Getting in to archery

How do I shoot at Malvern Archers?

There are a couple of ways of getting into the sport of archery. Which one is right for you depends on your desires & existing level of experience.

Our club is governed by ArcheryGB, who write the rules & provide the liability insurance which covers our operations. Strict adherence to these rules and insurance provisions is therefore key to what we can and can’t do. These rules have been carefully drafted, and refined over the years, to specifically prevent members of the general public popping by and ‘having a go’.

In order to shoot at our venues you must be a member of our club (although we do allow guests from other archery clubs, subject to our guest rules). The formal process for joining is that you apply to the Membership Secretary for consideration as a shooting member. They will then ascertain if you are safe & competent to join (normally by asking one of the coaching team for their opinion). If satisfactory your membership will go forward.

Please remember that our staff, including the coaching team, are all volunteers & practicing archers. They willingly give up their time to run the club & assist the members. But this does place a constraint on the quantity of services we can offer.

With that in mind, the entry routes we can offer are as follows:

• Beginners’ course – This is the most common way that people take up the sport. It is a structured course that is designed to bring people to a standard where they can be considered safe & competent enough to join the club as a shooting member. More details can be found here.
• Returning to archery – This is for people who were, in the past, archers & members of an archery club – but have had a significant time out of the sport. The club offers a quick & easy route to re-start your archery career – more details can be found here.
• Transferring in – This is for practising archers wanting to join Malvern Archers. Whether you were a member of another club, or have done your beginners’ course elsewhere, or shoor a different discipline (e.g. Field) we have a simple protocol for this – more details can be found here.
• Have-a-go – You will have seen shooting booths at fayres & other similar events. These will probably be run by a local club. For a few pounds you can shoot a few arrows for a bit of fun. For more details of any such events that we are running click here.
• Taster sessions – This for people who want a more comprehensive archery experience, but don’t want to commit to the full beginners’ course. Usually the session will last two hours, so you will get a reasonable taste of what the sport has to offer. For more details click here.

Some of the different bow styles are:

• Longbow – the traditional wooden bow and arrows with no sights, and real skill required!
• Recurve – the modern Olympic style bow with sights and stabilising rods
• Barebow – the same bows as recurve bow but without a sight or stabilising rods
• Compound – the most technically advanced and accurate bows with telescopic sights, peep sights, release aids and pulley wheels to maximise arrow speed
• Crossbow – crossbows are not a common sight – many clubs do not allow them, as they do a disproportionate amount of damage to their bosses. In addition, crossbows for sale in the UK tend not to conform to ArcheryGB’s ‘Rules Of Shooting’ – and therefore would not be eligible to be shot at our club. Crossbow archers should probably approach the National Crossbow Federation of Great Britain for more info.

Archery can be done all year round as a leisure activity or by serious competitors at both indoor and outdoor venues.