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HEA’s July beginners course, running over three consecutive Saturday mornings, began in the usual way with instruction on range safety before the course attendees started shooting barebow (without sights) at 10 yards.

In week two the trainee archers learned how to shoot freestyle (using sights) and they also got the chance to try clout archery where the archers shoot longer distance at a peg (or “clout”) in the ground rather than at targets.

The third and final session saw a return to target archery as the beginners competed in a mini tournament – 3 dozen arrows at 20 yards – for chocolate prizes. Despite rain threatening to stop play midway through, the trainees opted to carry on and finish the round.

Following the presentation of prizes, the beginners enjoyed the always popular burst-the-balloons free-for-all, following which they received their course certificates. A good time was had by all.

The first outdoor beginners course of the year started on Saturday 15th April 2023 with sixteen would-be archers signed up for the course which ran over three successive Saturday mornings

Following the usual format, the course attendees were first instructed in range safety before beginning to shoot barebow (not using sights) at 10 yards, progressing to freestyle shooting (with sights) in week two.

In the third and final session the trainee archers competed in a mini tournament, shooting in the bowstyle of their choice (with or without sights) at a distance of 20 yards, for chocolate prizes, before receiving their course certificates. A good time was had by all.

The end of indoor shooting as part of HEA’s 2022 / 23 winter season was marked by an end-of-season tournament on 12th April which was both open and handicapped at the same time. The round was a Portsmouth – five dozen arrows at 20 yards.

HEA members competed under three categories in the open tournament: Recurve, Barebow and Compound. Pictured below receiving their trophies and 1st place medals from Chairman Mike are Graham in the Recurve category, Angela for Barebow and Alex for Compound.

Alex and Angela were also well placed in the handicap tournament taking 3rd place and 2nd place respectively, but it was Elijah, shooting recurve, who took 1st place and was presented with the Chairman’s Shield.

The final trophies of the evening were Most Improved Senior and Most Improved Junior. These are awarded to those archers in each age group who have improved their handicap the most over the winter season.

This time, the winners of the Most Improved Archer trophies were Alex for the seniors, with a handicap improvement of 9 points, and Aiden (pictured) for the juniors, with an improvement of 11 points.

Very well done to all our medal and trophy winners!

Starting on 14th January, the first beginners course of the year ran over four consecutive Saturday morning sessions in the gym at Formby High School. The course commenced with instruction in range safety before the trainees began shooting barebow (without sights) at 10 yards.

In the second and third sessions the beginners learned how to shoot freestyle (with sights) and progressed to shooting at 15 yards. They also had the opportunity to shoot with stabilising long rods attached to their training bows.

In the final session the trainees competed in a handicap tournament (3 dozen arrows at 15 yards) in the bowstyle of their choice (with or without sights) for chocolate prizes.

Following the always popular burst-the-balloons free-for-all, the course attendees – eleven in all including 2 juniors – received their course certificates qualifying them to apply to any Archery GB-affiliated club. Well done to everyone!