The rise and rise of Banbridge Archery Club after a very successful 2015
That kicked off in September 2014 when they hosted a two day ‘Autumn Challenge’ FITA Field shoot in the beautiful grounds of Gilford Castle.
Fresh from the successes during 2014, BAC held two further weekend competitions; the ‘Castle Shoot’ in February and ‘Autumn Challenge’ shoot in September2015.
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Hide AdFor that year’s Challenge, archers from both North and South of the country eagerly competed on the respected course for Great Britain and Ireland team places.
In August 2015, Northern Ireland and BAC’s most successful ladies barebow archer Joanne Walker was selected to shoot for Great Britain at the European Field Archery Championships in Poland.
Individually, Joanne finished in 12th place and in the Ladies Team round, she finished a very respectable fourth.
In addition to this, Joanne is now a Level One GB Coach, having achieved her qualification in October 2015. Joanne holds five Northern Ireland Field Archery records and a British Target record.
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Hide AdLater in November and for the first time in Northern Ireland’s archery history, the club was awarded World Record status at their Gilford Castle venue for the 2015 NI 3d Animal Championships.
Due to the hard work involved, the Championship was very well received and was reported to be the highlight of the year for traditional archers in Ireland.
B.A.C is a small and friendly Senior and Junior club and the 2015 season has seen a number of juniors improve over the year.
And to cap it all off, just this month, the Banbridge Archery Club Chairman Andrew Walker passed his Level Archery GB Judging qualification.
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Hide AdFor information on the club’s Archery GB recognised beginners courses, contact Secretary Lisa McConnell at [email protected] or Coach Joanne Walker at [email protected].
The Banbridge Archery Club sessions take place on Wednesdays from 7-9pm at St. Patrick’s College, Scarva Road, Banbridge.