Bowmen of Burleigh Archery Club
Club History
The inaugural shoot was held at Windsor Forest Stud, Burleigh, Ascot on 11th December 1977. The Club moved to its present location at Cantley Park, Wokingham in 1990. There are approximately 100 shooting members, both senior and junior, as well as a number of non-shooting members.
The club formed Burleigh Junior Archers in May 2002 to give the growing number of junior members an identity of their own and reduce costs for their parents. A junior club is required to pay one affiliation fee, which provides the insurance and is met from club funds.
The Club is affiliated to the Archery GB, the Southern Counties Archery Society and the Berkshire Archery Association.
Past Club members have been selected to represent teams at various levels up to and including the Olympics. Four past members have attained archery's highest classification of Grand Master Bowman. Two ladies have won the UK Ladies Championship and the UK Masters Championship. One Junior was National Boy Champion.
There is a summer outdoor and winter indoor shooting programme, with the Club Championships being held for both indoor and outdoor seasons.
The Club also hosts an annual Open Tournament for Junior and Senior archers, which has been accorded National Record Status.
The Club has hosted the Berkshire County Championships on several occasions and both senior and junior members of the Club have shot in the County teams.
Insurance is provided subject to certain conditions, details can be provided by Archery GB.
Where are we?
Wokingham’s archery club, Bowmen of Burleigh, is located at Cantley Recreation Ground, Wokingham in Berkshire and has 80 shooting members including 20+ juniors. The agerange is from ten to eighty plus and archers are both male and female.
In winter the Club shoots at Emmbrook Sports Hall, Wokingham in Berkshire.
Shooting Times
Throughout the summer there is a club evening each Wednesday. A club shoot is held every Sunday from the beginning of April to the end of September.
There is a Junior Session held on Monday evenings in the summer months at 5.30 pm at Cantley Park.
From October to March we shoot indoors on Sundays during two sessions, morning and afternoon. There is an additional charge of £5 per session when shooting indoors, and £8 to shoot all day.
Details are published in the summer and winter Shooting Programmes which re sent out to all members.
Affiliations
The club is affiliated to the Berkshire Archery Association (BAA), the Southern Counties Archery Society (SCAS) and Archery GB formerly the Grand National Archery Society (GNAS).
Members
We have a thriving membership of both juniors (aged 10 - 17) and seniors (18+). We have a number ofmembers who shoot competitively, and others who shoot for recreation. We have as members an Olympic Judge and International Judge. Our club is a friendly one and has a very relaxed and inviting feel to it.
The majority of members shoot the recurve Olympic bow, but the club has a strong section shooting compound bows and the traditional longbow.
Members compete successfully in open tournaments throughout the country, but others are happy simply to shoot for pleasure at the club in nice surroundings and with pleasant like-minded companions.
In the winter, the club enters a number of senior and junior teams in postal leagues.
We have no facilities for clout or field shooting, although members do enter outside competitions in these disciplines.
Beginners Courses
Our beginner’s courses operate from a waiting list. Once a course is organised an invitation will be sent to all those on the list and confirmation of a place is confirmed to the first 12 invitees to return the completed application form with the course payment.
Within the application form also requests details of medical conditions, learning or other disabilities, which the applicant believes may affect their ability to take part in archery.
When we are shooting at Cantley Park a course would usually run over two or three sessions with a total of 6 hours tuition over the sessions. Courses are held either during the week in the evenings, or on a weekend morning or afternoon sessions. Some courses are for a full day with again, six hours tuition.
During the winter, we move indoors to shoot, and the courses are run on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, again for two sessions of three hours per session.
We do endeavour to run courses at other times and this will depend on the availability of coaches. Coaches are volunteers and will invariably have work commitments, so courses are not run on weekdays during the day.
If you pass at the end of the course, a Certificate is awarded. Most archery clubs will insist that potential joining members have attended a beginner’s course, and passed, before they can be admitted as members, and our certificates are usually accepted at most clubs. You are welcome to join our club even though you may have taken a beginner’s course elsewhere, provided you have a certificate to prove this, and can pass an assessment by Bowmen of Burleigh coaches.
Beginners are invited to become members of Bowmen of Burleigh on successfully completing a Bowmen of Burleigh course.
Cost of a Beginners Course
The cost of the course is £55. Costs for the Beginners Course are paid up front. All equipment to enable completion of the course is provided during tuition.
Bow Hire
Subject to availability there would be an opportunity to hire a bow. The hire must be taken for a minimum of three months and there is a maximum hire period of six months. The cost is £15 per month and there is an additional £30 refundable deposit per Bow Hire. The deposit will be returned when the bow and peripherals are returned in good working order.
Please note that should an arrow or sight be broken whilst the equipment is on hire there will be a charge levied of £5 per arrow or sight.
Purchasing your own equipment
After this period, most archers usually move on to purchase their own equipment. There are several archery centres where the new archer can be measured and kitted out for their bow and peripheral equipment. Please visit our website for links
The initial outlay can be expensive.
Hire of Equipment
Bowmen of Burleigh do not undertake long term hire of equipment as our equipment for hire is suitable only for beginners and there will come a time when the beginner will literally outgrow what the club can offer in this area.
Equipment can be hired from other providers and one of the most popular is Stylist. For further details please visit
Chairman:Kevin Shannon
Vice Chairman:Denis Jones
Treasurer:Tom Hutchins
Secretary:Diane Shannon
Enquiries:
May 2018