This year’s Youth Festival brought together over 130 archers, and records were broken.
From Saturday 27 to Wednesday 31 July, the archers competed in three different events following the qualification round on day one: individual, teams and pairs. Juniors of all abilities and experience levels got to shoot side by side for five days of archery, including two days of finals field shooting, emulating what it would be like to compete in an international event.
One of the many stand-out performances from the week was by Jessica Lethbridge. At just twelve-years-old, she broke the Barebow Women’s U18 European record for the single WA 50m round with a 571.
Through days of sunshine and hot weather, the archers battled it out in head-to-head eliminations, gunning for the 2024 Youth Festival titles. They also got the chance to gather around the TV to watch the GB archers at the Olympic Games in Paris compete in their team matches; the future of the sport supporting the current champions of our country.
Category |
Winner |
| RU21 men | Liam Jordan |
| RU21 women | Holly Linfield |
| RU18 men | Alex Sillitoe-Price |
| RU18 women | Nicole Latos |
| RU15 men | Hari Shukla |
| RU15 women | Betty Brocklesby Sum |
| Compound youth men | Alfie Ridding |
| Compound youth women | Isabella Bruguier |
| Barebow youth men | Samuel Bowden |
| Barebow youth women | Jessica Lethbridge |
This event is ideal for all juniors, whether you come along on your own or with a school or team, you will meet new people and make lasting friendships. This year there were many returning archers, but there were also some first-timers. Daria Nikolova from Ebbsfleet Academy Archers was one of these archers who attended for her debut Youth Festival. She also got to celebrate her seventeenth birthday on Saturday, surrounded by her coach and friends.
On her experience, Daria said: "To be fair at the beginning, it was very strange place because it felt totally different to the Junior National Outdoor Championships. But as you get into it, it's really nice, people are lovely. You meet some great people and they're very supportive, all the archers. They always hype you up, make sure you're doing well. It's like a big happy family."
"I'd say I would do more events like Youth Festival, they're very fun. No matter whether you do good or bad, it's all just for fun, it's not whether you hit the gold or the green. It's what you get from it at the end of the day."
To see all of the results from the week, click the like below:
