Archery – A Relaxing And Addictive Sport!

If you mention sport to most people they will most likely think of football, basketball or tennis. It’s unlikely that archery will flash through their minds. Yet, archery is a sport that is growing in popularity every year. There’s something relaxing about pulling back a bowstring, pitting yourself against the draw and the feel of the bow in your hands. The sound of the arrow as it is released has a smoothness to it that is hard to explain to the uninitiated.

You can go on our range and practise with club equipment right through to state of the art bows, complete with the latest sights, or you can practise with old style longbows and flatbows, which the old English Archers used. Our club has all the equipment needed for you to try out and see what type of bow suits you best without having to purchase anything.

After a long and hard day or week at university, archery offers a unique way to unwind. An hour or two spent on the range and the cares of the day are soon forgotten. If you are the competitive type then don’t dismiss archery. If you want to just come along and shoot you can join us here at the University and stand firing your arrows into a target at the pace you like, for as long as you like. There’s never any pressure to join the competitions.

However, the rivalry is there if that’s what you are seeking. Competitive archery is a popular part of the sport. Archery competitions are just as competitively fought and intense as any football match or golf competition. This type of archery is called “target archery” and involves shooting many arrows in a given time at a target. The targets are set at a certain distance usually between 30 to 90 metres for outdoor competitions. For indoor competitions fewer arrows are fired at a shorter distance of 18 metres. In both cases you will find competitive archers employing every technological advantage they can get alongside their own archery skills to win the competition.

Archery is a sport that anyone can take part in regardless of size, fitness, ability or age. Anyone who has fired a bow and watched an arrow thud into a target will appreciate the relaxation that can be gained from practising the sport. It’s easy to see why archery is becoming a fast growing sport.

At the University of Derby Archery Club we focus on target archery, shooting indoor rounds in the new sports centre at the Kedleston Road site, and outdoor rounds on our range near the Markeaton Street site, Sturgess field. We cater for all levels of experience and ability, and welcome all bow styles. We have many archers, who mainly shoot for fun, but we also offer the opportunity to compete for both experienced archers and beginners, with coaching available to help develop your technique.

With regular weekend sessions, indoors and outdoors, and coaching, you can build your performance and compete with the team or just come for a casual side of archery. Our love of social events makes us one of the most determined and fun loving clubs around. If you are curious about archery then come and give it a try at one of our taster events. We will be running Have a Go sessions on Saturday 26^th September in the sports centre at Kedleston Road, and on Wednesday 30^th September on Sturgess Field. Club members will be around to give you more information about how to join the club and about our beginner’s course. Please contact the committee at Archery@udsu.org.uk for more details.

We will be running a beginners course, which will teach you everything you need to know about archery so you can shoot well and safely. The sessions will take place on:

• Saturday 3^rd October
• Saturday 10^th October
• Saturday 17^th October
• Saturday 24^th October

We recommend that you attend all sessions as we cover various aspects of the sport each week.

You can like our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uofdac to keep up to date with all our events during Fresher’s Fortnight. The Club also has its own website: www.uofdac.co.uk.