for kit-discussions and socials!

 

So far, I’ve been selected to take part in SEAL (that’s South East university Archery League) twice – once hosted by Surrey Uni and the other at University of Kent, Canterbury. SEAL is a grouping of institutions in the south east of England, a friendly group of archers that compete with each other to be the best team in the south east! Lucky for me we shoot against novices from the two other universities. Though my scores weren’t exceptional, I did enjoy both the leagues where I managed to score the highest both the times amongst the novices – Lady Recurve aaand improve my shooting and groupings significantly – pics below!

 

I enjoy shooting enough to make make myself free for it whenever. There’s lots to learn but my course schedule doesn’t allow me to attend all the sessions at SSP. But, I do manage to spend 4 hours shooting most Sundays! Most people ask me how I manage to spend so much time being involved in all these activities and I tell them that it’s quite simple, the trick. Most of us procrastinate, don’t we? That’s a lot of time usually spent being unproductive or doing nothing. I’ve managed to successfully replace all the hours I waste, with fun activities I’ve always wanted to do, like Archery or Dance and Hockey. So, when I get back from the SSP or the dance training, I don’t have any time left at my disposal to waste and hence get right to my work! Time-management is something you’ll eventually learn! I think I’ve almost gotten it right, except for the waking up on time part! 😛

 

I also want to bring to your notice that sports might not be your interests, but it is encouraged and always helpful to be part of some activities around here. It helps you de-stress, feel more free and fresh when you go back to your assignments (unless you decide to go overboard and tire yourself out), meet great people and make new friends and most importantly keep yourself physically and mentally active in the winter! This is me all active and happy in the cold! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully I would get better over time, better enough to reveal my scores to you!

Until the next post!! xx

 

Oh, It’s also Winter holidays now! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!