It's time to introduce you to another of our brilliant new junior ambassadors, letting them tell their story in their own words of who they are, what they love and why they chose to become an Archery GB ambassador. This month, we hear from Chloe A’Bear.
I started archery at the age of seven after completing a beginner’s course run by Xperience Archery at Deer Park Archers - Mum and Nan already were members there and I wanted to join too.
Archery was something I felt I could achieve in and enjoy for a long time to come. I was doing other activities like gymnastics and swimming, but those sports just weren’t for me. In gymnastics I wasn’t flexible enough and in swimming I wasn’t fast enough. Archery gave me that feeling – those other sports didn’t.
I started off shooting barebow and thoroughly enjoyed just shooting for fun. Then I entered some competitions and ended up shooting for the county team as an Under 10 Barebow.
A few years later I got target panic. I struggled on for two years as I couldn’t see myself stopping shooting and archery not being a part of my life. Me and my coach tried everything to help control it, from shooting recurve to using a clicker, but nothing worked. I still remember the day my coach said, “let’s give compound a go”. I was so excited to try something new that could help me. I tried it the next week and was hooked.
Fast forward through many hours of hard work and perseverance, and I was invited onto the GB Development Squad just after I turned 13. I improved so much over the next few years, and became National Champion numerous times. I was fortunate enough to represent Great Britain at the European Youth Cup in Slovenia 2019 and the World Youth Championships in Poland 2021.
My proudest moments are being selected to represent Great Britain at the Worlds in 2021 where I finished 7th in my category and winning an Under 21 Women’s Compound Team silver medal at the 2022 European Youth Championships, alongside Grace Chappell and Layla Annison.
I really like helping and encouraging other archers to achieve in the sport. I want to be able to help people in the way others helped me to achieve all that I have. It is also really important for our sport that we build awareness and encourage new members. At my club, I want to reintroduce the Junior Representatives and get one onto the committee. By doing this, it means that junior social events can be organised off the shooting line.
Archery gives me a way to get out of the house and I can use my knowledge and experiences from archery in my sports course I studied at GCSE, and now at A-Level.
I love everything to do with archery: the people you meet and the friendships that are made, the range of opportunities with different bow types and disciplines, and the inclusivity of the sport. There’s always something to engage in, whether that’s in practice or competition. I find it amazing that top archers, para archers and recreational archers compete week-in, week-out on the same competition field. There are not many sports where this can happen.
