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 (find out more here). Our first event was a balloon shoot and we hope to hold similar events in the future.
Stats
A comprehensive list of past results of student archery competitions can be found on the UKSAA website. The club usually takes home a number of BUCS medals each year. Photos of the club over the past couple of years can be found in the Gallery or on our Facebook page.