About

Last updated 2:44 p.m. on the 26th February 2021

The University of Warwick Archery Club is a friendly, student run archery club based at the University’s campus in Coventry. We are an Archery GB affiliated club, and part of the County of Warwickshire Archery Association. The Club is open to students and staff of the University of Warwick.

We cater to everybody with an interest in Archery, from those who have never picked up a bow before to those who aspire to compete at the highest level. We regularly field teams at our regional inter-university league—the BUTTS League; at BUTC; and at BUCS. We are also proud to travel and compete at external competitions, and our club includes a number of current and former members of national squads. The Club also has a thriving social scene, and offers plenty of fun and informal events for those who don’t want to take the sport quite so seriously!

We shoot all year round, including during university holidays as we have quite a few postgraduate members. For the indoor season (October-March inclusive) we use the university sports halls, while for the outdoor season (April to September inclusive) we move outdoors and use one of the university's games fields.

If you are a student or staff member of the University and would like to find out more about archery, please visit our Get Involved page, which has information for both new and experienced archers!

If you are a current member, our session times page will tell you when we currently have sessions running, and our meet the exec page will tell you whom to contact if you have any queries.

History

The University of Warwick Archery Club (UWAC) was formed in 1415 to train and provide archers for the Battle of Agincourt. 550 years later, a new university was built and named after the historic club.

Very little was heard of it until the late 1980s, when two-time Olympian, Jo Franks, led the club to widespread victory at a national level.

Throughout the 1990s the club's performance dwindled. Whilst a man called Keith claimed that club members did still do archery, it was found that their preferred location was the pub. People including ‘M Crowe’ and ‘H Myers’ won national medals during these times, but very little is known of them. Rebecca Haskins and David ‘Spinman’ Spinner also won competitions or medals, and their names can now be seen on the ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ honours boards. Mike Steliaros was a name which appeared on some trophies at county level.

At some point, club clothing began to contain a bear. The bear was allegedly originally called Rufus, although a 3D bear called Tobias (Toxophilite Bear in a Shirt) made his way into the club at a later point, and it is now assumed by many people that both bears are the same.

The dawn of the new millennium saw the arrival of people such as Tom Kemp and club improvements like a comprehensive records system. The club grew into a dominant force in student archery, with national champions including Matthew Fletcher Esquire, Luke Rieman and Matt Dale. Other notable archers include Tom Hall and Andrew Shreeves, who both reached the rank of Grand Master Bowman during their time in the club. Jorge Lindley is also to be of note for winning the local count indoor, outdoor and clout championships as well as achieving the Olympic qualifying standard. The pinnacle of Warwick’s domination came in the 2014/15 season, with UWAC victorious in the BUCS (student national) indoor and outdoor tournaments, the British Universities Team Championships (BUTC), the British Universities E-League and the BUTTS regional archery league. We also won the team title at the British Target Championships. This feat of numerous achievements was recognised by the University who awarded the club the Cecil Angel Trophy for Most Successful Sports Club in 2015.

In the 2015/16 year the club managed to match their BUCS achievements with a first placing experienced team at both indoors and outdoors; this time however it was the women’s team that took the top of the podium for the outdoors tournament. We were again victorious in the British Universities Team Championships (BUTC) and the British Universities E-League and came first in BUTTS Outdoor Championships. Here’s to the next season being just as if not more successful!

Aside from archery the club has in 2016 decided to support Helen and Douglas House a charity that provides hospice care for children and young adults. Our first event was a balloon shoot and we hope to hold similar events in the future.

Social Scene

Another face to UWAC is our involvement in the world of boat racing (pint downing); for many years we have been serious contenders. The Blake-Hadden duo was fabled for their speed, and it is rumoured that they once completed their four pints in under a second. The annual tours to such destinations as Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Dublin and the Isle of Man have produced numerous tales, though you’ll have to ask club members about those in person!

Stats

For those who are more inclined to find out about exactly what our competition performance has been in the not-so-recent past, a comprehensive list can be found on the UKSAA website. For our most recent results, they can be found below. Photos of the club over the past couple of years can be found on our Facebook page.

