The Bucks and Bounty National Tour stage has been cancelled because of the prolonged wet weather.
The first stage of the Junior Archery Series, which was due to take place at Lilleshall on the same weekend (27-28 April), has also been moved including the youth selection shoot which is going to be taken from the scores from this event.
Archery GB will be altering the rules of these three events to account for their loss while the British Target Championships has been boosted to over 100 targets.
Jon Nott, Archery GB Events and Facilities Manager, said: “We are hugely disappointed, however under the circumstances, this is the right thing to do to protect the rest of the outdoor season. Every effort has been made to find an alternative venue or date, but unfortunately it is just not possible. In making this decision now, we wanted to give archers as much notice as possible so they can make contingency plans. We share in our members’ frustrations in the cancellation of an amazing weekend of archery.”
Why has Bucks and Bounty been cancelled?
Unfortunately, due to the wet weather, the field is still over 78% saturated. Lilleshall grounds crew have said we would require over a week with no rainfall to allow the field to be prepared. The forecast for the rest of the month does not look favourable. The damage to the ground if Lilleshall grounds crew and Archery GB were to prepare and deliver the shoot now would likely write-off the field for the rest of the year. Lilleshall made the difficult decision to cancel the event.
Will I be refunded for my entry?
Yes, you will be refunded for Bucks and Bounty. All archers will be refunded the full £35 for the cost of their entry fee which will be done automatically on Wednesday 17 April. This may take up to five working days to come through. If you have not received your refund by Wednesday 24 April, please contact membership@archerygb.org
What if I booked a hotel already?
In acknowledgement of this decision to cancel, if you are staying at any of Lilleshall’s onsite hotels, they will refund you the full cost of your room. For those of you staying in hotel accommodation outside of Lilleshall, we recommend that you speak to your hotel directly to cancel or amend the day of your booking.
How will this affect the National Tour stages?
The National Tour for 2024 will become four main stages: The UK Masters, Surrey, Barnsley, and the British Target Championships. We have also made the British Target Championships bigger than ever; there will be around 100 targets across both days of the event! Join the waiting list here.
The WA 70/50 and head-to-head day of the BTC will be the National Tour stage of the weekend, and the WA 1440 day will be a Tier 2+ event. The WA double 70/50 at Barnsley will also be a Tier 2+ event. This means that an archer can use up to one of these two Tier 2+ days towards their overall top three National Tour scores.
For example:
My overall scores for the 2024 National Tour could include the UK Masters, Barnsley day 1, and Barnsley day 2.
Or
My overall scores for the 2024 National Tour could include the UK Masters, Surrey, and the British Target Championships day 1.
Can you move the Bucks and Bounty shoot to a different day or change the venue?
Unfortunately, we can’t move the competition to a different day as there is no available space in the calendar because of other events. At this stage, there is no other venue suitable in size or one that hasn’t been affected by the weather that we could use as a substitute.
Will the Junior Archery Series stage 1 shoot be moved?
Yes. Stage 1 of the Junior Archery Series will be moved to Sunday 5 May. As this event only requires 40 targets, we are still able to run the stage as normal by using an area of the field that has not been as severely affected by rainfall. If you have already booked into this event, your entry will be automatically moved to the new date; you will not need to re-enter. If you cannot make this new date, please contact competitions@archerygb.org before Tuesday 23 April and we will refund you the full cost of your entry fee (please note that refunds can not be made after Tuesday 23 April).
How will this affect the youth selection shoot?
Stage one of the selection shoot is now Sunday 5 May and the second part of the selection shoot will still take place at the Woking Junior Archery Series stage as planned. We will keep members informed of any further developments regarding this as information comes in.
