Despite the ravages of the Imperial end of term party the night before, many of the College's finest archers turned out bright and relatively early (in the afternoon, that is) for the now annual match against the happy few that SGB are usually able to field.

Following typically unhelpful tube transport, Paul and Ian (and morally supportive Charlotte) were quite late, leaving Andy the sole representative of the club for some time - a fate rendered particularly ironic by his having returned to active (-ish) archery from his self-imposed sabbatical only that morning. However, Mr Pirie put his extra practice time to good effect, quickly remembering how to assemble his bow, and fletching three (or was it four?) of his arrows. Sadly lacking a final SGB member, the northerners then 'borrowed' the services of their local Londoner to ensure that they actually had a teamÖ (thank you again, Elle!)

As usual, the crowded conditions of the range led to slow shooting early on, and some competitors found the pace wearing, with a number of archers' strength dwindling near the end of the day. However, the reunion of the infrequently meeting SGB team produced predictable hilarity and much good natured abuse, which kept many amused for at least the early part of the shoot.

Following on from success in the 2002 match, SGB started the day as firm favourites, assisted by the absence of several of Imperial's highest scorers, and despite Andy's presumed-to-be-rusty skills. Several of those shooting suggested (and concealed, with varying degrees of success, their envy of that premise!), in fact, that Andy's twelve month absence from the shooting scene might not make much difference to his final score. In the end, rewarding the faith of his team-mates, Andy managed to finish on a very creditable 530+ score (slightly down on last year, but hardly surprising, given the total absence of practice!) although he did gain the dubious merit of maintaining his 59 hits reputation, with a fine example of how not to score any points from a collapsing shot.

While Andy spent his day remembering how to shoot, Paul, although less convincing than recent form might have suggested, did manage to shoot all his arrows this year, and finished well enough to see off the challenge from the ex-sabbatical. Ian, meanwhile, perhaps suffering from the party the night before, or being thinner-skinned than usual, did not match his 2002 score, dropping a few points. While many of the Imperials viewed the match as a foregone conclusion, a great deal of effort was nonetheless devoted to the challenge, with Shaun D'Souza and Gavin Simmons both shooting better than recent form might have suggested; the pace of the shoot, however, clearly got to Eloise (Mental?) Fowler, and although ultimately taking second place on the Ladies' line, Imperial's most consistent lady was disappointed with her final score. The final result, despite being lower than previous team results for either squad, was as some had predicted, with SGB achieving victory with a combined team score of 2163.

Exhausted by their endeavours, the competitors adjourned to the usual pub for an evening of muted hilarity and ale. A few of the most enthusiastic of the revellers then progressed, via (respectively) a helpful restaurant and Wetherspoons for food (close to Christmas in London, it appears that no-one wants to book out a table for more than 5 people!), to Wimbledon for further drinking and discussionÖ