Throughout Volunteers' Week (1-7 June), we'll bring you stories of archery's brilliant volunteer workforce whose contribution helps the sport grow and flourish.
To kick off Volunteers' Week, here's a great example of volunteering in action! Archery's Big Reopening event in May saw teams of club volunteers combine their efforts to do a bit of spring cleaning and get ‘range-ready' for summer - all with a few laughs, some shooting practice, and a lot of tea and cake!
Jude Lane from Eccles Archery Club, said: Â"We had a very successful work weekend here at Eccles for the Big Reopening on 7-9 May. We had plenty of willing helpers, and the supply of huge sausage butties, teas and coffees made the event very enjoyable!
Â"The clubhouse was repaired and painted, under the watchful eye of our Buildings and Grounds Officer, Roger Burgess. Our wheeled bosses were repaired and painted, and several new ones were built and put onto wheeled bases, led by our Equipment Officer Paul Tittensor and our carpenter Chris Bowler. The clubhouse was cleaned and the kitchen given a full ‘going over'.
[caption id="attachment_27218" align="alignnone" width="300"] Wheel bases being prepared by the volunteers at Eccles Archery Club during the Big Reopening event[/caption]
Â"The club runs well at the moment, with most archers shooting outdoors at any distance they choose. Our next big project is to have our 30m indoor range built; we are very close to being able to give the go ahead, with thanks to our architect and Club Secretary, Aidan Simpson.
Â"We feel ready for the next stages of restriction easing, planning more club shoots, teaching newer archers about clout and generally getting on with being archers.”
Inspired? Check out our volunteering page here for more information about finding a role that's right for you.
And if you already volunteer in the sport, please spread the word to friends and family and encourage others to join us in rebuilding archery.
Archery GB volunteer awards 2021
Don't forget to nominate a Volunteer of the Year and Young Volunteer of the Year in Archery GB's Awards 2021 - nominations are open until 31 July. Find out more on our dedicated awards page here.
Volunteering survey
Are you an archery volunteer? Please complete our survey, below, which will be used to showcase the roles filled by our different volunteers, highlighting how they got into volunteering and why they enjoy it. This will give us a better understanding of our volunteering community. Why do you volunteer? survey (surveymonkey.co.uk)
This summer, Archery GB will once again be leading the Big Weekend event (9 - 11 July), which this year will be preceded by The Big Week (5 - 9 July), encouraging even more people to have a go at the inclusive sport. Why not get involved in volunteering by organising a Big Week or Big Weekend activity at your club to encourage other people to try archery? More information is available HERE.
