Tab Tries: Archery Society

It’s not just for Robin Hood any more as Features Editor Maisie Anteney-Tipper finds out…

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Being surrounded by people wielding bows and arrows is not how I expect to spend my Wednesday afternoon, but here I was at the Sports Park getting involved in Archery Society.

Before this the closest I had ever got to archery was watching Robin Hood so it came to my surprise that I was handed a bow almost immediately.

On the face of it archery seems pretty simple; point and shoot. If you’re lucky you’ll end up somewhere on the target, if not…everyone sees you make a fool of yourself. However, Coach Mark tells me there are actually lots of different steps in achieving the perfect target hit. At first this makes me nervous and I’m 100% sure I’m going to cause some serious injuries to my fellow shooters. However, when I step up to the ‘shooting line’ I’m pleasantly surprised how easy it is. On my first go I get incredibly close to the yellow circle (which is a good thing apparently).

When you’re deciding what sport society to join archery may not be the one that immediately springs to mind. It is, admittedly, an irregular choice. Even the UEA coach admits he only got involved with archery to impress a girl and a lot of the team members claim they signed up on a whim at Soc Fair. When I ask them why they love it so much they tell me it’s a great way to take out your anger, especially around exam time. “Imagine your exam paper is on the target” Social Sec Rhiannon tells me “and then just shoot it. It helps me to calm down”

Bullseye!

One team member tells me that Archery is a great work out for your muscles, “it’s recommended by some doctors” he claims. “The only other activity that uses the same muscles as archery is mowing the lawn” Rhiannon tells me. A muscle workout with hardly any movement required – sounds too good to be true!

Despite being one of the less well-known sports teams, the UEA Archery society has over 120 members on its books, regularly competes in competitions such as BUCS and won its Derby Day competition by an impressive 50 points.

It’s not just at UEA that Archery is taking off. There are over 200 archery club members in Norwich alone. At the Paralympics, Team GB placed 4th and beat the world record. Archery seems to be bang on target at the moment!

If you’re interested in joining the UEA Archery Society you can contact them through their Facebook page.