Beginner Courses & Taster Session!

If you are looking to try out the sport before making a decsion on joining the club we will be hosting a taster session on Friday 27th September from 18:00 to 21:00, all you need to do is sign up on the welcome week timetable! To join the club you must complete a beginner course unless you are an experienced archer (details below). These take place over two weeks with course 1 in weeks 1-2 and course 2 in weeks 3-4. the link to the page with all the details can be found right at the bottom of the page. Hope to see you there!

Note: Sadly due to the nature of the sport and the club, we are unable to accomodate those under the age of 18

About the Club

The University of Warwick Archery Club is an informal club providing a friendly atmosphere for its members to meet, socialise and shoot together. We are an Archery GB affiliated club, part of the County of Warwickshire Archery Association and the West Midlands Archery Society. We participate in BUCS events and also the student-run regional TOUCAN league, along with various external competitions. Among our members and alumni are Team Warwick sports scholars and athletes who have represented Great Britain on the international stage, including Olympians Tom Hall and James Woodgate. We also have plenty of members who choose not to compete and simply shoot for their own enjoyment!

We pride ourselves on being a welcoming club! Our membership is a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate students from a wide range of subject areas. We cater for all levels of experience, from complete beginners to experienced competitors. For those new to the sport, we provide all equipment necessary to participate in our sessions. Coaching is available for members of all levels of ability. Archery is also a highly inclusive sport, and suitable for people with a wide range of disabilities. For more information on accessibility, please look at the dedicated accessibility page on the club website.

During term we run sessions multiple times a week. Throughout the year, there is also a wide variety of socials including fortnightly circling, as well as non-drinking socials. We also run a tour each year, usually during the Easter break.

The quickest and easiest way to join is to come to the sports fair in Welcome Week and find our stand, where you will be able to speak to current members. You can also find out more information if you email us or turn up to one of our sessions and find an exec member, who will usually be wearing an archery club shirt. Please note that to participate in one of our sessions, you will need to have completed a beginners' course.

How Do I Join?

We divide our incoming members into two groups: current members of Archery GB or a World Archery affiliated body, and those who we classify as 'new' to the sport. Although many people have had some experience of archery before at Summer Camps, school, etc. this usually does not count as sufficient experience to participate in one of our sessions.

• I am new to the sport and haven't been an Archery GB member before:
  • Welcome! You will need to complete on of our Beginner’s Courses, which will teach range safety and the basics of good technique. These are run at the start of term 1, and sometimes the start of term 2. At the beginning of the academic year, we also run taster sessions so you can have a go at Archery without committing to a full course! However, the Beginner’s Course is a requirement to be able to participate in club sessions, due to safety reasons.
• I am a current member of Archery GB or another World Archery member organisation:
  • Great! Every year, we have a few experienced archers who join our club. Contact us via email to let us know who you are! You'll need to be a member of the club to participate in our sessions. Please note that we do not permit the use of all-carbon arrows at our outdoor venue because it is a shared use field.

If you really are unsure as to whether or not you need to do a beginners' course, please contact us by email and give us details of your previous experience; we can help you decide whether or not you'll need to do a course.

Please note that when you join this club, your name, gender, e-mail address, and date of birth will be used to register you with Archery GB, the national governing body for Archery in the UK. This is necessary to comply with the terms of our insurance.

Club Session Details

Typically, we have up to 4 sessions per week, with exact days and times varying from year to year. We use an online archery club record keeping software called archr to enable people to sign up to sessions and competitions, and track scores. We ask that everyone arrives promptly for the start of session to help us set up.

outside on the roadside cricket pitch by claycroft in Term 3 and the Summer break. We also shoot during the university holidays because we have a significant number of postgraduate students among our members. Holiday sessions are usually in the Sports Hub over the Christmas break, then on Varsity field during the Easter and Summer vacations.

Current sessions are as follows:

Term 1 and 2 Session Times 2023/24 - Indoors in the Sports & Welbeing Hub & Westwood Games Hall

• Monday 9am-12pm - Westwood
• Wednesday 9am-11am - Sports Hub Zone D
• Thursday 5pm-8pm - Sports Hub Zone D
• Friday 6:30pm-9:30pm - Sports Hub Zone D
• Sunday 5pm-8pm - Sports Hub Zone D

Term 3 Session Times 2023/24 - Outdoors in the Roadside Cricket Field

• Tuesday 4pm-8pm
• Wednesday 9am-1pm
• Thursday 4pm-8pm
• Saturday 9am-1pm
• Sunday 1pm-5pm

You must book the session before you attend, both through the Warwick Sport website and also archr, the club's record keeping software. If you have completed a beginners' course or a safety assessment with us, and do not have an account, you can email our Records Officer, Alfie at records@uwac.co.uk