2018-19 Season:

  • BUTTS Indoor Championships - Experienced Team 1st, Novice Team Silver
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Experienced Team - 1st Place Experienced
  • BUCS Indoors Gents Experienced Team - 1st Place
  • BUCS Indoors Compound Team - 1st Place
  • BUCS Indoors Ladies Experienced Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Gents Experienced Team - 1st Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Ladies Experienced Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Compound Team - 1st Place
  • BUTC Team - A Team 1st, B Team 5th
  • CWAA County Championships Team - 1st Place

2017-18 Season:

  • BUTTS Indoor Championships - Experienced Team 1st, Novice Team Silver
  • BUTTS Field Championships Team - 1st Place
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Experienced Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Indoors Gents Experienced Team - 1st Place
  • BUCS Indoors Compound Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Indoors Ladies Experienced Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Gents Experienced Team - 1st Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Ladies Experienced Team - 2nd Place
  • BUCS Outdoor Championships Compound Team - 3rd Place
  • BUTC Team - A Team 3rd, B Team 4th
  • British Unis E-League Experienced Team - A Team-2nd Place, B Team (div.2) - 1st Place, C Team (div.2) - 2nd Place, Compound Team - 1st Place
  • National County Team Championships - Gents Team - 2nd Place, Ladies Team - 1st Place
  • National Indoor Championships Team - 1st Place
  • CWAA County Championships Team - 1st Place

2015-16 Season:

  • BUCS Indoors Gents Experienced Team - 1st Place,
  • BUCS Indoors Compound Team - 3rd Place,
  • BUCS Indoors Novice Team - 2nd Place,
  • BUCS Indoors - Numerous individual medals,
  • BUCS Outdoors Gents Experienced Team - 2nd Place,
  • BUCS Outdoors Womens Experienced Team - 1st Place,
  • BUCS Outdoors Compound Team - 2nd Place,
  • BUCS Outdoors - Numerous individual medals
  • BUTTS Indoors Regional League - 2nd Place (Experienced Team - 2nd Place, Novice Team - 3rd) including numerous individual/team medals,
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Experienced Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Novice Team - 3rd place,
  • BUTC Team - 1st place,
  • British Unis E-league Experienced Team - 1st place division 1,
  • Numerous individual awards at external competitions

2014-15 Season:

  • BUCS Indoor Gents Experienced Team - 1st place,
  • BUCS Outdoor Gents Experienced Team - 1st place,
  • BUTC Team - 1st place,
  • British Unis E-league Experienced Team - 1st place division 1,
  • BUTTS Indoors Regional League - 1st place including numerous individual/team golds,
  • British Target Championships - team 1st place,
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Novice Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS Outdoors Championships Experienced Team - 2nd place,
  • Cecil Angel Trophy for Most Successful Sports Club (Warwick),
  • Numerous individual awards at external competitions

2013-14 Season:

  • BUTC Team - 2nd place,
  • British Unis E-league Experienced Team - 2nd place,
  • BUCS Outdoor Experienced Team - 2nd place,
  • BUCS Indoor Experienced Team - 4th place,
  • Numerous individual awards at external competitions

2012-13 Season:

  • BUTTS League Indoor Experienced Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS League Outdoor Experienced Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS League Outdoor Novice Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS Indoor Championships Team - 1st place,
  • BUTTS Field Championships Team - 1st place,
  • British Unis E-league Experienced Team - 1st place division 1,
  • BUCS Outdoor Experienced Team - 4th place,
  • Individual medals at BUCS and National Student Clout,
  • Cecil Angel Trophy for Most Successful Sports Club (Warwick),
  • Numerous individual awards at external competitions

Exec Archive:

Below is a list of all of the club's exec committees in recent history.

2020-21 Academic Year

  • President - Hannah Burnage
  • Secretary- Tim Jackson
  • Treasurer- Hubert Naguszewski
  • Field Captain- Jodie Green
  • Team Captain- Kai Thomas-Prause
  • Tournaments Officer- Kate Willett
  • Records Officer- James Ireland
  • Equipments Officer- Chris Woodgate
  • Social Secretary- Joel Davidson
  • Publicity Officer- Jemima Scott

2019-20 Academic Year

  • President - Megan Purchase
  • Secretary - James Gardner
  • Treasurer - Sam Armstrong
  • Field Captain - Jess Watts
  • Team Captain - Hannah Burnage
  • Tournaments Officer - Kate Willett
  • Records Officer - Hubert Naguszewski
  • Equipments Officer - Chris Woodgate
  • Social Secretary - Jodie Green
  • Publicity Officer - Ioana Stanciu

