Whether you have never held a bow before or are a Grand Master Archer, the archery club has a place for you! We are equipped to support you from nocking your first arrow to boarding the plane to the Olympics and beyond! Our coaches run beginner courses at the beginning of the year that take complete novices with no experience to reliably hitting the target and getting their first badges.
If you're looking for an inclusive team that you could be a part of, archery might just be for you!
Beginner Courses
If you are new to archery, you will need to pass a beginners course in order to shoot independently with our club. We run our own beginners courses early in Term 1. This year we will have two beginners courses running simultaneously in October. To pass the beginners course, you MUST attend all 4 sessions.
- Course A: Fridays from 3pm-6pm, Charles Wilson Sports Hall, 4 consecutive weeks starting on 11/10/2024
- Course B: Sundays from 1pm-4pm, Charles Wilson Sports Hall, 4 consecutive weeks starting on 13/10/2024
Cost: £40
Tickets will go on sale on Monday 7th October at 6pm. Places will go quickly!
Our beginners courses are run by our experienced coaches. You will recieve 1-1 coaching in order for you to learn good archery technique and how to shoot safely. By the end, you will be qualified to shoot independently in our regular training sessions and attend competitions with us as members of our "novice" team!
Unfortunately at the moment, we are unable to offer beginners courses at any other time. There are only 12 places per beginners course, so if you want to get involved, make sure you sign-up to our mailing list! We kindly ask that if your timetable allows you to attend the Friday course, you sign up to the Friday course and not the Sunday course. We appreciate that the timings for the Friday course could thoeretically clash with lectures. Unfortunately we are unable to change our training times and have to work with what we are given. We cannot offer additional beginners course sessions if you are unable to attend due to lectures.
Equipment is provided on the beginner courses and we have equipment available to borrow throughout the year. When you do want to buy your own equipment, we can give comprehensive advice and support on what's right for you!
Once you have a place confirmed on a beginners course, you will need to purchase either a gold gym membership or a Team Leicester membership AND Archery Club Membership* before the course starts. These memberships are required to ensure all shooting is covered by our insurance. You will be turned away if you do not have these memberships.
*We do not recommend purchasing an Archery Club membership until you have a confirmed place on a beginners' course! Our beginners' courses have a limited number of places and may be oversubscribed.
Socials
We have chilled socials at least once a month and all are welcome! In recent years, we've held quizes with DMU archery club, put on film nights, and taken to local venues such as East Street Lanes and Cadyshackers. Our Fiilm and Fletch evenings are a must if you're interested in learning about equipment and want a go at building arrows! We also get involved with different charity events at out outdoor shooting range. Dawn 'til Dusk is an annual charity event in which we camp at the field the night before, wake up at dawn, and then shoot until dusk!
Our lovely Wellbeing Officer also runs a weekly "Wellbeing Wednesday" slot in the Library. We will have a study room booked and you're welcome to drop in to do some work with good company, or just chill and have a chat.
Competitions
Like any sport, we like to compete! In recent years we have become the first official winners of the midlands regional TOUCAN League Division 2 with our first-time archers also winning the Novice League! For the 2024/25 season we have been promoted to Division 1 where we want to continue our success streak! Some of our archers also compete in local competitions run by Leicestershire and Rutland County Archery Association and further afield both regionally and nationally. Competitions are advertised regularly to members with a competitive streak and we currently have reigning County and Regional Champions in the club!
Throughout the academic year we send teams to BUCS (where we've had recent successes in the Novice category), TOUCAN (2024/25 promotion to Div 1!), and local friendlies with surrounding universities. While there is no obligation to compete if you join ULAC, we think it's a lot of fun and a great way to make friends in the student archery community!
From the 2023 Leicester BUTTs (now TOUCAN) leg where we had some good team and individual results
Training Facilities & Schedule
The Charles Wilson Sports Hall serves as our indoor training space during the academic year, (appreciated by all our members in the colder months!), and an outdoor space - LAOFAC - is available all year round. No need to worry about training in the glorious British rain (although all the best archers brave it).
Training sessions are open to all members who have passed a beginner's course. We have designed our training to be able to fit around the timetable or other commitments of our members.
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Our 2024/25 training times are:
Charles Wilson Sports Hall: Training will resume on Tuesday 8th October
- Tuesday - 15:00 - 18:00
- Friday - 15:00 -18:00
- Sunday - 13:00 - 16:00
Leicester Ancient Order of Foresters Archery Club (LAOFAC) outdoor range:
- 24/7 flexible-use grounds. No schedule, but we recommend that beginners and new members talk to a committee member beforehand
Registration
PLUS
- Any sports/gym membership listed below.
- Standard Team Leicester Membership will ONLY cover training and matchday facility access (you WILL be able to attend competitions).
- Gold membership provides access to both the University Sport Centres and your club activities. The sports center facilities are great for your Strength and Conditioning Sessions, general fitness, and recovery!
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Gold (Early Bird – Offer valid until 23:59 on 13.10.24)
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£165
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Gold (Full Price)
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£198
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Termly
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£99
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Team Leicester
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£110
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NOTE: There is a £22 monthly membership but this CANNOT be used for Team Leicester clubs, you will need one of the memberships listed in the table above to join the Archery Club.
Please contact us if you have any questions setting up membership (contact address below).
Your Committee
Club Captain: Faye Balcombe
Treasurer: Neve Church
Wellbeing & Inclusion officer: Josie Chamberlain
To contact us, please email su-archery@leicester.ac.uk. Alternatively, DM us on Instagram and follow us for announcements.
Sign up for our Mailing List to find out more information about our group!