Even with our army of volunteers it has been difficult to find the time to report on what we are doing and of course achieving, this is always a busy period but this year it has been even more hectic! Here are just a few highlights.
Primary School Games hit new high!
Next week sees the last of the District Level 2 Finals taking place in the Forest of Dean and that will determine the teams competing in the County finals at Hartpury College later in June.
125 Primary Schools with teams of 9 archers, a new record, will have competed for just 10 places in the final, unfortunately this did not meet the full demand for places which was more of a time issue rather than resources!
That was not the only record, with soring scores and the County Record being broken twice, firstly by Callowell and then by Sapperton Primary schools!
The Secondary Schools Level 3 Finals are also taking shape with our 2 Satellite After-School Clubs, Balcarras and HSFG looking to be strong challengers, as are Archway School, again another school that Xperience Archery run an after-school in.
We are indebted to Xperience archery and our many club volunteers that support this fantastic programme.
Ontarget Performance Club of the Year!
We are pleased to confirm that the Club has been made the Archery GB Ontarget Performance Club of the Year.
Only 7 Clubs in the UK have met the criteria to become Performance Clubs and we have finished top of the list!
Performance clubs strive to improve the performance of archers, coaches and officials on a consistent basis. They are able to plan for progression in all areas and understand the need for development by being able to create opportunities to train and perform, being able to create an environment which encourages excellence!
The success of our archers is there for everyone to see, not just at the elite level but in value added for all abilities. Well done to our magnificent coach and management team and our army of volunteers.
Stunning performances by our compounds!
Another amazing weekend for our compounds, Lucy Mason travelled to Leicester on the Saturday and shot a British record in the morning WA720 recording 680 and then shot just 2 points less in the afternoon. Not content with that, she travelled to Cambridge for a competition on the Sunday and broke her own British Record in the morning session with 683. These are all classified as ‘World Class ‘ scores!
At the Leicester event Lucy was also joined by Ella Gibson and Holly Clifford. Ella recorded 662 another GB qualification score and a Personal Best. Holly recorded 638 another Personal Best.
Ella Gibson, starting to make her mark.
The previous weekend Ella Gibson had won the Junior Cadets Bucks and Bounty Competition.
Also Chloe A’Bear has been putting in some very impressive performances, getting some great results and starting to break many records!
Chloe A’Bear some superb performances!
National Series Standings
After the first 2 stages of the National Series, the UK’s most prestigious annual event for archers of all ages, James Howse is in 2nd place and Lucy Mason in 3rd and hopefully on course for the finals later in the season. Ella Gibson, in her first season shooting compound is in a very creditable 14th place!
Lucy Mason finished 2nd in Stage 1 of the National series.
Longbow success as well!
3 of our longbows entered the Cheltenham Archers 2-way Western and all came away with something! Adrian Stockwell won the Gents event recording the highest number of hits 91 (BLBS rules), David Ponton came second with the highest score 446 and Martin Hutchings won the cash prize for the highest number of petticoats!
Adrian Stockwell, improving by the week!
New L1 Coaching Course arranged.
We have just registered to run another Level 1 Coaching Course, starting in October.
We are also arranging to run 2 First Response 1st Aid Courses, offsetting a lot of the cost by delivering some archery have-a-go sessions to the organisation providing the training!
Two more of our archers join the Paralympic Academy Squad.
Two more of our archers have received offers to join the Paralympic Academy Squad and one has been selected to represent GB oversees later this year. More information to follow.
50th All British National Field Champs at Pentref
Congratulations to John Dalton who finished 9th in Barebow category, we know John will be disappointed with the result however this is his first year of competition and his performances and development have been very impressive!
Club Archery Equipment ‘Bring and Buy’ Sale Success
In line with ‘Green’ Policy recycling is high on our priority list with so much kit sat around gathering dust. Current and recent members were contacted with the result that almost £3000 worth of equipment changed hands and a lot of our more recent members are now fully equipped.
252 club competition is really taking off
Well done to all those trying the challenge and we now have an online system where members can see their progress within hours of completing a round.
We are producing a short video to promote the challenge so we will be doing some filming and conducting some short interviews over the next few weeks.
Lane tarmac dates fixed!
Until now we have had access to our ground along a 350m rough, bumpy, dusty track, before the end of June thanks to our neighbours and great supporters we will have a smooth tarmac road. With all the landscaping in progress and tree planting this coming winter our already good environment will be even better. With trees in mind, we have just placed a contract to begin the management of our wooded area which we use for field archery and general recreation.
