Ukraine's national archers desperately need our help, that's why we're launching the Ukrainian National Archery Appeal.
As war continues to spread across the country, many of the Ukrainian national archery team have been forced to evacuate, some with young children, leaving everything behind at a moment's notice.
With the support of World Archery, Archery GB is establishing training camps in the UK for both adults and children, offering much needed support to athletes, coaches and their families and a safe place to live and train.
That's why we're asking for your help, while the training camps are being provided for free, any and every donation can help to provide emergency accommodation, food, clothing, travel and archery equipment to the Ukrainian archers at this extremely difficult time.
Please give if you can to raise the funds needed to support our fellow archers. Every donation - no matter what size - will help.
We are aiming to raise £10,000 to cover the costs of providing a safe space to live and train for the Ukrainian archers and their families. Any surplus money will be donated to refugee organisations in the UK to support others fleeing conflict.
Since the appeal was launched on 21 March we have been overwhelmed by your generosity, with archers donating more than £2,500 in just a few hours.
Can you host a Ukrainian archer or coach?
As well as donations, we are asking members of the archery community in Shropshire who have registered or who are thinking of registering with the government's Homes for Ukraine visa sponsorship scheme to get in touch with us if you'd be interested in hosting an athlete, coach or their family.
If you would like to find out more about hosting an archer, coach or their family please email helpukraine@archerygb.org
Archery GB's kit providers Errea have already kindly offered to kit out the Ukrainian team while a number of manufacturers and UK archery shops are helping with equipment for the athletes.
The Ukrainian national team are hoping to travel to Romania in the next few days to enable them to practice for and compete in the upcoming World Cup in Turkey. While there, they will apply for UK visas. They cannot currently do that in Ukraine as they have little or no Wi-Fi where they are sheltering.
After the World Cup, they will travel to Lilleshall to train as our guests thanks to the generosity of Serco, Weston Park and local clubs.
Neil Armitage, CEO of Archery GB, said: Â"The Ukrainian national team has reached out to us to help them. They have also asked if we will host their Pathway team at Lilleshall so they can compete in the European Youth Championships, which we will endeavour to do.
"They are determined to represent their country with pride particularly at this difficult time and the young archers need our help. They have fled their homes with little to nothing and it is heart-breaking. We all consider ourselves to be part of the archery family and we really need to pull together and support those in dire need.”
AGB National Coach Richard Priestman said: Â"GBR is proud and privileged to be able to help and support the Ukrainians with their plans to train in England so they can prepare in peace for upcoming international competitions.
"The Ukrainian team won four gold medals and two bronze medals at the recent European Indoor Championships in Slovenia, and your support would help the Ukrainian team to continue to fly its country's flag and be competitive at the highest levels despite the terrible situation in their home nation.”
Vlada Priestman, a member of Archery GB's Performance Pathway coaching team who previously represented her home country of Ukraine before moving to the UK, said: Â"Olena (state coach for the Ukrainian national team) is trying to get the team members together in as safe a place as possible close to the western border, which is not an easy task as some of them live some distance away in the east and north-east of Ukraine.
Â"To find peaceful surroundings and focus on archery has become a dream for them. It is hard to leave homes behind and not know what the future holds - this is their current reality. To have an opportunity to train again with fellow archers at Lilleshall will help the Ukrainian top archers to recover mentally and physically after experiencing terrible tribulations.”
Huge thanks to the following suppliers and businesses who have offered to support the team or provide equipment: Serco, Signal Co, WiaWis / Win&Win, Errea, Hoyt, Easton, Wales Archery, Clickers Archery, Alternative Services, White Tiger PR, Reign Bowstrings, T.R.U. Ball Archery Releases / AXCEL Archery Sights, Custom Built Archery, Doinker, Leven Industries, Merlin, Beiter.
Thank you from everyone at Archery GB.
