Our archers
Adrian
As a young lad, I was a member of an archery club. This was the swinging ’60s, students walked around with Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band or Disraeli Gears LPs wedged underneath an arm to show how hip they were. After school paisley shirts and flared jeans were endemic. I had an orange Les Dunsdon fibreglass bow. Of this, I was very proud along with my hornet tubular metal arrows. I could wax lyrical about those balmy summer evenings but I will spare you that. Sadly the distractions of being a teenager curtailed my membership only to be rekindled by a surprise back to archery birthday present at the marvellous Netherhall Archers some fifty-eight years later. Now here’s the thing, until the first shot at the first session, I had no idea how much I would enjoy archery again. Please note the tomfoolery exhibited in the photo in no way reflects the ethos of the club. 🙂
Rachel and Jack
When I was watching my 8 year old son “Have a go at Archery” at Thetford Forest, little did I know that I would follow him into the sport. 10 years later we are both club members, going to archery competitions and factoring in the merits of university archery clubs when comparing university options.
Archery is an ideal family sport. Due to different age groups, bow styles and genders it is very unlikely you will be in the same category as other family members. You mostly compete against yourself, and there is no need to start young in order to achieve your potential. Practice leads to improvement, even when your cardiovascular fitness starts to wane with age.
If you enter a swimming competition and come last – it’s brutally obvious. In archery, no one can really tell how you are doing. There’s just a lot of arrows, somewhere near the target!
Chris
I grew up in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. At the age of about 14 my Mum and Dad bought me a longbow. I used to shoot at balloons with my mate along a small bit of ground at the side of our house (A public space!). No ‘elf and safety in those days. I went to the annual fete at Chalkwell Park as a callow youth and had a go on the archery stand and won two coconuts
(What do you do with coconuts?). I went back to the stand an hour later and the man recognised me, and quietly told me to buzz off.
Other sports and activities took over and later, when I was looking for something new, my younger sister, a keen archer, suggested archery. Netherhall Archers seemed the most proactive club in Cambridge in attracting beginners, so I joined in 2018. I shoot barebow now because I have never really got the hang of using the sight. I joined mainly because I wanted to shoot, and not necessarily to meet new people. However, meeting our members on a regular basis, chatting is now as important, for me, as the shooting, which either reflects on my ability, or more likely the ethos of our club.
Katerina
My journey to this beautiful sport is a little bittersweet. In 2017, I was going through the worst time of my life, facing the tragic loss of loved ones. The grieving process is very complicated and, unfortunately, can last for a very long time. While I was struck with a level of anger I never thought I could feel, I realized I needed to find a release. So, I joined a martial arts club in Cambridge. I fell in love with oriental archery there, but COVID-19 changed what I thought would be a lifelong story, and I found myself searching for a new archery club again.
I joined Netherhall Archers in September 2022, and it has been an incredible ride ever since! I fell in love with Barebow for its simplicity. Little did I know at that time how much this sport would consume me. It gave me a new lease on life; suddenly, the anger I struggled to shake off began to disappear, and I started feeling like myself again. Archery helps me live in the moment and keeps me from thinking about the million things I have to do.
Our club is full of great, friendly people, and I was lucky enough to be guided and helped when I barely knew how to hold the bow (yes, a take-down bow was new to me!). I am grateful that our club is a place where one can enjoy shooting alongside like-minded people, without pressure or stress. I really can’t wait for my next training session 😊🏹