Roger Saunders 2013 Season Log

[o1d_dude]

These are the road trips that become legends in repeated tellings.

Good on ye!

[Martin Roy]

Is there any video of Paul going after the haggis?
That would be worth watching...
Is he going to train for the championship or will he continue to rely on beginner's luck?

[Alan H]

"Escape from Hell"

I wish I could have made it up for this.

[RogerWS76]

Martin'

No cameras were with us in the beer tent which ensures that the story will become ever finer with the age of its telling!!!

Alan,

We may have to rent a bus next year!!! This is a fun games BUT ... you will be interested to know, not much larger than your Ardenwood games in attendance (and just as well run)! It was a two day festival with a total attendance of about 5400!

[Alan H]

There's a chance that we will take Ardenwood to two days next year. We shall see....

[Alan H]

I just saw your Santa Cruz numbers on NASGA. You beat Kel. Wow.

AND... went over 50 in LWFD, AND Stuck a PR in the HWFD, AND got a huge PR in sheaf @ 29 feet, AND had a HUGE heavy hammer toss at 75 feet.! I'd call that a Big Games!

You do that again, and you're "gone"...outta my league! ...NICE JOB! Congratulations!

If you bring that Game to Enumclaw, there are going to be some seriously surprised folks, up there! NICE!!

[RogerWS76]

It was a hazy day to start but it always is in Watsonville. It was an adventure getting there. My wife and I had an all day ethnic wedding to attend on Saturday. It included a ten course meal that started about 8pm and didn't end until about 10:30. Some AWESOME food and great friends and even a little dancing but when we got home about midnight and knew we had to wake up at 4:30 AM, well ... you can imagine!

We got a little bit of a late start but when my wife drives we can usually catch up. (If Smokey doesn't slow us down!!!) AND he DID!!! Well, not the way you might think but when we got off the 101 at Tennant Blvd to proceed over the Hecker Pass there was some kind of road race setting up and there were Police cars at every corner. Put a crimp in Trisha's channeling of Dale Earnhardt!

We got there about 8:50. I called ahead and Paul, who was camping, signed me in so it was all good! He and a few other throwers had gotten there early and lobbied to be able to throw sheaf. They had skipped it on Saturday. Fortunately, along with great help from Carlos Borges, they prevailed but only provisionally. WE had to not drag out any events by 11:00 in order to do it! AND WE DID!!!

We started with the HWD. That thing has felt SOOO heavy all season but today it didn't and my first throw was a 34 footer ... barely! It was only a few inches off my PR and I thought maybe today woud be a good one! (1st)

Next was LWD. I have been having trouble staying down on these events. Well not on staying down particularly but on which PART of may body is going to stay down. I tend to favor bending by waist instead of my knees. While I cannot say that I have conquered that completely I did get better. Finally got one out over fifty this season and did it on a two spin so I felt good about that. (1st)

Then we travelled to the stones! The Braemar stone at least. We did this one at the bottom of the field where if you throw to the right it goes down hill but if you throw straight it goes UP hill. Unfortunately, I thought more about throwing downhill than throwing right. I switched to just throwing straight after that and trying to get it back but I let it get to me. Ended with one out over 27, but after a PR of 29 a couple weeks ago I was a little disappointed (2nd)

After the Braemar we switched, due to reasons of efficiency, (so we could throw the Sheaf) to the Heavy Hammer. Whoever originally set up the field lopped off about 25 yards of one end of the throwing area so there wasn't enough room for Light Hammer. (Which, after I threw the heavy, was a bummer because I got some kind of kink out on this one today). After watching some video this last week, I realized that while I was getting my arms not to bend on the release they were still slightly bent through the whole motion. I have been getting my low point down to the right pretty well so I decided to concentrate on keeping my arms straight as much as I could throughout the 2nd and 3rd winds. While I did NOT get them as straight as I would like to have, in the back especially, I discovered that when my arms were straight the hips began to move in reponse to that. So the WEIGHT has to get extended FIRST and then the hips will follow. I finally felt them (and saw them ever so imperceptively) begin to move in the "Highlands Hula" that Old Dude has been trying to get into our heads!!! It worked too! My first throw was over 75 for a PR and all three throws were over 70!!! I have never done more than ONE over seventy before and I had only ever done that ONE time! (2nd)

Then we went back to the Open Stone before lunch. I have been working on stones this year but it is surprising how quickly one can go back to old habits. I think I pretty much threw with my arm again and was lucky to get one out over 33. (2nd)

Lunch lasted until the 40's got done with the Hammer. Then we went straight to Sheaf!!! When we started we thought we had the bar at 18 but then when we raised it to what we THOUGHT was 21, it turned out to be 22, so we lost a few people on the first round. After 22 we went to 25. Three at a time is a big jump and then we were then down to only two of us who both got 25. We then agreed to raise it to 26. After that I was by myself. My PR was 28.5 but I hadn't done better thatn 26 this year so I asked them to go to 28. They obliged and I got it on my first throw. It was kind of close because while I had the height, it was coming down to where the cross bar and the standard meet. It slipped just to the inside of the standard and behind the cross bar. I was pumped!. We raised it to 29 for a PR and I got it over. Now I was really pumped and we raised it to 30. I cannot wait to get a crack at that again but I did not get it that day! (1st)

Next was the WoB. I just realized this week how badly I have been relying on my back rather than my legs but I have not had time to adjust it yet. I really need to go in at 14 until I can. On this day I came in at 13 got it, then got 14. Three of us made 13 but one got it on the 2nd and one on the 3rd, so even though we all missed at 15, I squeaked it out. (1st)

Caber was the old Lion Caber: 17.5' and 77 lbs. It is becoming les and less of a menace! My brother Paul went out and set the bar with an 12:00 and then an 11:30. I seem to be having an issue with turning my body at the last minute and even though it LOOKS real straight it isn't based on where my body turns just before I throw. My first was an 11:00. 2nd was better but still only 11:30. Then Paul left the door open by NOT turning his third attempt. Now if I could generate a 12:00 O'clock, I could beat him! Alas, I think I was thinking too much and after I attempted the pick I lost it!!! (2nd).

SO I ended up with 4 2nd's and 4 1st's which was enough to win the overall on Sunday. The coolest thing about that was finally getting one of Mark Robinsons Granite Weight Awards! Did you know that he signs those things too? It was VERY cool!!!

The other thing that turned out grat that day is that I finally reached one of my season interim goals of getting 6000 points in the NASGA ratings for 50-59 year olds! Now, I did reach reached it but it was just barely and exactly 6000! Hopefully next week in Vista a way can be figured out to go OVER it!

Braemar Stone	27'-2"
Open Stone	33'-5
Heavy Weight for Distance	34'-0.5"
Light Weight for Distance	51'-4"
Heavy Hammer	75'-4.5"
Caber	11:30
Sheaf	29'-0"
WoB	14'-0

[RogerWS76]

I'd call that a Big Games!

Thank Alan! It was probably my best individual game since Tucson last year! It will be an honor if I get to go up to Enumclaw. I quess we find out in a couple of days!

[Martin Roy]

Really nice showing, Roger. It was fun to watch.

[RogerWS76]

Really nice showing, Roger. It was fun to watch.

Thanks Marty! I always seem to do better when Trish comes!