Shooting for the stars with Foyle Valley Archery Club

From shooting in the Church Hall in Eglinton to shooting at Oakgrove College, Foyle Valley Archery Club has come a long way since they started out 10 years ago.

Every Tuesday night, archers young and old, experienced and inexperienced, gather at the college to take part in a sport that teaches as much as it inspires. From the enjoyment of shooting for 11-year-old Eoin, to the practice of precision for national competitor George Heath at almost 60 years old, the club really is for anyone and everyone.

A chance to make new friends, a chance to learn new skills and a chance to compete at a local and national level, archery has been quietly but steadily building a strong base here in Derry.

On Sunday past, Oakgrove hosted the Northern Ireland Bow Hunter Championships and Foyle Valley produced a number of local winners, including George himself, who is glad to say he is competing and scoring as well as he ever has done. His passion for the sport is evident and with youngsters Holly and Charlie also winning on the day, it is proof positive for George that archery can be as important an outlet for young boys and girls as any other sport.

“Sunday was a brilliant day for us,” he said. “We had the kids at the club here do really well; we had Holly and Charlie who both won their respective categories and I won the aul fella’s category. It was a fantastic day. There were 28 foam animal targets set out all around the grounds and we started off shooting a two-arrow round which means you shoot two arrows at each animal. We then finished off in the afternoon with a single-arrow round which is tougher.”

From the Church Hall in Eglinton, to the Vale Centre before arriving at Oakgrove, Foyle Valley Archery has now got a base which is convenient in location, and has promise in its potential, with the grounds of the school accommodating for both outdoor and indoor shooting.

Not traditionally one of the staple sports that hits the headlines locally, George admits that archery has suffered from a lack of publicity over the years.

“To describe it is niche win Northern Ireland would be a fair comment, but it is very big elsewhere,” he explained.

“There are clubs in England for instance where the club membership would number as many as our entire association in Northern Ireland. They have hundreds in a single club so it’s not so niche there because there’s more of a tradition of it. It’s not so big in Northern Ireland but there’s more than you would think. A lot of people would have heard of Patrick Houston, who shot in the Olympics for GB. We also have a lot of para-archers who shot in the Paralympic Games.

“We always seem to fly under the radar. We have been trying to promote the sport because it’s a sport that suits everybody. We don’t take children under 10 because their joints are very soft and there is a risk of repetitive strain injury, but we’ve had people well into their pension years who shoot competitively as well as the club and who will hopefully be active for some time to come.”

Something for everyone

If your child is not into football, gaelic or athletics, archery is a viable alternative, teaching important skills amidst the joy of shooting in a safe environment.

“It is an incredible sport to develop focus and concentration,” George points out. “Believe it or not, it’s also very good for your overall fitness, because one of the things we talk about is posture; you need good posture to do archery properly so we’re always telling people how to stand properly and how to stand so that they’re more comfortable, and the skeleton and the muscular system is all correctly aligned. Controlling your beathing, controlling your emotions, keeping yourself under control, so the benefits are huge from both a mental and physical point of view.

“It suits sporty kids, but it’s good for kids who maybe aren’t into sports as well. Maye they’re not into running and jumping about or don’t like that atmosphere.

It is fantastic also for kids who are maybe on the spectrum. We’ve had a few children do very well because they know exactly what’s expected of them and there’s no surprises and it’s regimented; that’s not to say it’s not fun, but there is nothing unexpected happening in archery.

“We have done courses with the RNIB, for the blind, we have done courses with Disability Sport NI, with adults and children who maybe have limbs missing or who have mobility problems. They have all loved it.”

Another attraction the sport provides comes in its minimal cost, with George pointing out that all equipment for kids is provided free of charge. In these trying times for families, that is something the club adheres to.

“It is a sport for sport’s sake, so it’s a pure sport, and I think that’s very important,” he continued. “There’s so many other sport where money gets in the way, but the fact that there is no money in it keeps it pure, and it’s not expensive. People see the rig I shoot with and they think it looks expensive, but I’m shooting at the very top end; compared with cycling we spend nothing.

“For children, we supply all the gear. They don’t have to buy a single thing and never will have to while they are shooting at our club. Even for those who do want to buy their own stuff, £100-£150 will buy you everything you need shooting indoors or outdoors. You don’t need to spend a fortune.”

The enjoyment of participating

If you are ambitious, or if you just enjoy a Tuesday night out, Foyle Valley Archery accommodates all. For George, the club, which he runs alongside daughter Paige, is there to open doors for everyone, be it in sport or in life. The road to reaching one’s potential begins with the first arrow.

“We don’t push anybody,” he explained. “If someone is happy just to come down on a Tuesday night and have fun for a couple of hours, as long as they are safe and enjoying themselves, that’s absolutely great.

“For the ones who would like to compete we would like to see them improving, going on to shoot in Northern Ireland Championships and shooting in the UK and Ireland Field Archery Championships, which rotates around the home nations every year. The World Indoor Championships are in Kent in England next year, so those are all things that our members would be looking at.

“I always say to people that I’m very competitive and I compete at the top level; sometimes I win, sometimes I don’t, but I always enjoy myself, and that’s the thing that we try to get into all our archers at the club here, enjoying yourselves is more important than winning, because no-one can win all the time, but you can enjoy yourself all the time.”

Anyone interested in joining Foyle Archery club, regardless of age or experience, is invited to contact George on 07783882537.