If you want to learn archery with us, you’re in the right place. We offer a unique way to learn archery and the principles of field archery at the same time. Our one-day beginner’s course is also great fun.
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Taking up archery as a pastime
If you are completely new to the sport and looking to learn archery and in particular field archery, then you will need to complete a beginner’s course.
We run courses throughout the year, so if you are interested in learning archery, then get in touch. Our courses a full day from 10am until 3pm.
If there isn’t a date listed below, but you want to attend an archery beginner’s course, please fill in the contact form on this page and give us a few details about you. Such as age, gender, physical condition, and any archery experience you may have had. We will contact you when the next course dates are released.
Or if you have a question not answered on this page, email us.
Please note we take payment in advance for our beginner’s courses. We offer a refund if we cancel the course for any reason.
Beginner's course
Our one day course is a great way to learn archery
We offer a one-day intensive coaching session at our Field Archery Range with a qualified coach. We will start at 10am and finish around 3pm.
Am I too old?
There is no upper age limit, but some level of physical fitness is required, as you will be on your feet most of the day and will be walking through woods.
What about children?
We have found children of high school age are better suited to the courses we run as it’s a full day. A parent or guardian must be present all day during the course.
What are the costs?
Adults (16 or over) – £40 per person
Junior (Under 16) – £25 per person
Family of 4 (At least two Juniors) – £110 per group
All paid in advance
What happens on the day of your beginner’s course?
All the equipment needed for the day will be provided, you need to bring your own food and weather appropriate clothing/footwear. We start at practice targets, where you will get to learn archery starting with basic techniques needed to get you shooting safely and competently. We will then head out onto the course for some more ‘on the go’ coaching, which will give you a real feel for what field archery is all about.
Our max group size is normally 12 archers. We can accommodate bigger groups but please contact us first with specifics.
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Some videos of beginners
Here are some videos of beginners in action. This shows some beginners of various ages all enjoying their time with us. More details of the beginner’s course can be found below the videos.
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The Archery Beginners Course Details
The course covers basic archery instruction using recurve bows. We can also offer the opportunity to use some other bow types during the course, once we feel the individual archer has a good enough grasp of the basics.
Our aims for each archer are:
- To familiarise you with the equipment
- To ensure you understand and can shoot within the safety rules
- To get you shooting safely at reasonably short distances of up to 10 yards initially
- Move into the woods for shooting at longer distances
- To begin to develop a consistent shooting form and style that you can build on
- Understand the fundamentals of field archery
- Get a grasp of the scoring systems
- Most of all, to enjoy yourself
The aim of the course is to get each person to learn archery to a standard allowing him or her to become a full member at Blaidd Field Archers. We cannot guarantee each archer will reach that standard, but at least 90% do.
We supply all of the archery equipment you will need for the beginners’ course – our advice, is, however, enthusiastic you become (and many do) – try to resist the urge to buy your own equipment before you take beginners course. It’s very easy to buy the wrong kit and this can be an expensive mistake.
We offer individual coaching and group sessions and can tailor the course to the participants. We find the best way to learn archery is during our one day course. Although it can be quite intensive and tiring, you can beat learning archery in this way.
Types of shooting
There are many different forms of archery, but for the purposes of our courses, we will be teaching people to shoot ‘bare bow’ style. This means shooting instinctively without the use of sights on the bow. This is the purest form of archery and is a great way to learn archery if you want to shoot field archery.
Please note: Junior Archers (under 16) must be accompanied at all times by a parent/guardian or a responsible adult nominated by the parent/ guardian. This is to satisfy both insurance and Child Protection requirements. We can accommodate juniors of any age, but we find 12 years and older are best suited to this intensive form of coaching.
What happens after the Archery Beginners Course?
If you decide to take up the sport of field archery with us, then you can join our club and shoot as a member. To shoot as a member of Blaidd Field Archers you would also need your own equipment – you can discuss this with the coaches during your course.
The costs of archery are relatively inexpensive compared to many sports. Basic costs to be budgeted for would include:
- Your equipment. This can be as much or as little as you want to spend, but we suggest starting with a basic setup which can cost less than £200. We will recommend the type of equipment to buy and where to buy them. See this page for a rough guide to archery equipment.
- Membership fees to the governing body. We are affiliated to NFAS, The National Field Archery Association. There is a fee to become a member of NFAS and it is paid yearly.
- Membership fees to Blaidd Field Archers. The final fee is to our club, this fee covers our costs to run the club, pay for our shooting ground, maintenance, and new equipment. We always aim to keep this fee as low as possible. Here is a link to the membership fees
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Eye Dominance Test
If you are going to complete the inquiry form at the end of this page, one of the pieces of information we need is your eye dominance. Everyone has a dominant eye and it normally corresponds to your dominant hand, but some people are cross-ocular.
Step 1
Make a triangle with your hands as shown above. Then pick a distant object such as a clock on the wall and look at it through the triangle with both eyes open. Put the object in the centre of the triangle.
Step 2
Now close your left eye. If the object stays in the centre of the triangle, you’re right eye dominant, if it moves out of the centre, you’re left eye dominant. