UK Student Archery Association

SEAL sealed after four matches [01/May/24]

SEAL organisers have confirmed that they decided not to run a fifth SEAL leg, running an individual championship style event instead. The league tables after 4 matches have therefore become the final tables and the final match counting towards the SEAL tables was the set of scores extracted from BUCS qualifiers.

Heading in to that match, Imperial had 42 league points just one ahead of Surrey, with Southampton back on 39. The novice table was even more tightly packed. Brunel were top on 41 points. Southampton had 40 but a superior match aggregate. London and Surrey both had 39. A win for any of the 4 clubs could easily win the title - maximum league points for Brunel or Southampton would mathematically guarantee it.

Twelve points covered the top 3 senior teams. UEA won the fixture with 2218 to mean that all four SEAL matches had different winners. Southampton were second on 2209, with Imperial just a shade behind them on 2206. Surrey's 2170 saw them place fourth and complete the leading group of teams. Imogen Flitter and Kit-Lun Tong (UEA) powered thier side top with 577 and 569. Elsewhere Yin Chan (Imperial) scored 575, with Imogen Newby (Surrey) on 568 and Minseok Kim (Southampton) on 564.

Imperial therefore became overall SEAL champions, moving on to 55 out of a possible 60 points. Southampton drew level with Surrey on 53 league points, pipping them to second on points aggregate, 8517 v 8506, the 39 point swing in match 4 proving crucial. ARU were fourth in final table on 45 points. UEA were 5th on 41, including a win and a DNS. This is Imperial's 8th overall SEAL title, well clear of Surrey and London with four. Southampton's second spot is their best finish since 2018 - Southampton have now finished 2nd five times since their last SEAL title in 2014. Surrey made it their third podium finish in three seasons, whilst Anglia Ruskin's 4th place is their best ever finish in SEAL, beating the mark of 5th they set last season. In a successful 23/24, ARU were also the last SEAL team standing at BUTC, making the quarter-finals on tournament debut.

Thirteen points covered the top 3 novice teams. Southampton pipped Surrey 1517 to 1513, with East Anglia in third on 1504. London were not far behind in fourth on 1485. Ryan Gunther-Leece (Southampton) shot 541 to help deliver his team the title. Southampton's novices ended on 55 points, with Surrey on 53, a point ahead of Brunel, who were a point ahead of London. With Surrey beating everyone else in the match, it was imperative for Southampton to finish at least second. This is Southampton's seventh SEAL novice title, bringing them level with Imperial in the all time standings.

See the final standings on the SEAL 2023/24 page.

Elsewhere, the SSS and TOUCAN league seasons have finished. NEUAL will conclude once the last segments of league match 3 have been collated. SWWU has two more fixtures to run, on 4th and 19th May.