2018-19 Academic Year

  • President - Timothy Jackson
  • Secretary - Alexander Logan
  • Treasurer - Craig Devonport
  • Field Captain - Sarah Allaway
  • Tournaments Officer - Jess Watts
  • Records Officer - Hannah Burnage
  • Team Captain - James Jeffs
  • Equipments Officer - Sam Curtis
  • Social Secretary - William Pike
  • Publicity Officer - Megan Purchase

2017-18 Academic Year:

  • President - Timothy Jackson
  • Secretary - David Richardson
  • Treasurer - Jack Brittan
  • Field Captain - Eleanor Blakey
  • Tournaments Officer - Sam Armstrong
  • Records Officer - Alexander Logan
  • Team Captain - Sherman Ip
  • Equipments Officer - Sam Curtis
  • Social Secretary - Daniel Prinsloo
  • Publicity Officer - Sarah Allaway

2016-17 Academic Year:

  • President - Emma Davis
  • Secretary - Timothy Jackson
  • Treasurer - Jasmine Grosso
  • Team Co-ordinator - Jess Watts
  • Tournaments & Records Officer - Claudia Williams
  • Team Captain - Chris Woodgate
  • Equipments Officer - Toby Ross
  • Social Secretary - Dom Harrison
  • Publicity Officer - Eleanor Blakey

2015-16 Academic Year:

  • President - James Jeffs
  • Secretary - Craig Devonport
  • Treasurer - Jasmine Grosso
  • Field Captain - Matt Stace
  • Tournaments Officer - Jess Watts
  • Development Officer - Tom Hall
  • Equipments Officers - Oliver Vavasour & Toby Ross
  • Social Secretary - Tim Jackson
  • Records Officer - Caz Evans
  • Website & Publicity Officer - David Richardson

2014-15 Academic Year:

  • President - Jorge Lindley
  • Secretary - Chris Guerin
  • Treasurer - Matthew Dale
  • Field Captain - James Jeffs
  • Development Officer - Tom Hall
  • Equipments Officer - Luke Rieman
  • Tournaments Officer - Chloé Worrall
  • Social Secretary - Matt Stace
  • Records Officer - Craig Devonport
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Melisa Kaner

2013-14 Academic Year:

  • President – Alan Dawson (then) Tom Hall
  • Secretary - Maddie Meatyard
  • Treasurer - Jorge Lindley
  • Field Captain - Emma Davis
  • Equipments Officer – Tom Hall (then) James Edmondson
  • Tournaments Officer – Lisa Tully
  • Social Secretary - Craig Holroyd
  • Records Officer - James Jeffs
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Adam Lack

2012-13 Academic Year:

  • President - Rachael Hutchinson
  • Secretary – Alan Dawson
  • Treasurer - Jorge Lindley
  • Field Captain - Alex 'Level 1' Henman
  • Equipments Officer - Tom Hall
  • Tournaments Officer - Stephen Mendonça
  • Social Secretary - Connor Gallagher
  • Records Officer - Enrik Nako
  • Website & Publicity Officer – Laith Alissa

2011-12 Academic Year:

  • President - Chris Guerin
  • Secretary - Alan Dawson
  • Treasurer - Jorge Lindley
  • Field Captain - Rachael Hutchinson
  • Equipments Officer - Matt Cranham
  • Tournaments Officer - Chris Blake
  • Records Officer - Anna Novak
  • Social Secretary - Tom Moores
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Mark Waddoups

2010-11 Academic Year:

  • President - Chris Blake
  • Secretary - Andrew Shreeves
  • Treasurer - Laura Oxley
  • Field Captain - Rachael Hutchison
  • Equipments Officer - Matt Dale
  • Tournaments Officer - Alan Dawson
  • Records Officer - Chris Guerin
  • Social Secretary - Kathryn Brace
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Matt Cranham

2009-10 Academic Year:

  • President - David Barnes
  • Secretary - Amy Fisher
  • Treasurer - Ian Chandler
  • Field Captain - Stuart Deacon
  • Equipments Officer - Matt Dale
  • Tournaments Officer - Andrew Shreeves
  • Records Officer - Laura Oxley
  • Social Secretary - Chris Blake
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Chris Guerin

2008-09 Academic Year:

  • President - Ian Rogers
  • Secretary - David Hadden
  • Treasurer - Dan Higgins
  • Field Captain - James Mudd
  • Equipments Officer - Chris Butle
  • Tournaments Officer - David Barnes
  • Records Officer - Emma Cross
  • Social Secretary - Paul Crooks
  • Website & Publicity Officer - Jack Benton