Give it a go with a bow

WITH the Olympics just finished and the Paralympics ready to start, and with archery being in both games, Ballyvally Archery Club would like to invite anyone who would like to have a go at this ancient sport to come along on Wednesday 5th or Thursday 6th September to Banbridge Leisure Centre at any of the club’s eight weekly sessions as follows.

There are three sessions each Wednesday between 3.30pm and 8pm or on Thursday between 3.30pm and 10pm.

Feel free to come along. Equipment is provided. The second biggest World sporting event, the World Police and Fire Games will be coming to Northern Ireland next August with over 10,000 competitors and archery is again one of the many sports involved.

Ballyvally Archery Club is the biggest club of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 400 members shooting throughout the year.

The youngest archer is four years old and our oldest archer is 88 years old!

Archery takes in a wider span of age groups than most sports. Ballyvally is very much a family club and encourages all members of the family to shoot. They are well represented in juniors, boys and girls, ladies and gents and ‘veterans’.

They shoot all eight styles of archery and they do most forms of archery except crossbow. They do Olympic archery, indoor archery, archery darts, clout archery, and also specialise in field or forest archery - field archery is a bit like golf in that the archers go around a 24 target course in groups of four shooting each target in turn, except unlike golf the terrain is steeper and usually thickly wooded!

Ballyvally practises indoors in Banbridge Leisure Centre and outdoors in Loughbrickland.

HIGH STANDARDS: Many of the club’s archers shoot on a regular basis with the club only .. they take part in the club’s frequent tournament and leagues.

Juniors take part in the annual National badge achievement schemes. Ballyvally also encourages and coaches to a high level.

Three members are currently shooting with the Great Britain team in the World Field Championships at Val D’Isere in France and last weekend five juniors won medals at the Euronations shoot in Co. Meath.

Members in the past have won medals in World, European and Olympic tournaments.