January 15, 2025

Take on the volunteer challenge in 2025

Archery is more than just pulling back a string and letting an arrow fly. It's about community and a shared love for the sport. In 2025, we challenge you to give back and support the archery community by volunteering your time and skills.

Volunteering at your club:

Lend a hand: Many clubs rely on volunteers for day-to-day tasks like setting up targets, maintaining equipment, and assisting with club maintenance.
Share your expertise: Offer your skills in areas like helping out on beginners’ courses, assisting with equipment repairs, or providing first aid support. Maybe you’re a whizz with design and can get involved with helping to promote the club on social media or advertising events like Start Archery Week.
Join the committee and lead the charge: Join your club’s committee and contribute to its strategic direction. Roles like treasurer, secretary, and membership secretary offer valuable leadership experience while shaping the future of your club. If there are no roles available, see if you can help support one of the committee members – most will welcome the help!

Volunteering with Archery GB:

Archery GB offers a variety of volunteer opportunities at both national and regional levels:

Event support: Assist at major competitions like the National Championships by volunteering as a judge, scorer, range marshal, or administrator. We’ll be opening applications periodically throughout the year so keep an eye on our website and ezines if you’re interested in becoming an events volunteer.
AGB volunteering opportunities
Become an ambassador for the sport: If you want to share your passion for archery with the public, you could sign up to become an Archery GB Ambassador. Our ambassadors are a team of inspirational volunteers who want to encourage more people to get into archery, feel welcomed at clubs and develop a love for the sport. As well as supporting archery and helping your club to grow, you’ll be developing transferable skills that can enrich your life and look great on a CV or university application. You’ll be working on your people skills, public speaking, events organisation, marketing and social media, and volunteer recruitment and management, to name just a few.
Meet our Ambassadors
While we are not currently recruiting for ambassadors, you can still contact Gayle Pink at Archery GB if you want to find out more information about the Ambassador programme.

Coaching and development: Contribute to the growth of archery by volunteering as a coach or as a judge this year. Archery GB run plenty of coaching courses throughout the year so you can begin your journey to Coach straight away. Or, if judging takes your fancy our training programme and your fellow judges will support you throughout your entire journey as a judge, from your first event as a Youth or Candidate judge to whichever tier of judging you aspire to.
Take the first step to becoming a judge

It’s possible to be both an avid archer and fully involved volunteer. Don’t believe us? Neil Hickman from Wigan and Orrell Archers, volunteers as an Archery GB Ambassador, a club secretary, a tournament officer, a coach, and a judge.

How did you first get involved in archery, and what inspired you to volunteer?

I first became involved in archery after doing a have-a-go on holiday. The bug bit hard, but I had to sit through Covid lockdown before I could actually start fully. At the end of lockdown, I was itching to get started and get outdoors with the sport.

How do you balance your multiple volunteering roles?

It's a tricky one but it's mostly about delegation. Whilst Club Secretary takes up most of my time, a lot of the work can be passed off to the amazing committee members we have at our club, giving me plenty of time to do everything else.

What qualities do you believe are essential for someone taking on leadership roles in an archery club?

You have to be passionate about what you do, the enthusiasm drives the club forwards. You have to be able to motivate others and most importantly have good delegation skills. It's not a case of just asking someone if they can do X, Y, or Z, you have to know people's skills that you can utilise to get the job done right and in good time.

How do you feel volunteers contribute to the growth and development of archery at both the grassroots and competitive levels?

This sport wouldn't exist without our amazing community of volunteers. Coaches, judges, ambassadors, event staff and, field party volunteers are the heart and soul of archery.

What advice would you give to someone considering volunteering in archery, especially in roles that require both leadership and technical expertise?

Make sure that you only take on roles that you're capable of fulfilling. You need to know the ins and outs of what will be expected of you. Don't go in blind, and definitely don't be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck! In archery, even if you don't have someone in your own club that can help, there are many a helpful person in the community in other clubs that if you reach out would be more than willing to help.