Gold Tip’s Gillingham and Deaton Take Gold and Silver at SoCal Showdown
OutdoorHub 06.28.13
Windy conditions tested talent and tenacity at the 2013 SoCal Showdown, but Gold Tip’s Tim Gillingham shot his way to a win during the FITA archery event, held June 21-23 at the Olympic Training Center, in Chula Vista, CA. Gillingham headed into Sunday’s 15 arrow elimination format seeded in second place after grinding through a brutal 144 arrow Saturday course to open the event. Shooters then battled it out, match by match, 15 arrows at a time, until the winners were determined on Sunday.
After a first round bye, Gillingham won each of his progressive matches handily. In the end, Gillingham found himself shooting head-to-head against fellow Gold Tip team member, Bridger Deaton, in the final match for the Gold Medal. Deaton had also been shooting well during Sunday’s elimination format, knocking out shooter after shooter, including the number one seed, Reo Wilde, in the quarter finals before finally meeting up with Gillingham in the final Gold Medal round.
Gillingham, who is the National Pro Staff Director for Gold Tip Arrows, was pleased to see Gold Tip get its day in the sun in FITA Archery. “Normally, archers insist on ultra-small diameter arrows for FITA shooting due to a lot of the venues being shot in the wind. I have been preaching forever that it is primarily mass weight that will dictate better performance in the wind, not necessarily diameter, “ said Gillingham.
Three of the top five shooters in the Senior Men’s Division, the premier division in FITA archery, were shooting Gold Tip premium hunting shafts. Gillingham was shooting Kinetic 300 Pro Series shafts, while Deaton shot Pro Hunter 5575 shafts. Henry Bass, who placed fifth at the event, was using Gold Tip’s Velocity Pro 340 shafts. Five of the top six archers were also shooting Bee Stinger stabilizer systems.
“You know you have a great product when three of Gold Tip’s hunting arrow lines make the top five in a tournament that will ultimately decide who will be on the US Archery Team, said Gillingham.”
Currently, Gilingham is on the 2013 Senior USAT Team and Deaton is on the 2013 JR. USAT Team, both representing Gold Tip arrows.
