Deer Park Archers, in Gloucester, expanded their annual inclusion shoot to an inclusion series in recognition of the need for more inclusive competitions to help disabled archers grow in confidence and experience. This year, for the first time, they held two indoor events and an outdoor final.
Archers could take part in individual events, but those competing in both an indoor shoot and the outdoor final were eligible to become the Inclusion Series champion. The final ranking was based on improvement: the best Portsmouth score set a handicap, and whoever outperformed their handicap most in the national round became the winner.
The outdoor final on 20 July welcomed 48 archers, with 22 eligible for the title. Despite unpredictable weather, seven archers beat their targets.
The clear winner was Alastair Jepson of Deer Park Archers, who improved his handicap by an impressive 30.
Alastair said: "It was amazing, I won a medal and a trophy. It felt very good and now I want to be in the Olympic Games."
Organiser Peter Sisson said: "It has been fantastic to see so many archers with a disability taking part this year. The atmosphere was amazing, and it was wonderful to see everyone supporting each other."
Deer Park Archers would love to see more clubs run inclusion shoots and help turn the Inclusion Series into a national event, creating even more opportunities.
The club gave special thanks to Archery GB, the Handicap and Classification Team, and the Worshipful Company of Fletchers for supporting the series.
Mary Barnes, club Inclusion Officer, said: "It was brilliant to see everyone together enjoying the sport. It was well run as always and a really enjoyable afternoon."
Catch up on all the action from the third stage by viewing the photo album:
Deer Park will be holding another Inclusion Series for the 2025-26 season. Full details can be found by clicking below:
Archery GB have put together some resources to help clubs organise inclusive shoots.
Click this link to watch a recording of our 'Creating Inclusive Archery Competitions' workshop.
We've also produced a video on Deer Park's Archery Inclusion Shoot which you can watch here.
Archery GB, with support from the Fletchers' Trust, also organises the Disability Championships which brings together World Archery classified athletes and archers who considers themselves to have a disability of any kind for a weekend of fun and inclusive shooting at Lilleshall National Sports Centre every September. To find out about this year's event and enter click here.
