Between them they have netted a haul of seven National Records and ensured that their efforts will be long remembered in the record books.
Saturday 3August 30 saw the National Junior Outdoor Championships, held on the outskirts of Edinburgh at Penicuik High School. Young archers, from all across Scotland, gathered for an early start at the field of competition on the Saturday morning, to be met with overcast conditions but with only a light breeze. As the day progressed it became clear that both of the Stonehaven youngsters were shooting to the very best of their ability and that it would take a very strong contender to knock either of them from their positions as reigning 2007 Scottish Champions.
Sure enough, once the scores were counted and validated, the final prize giving confirmed both of them as age group champions again for 2008. Along with being age group champion, Alex also shot the highest score recorded on the day, for all age groups and bagged a new Scottish record in the process.
This last weekend was the last outdoor tournament for the two of them. Once again they travelled to Penicuik High School to compete in the adult Premiere Event. As an Olympic qualifying event, the Premiere, one of only two each year in Scotland, was oversubscribed and attracted archers from as far away as London. In the first minutes after arriving on Saturday morning, the weather set the tone of the whole weekend, both days plagued with persistent rain and Saturday marred by very strong winds.
Within hours of the start a significant number of adults had thrown in the towel - but not Emily and Alex - who toughed out the dreadful conditions to complete the full two days. Their determination and tenacity was rewarded late on the Sunday when it became clear that they had broken six national records between them, three a piece. An outstanding achievement given the hostile conditions, which saw many dejected adults leave early and very wet.
Emily and Alex have already changed their training regimes in preparation for the start of the indoor tournament season which starts in earnest in October. We wish them best of luck with their training, tournaments and efforts to secure sponsorship to help them further their competition aspirations next year.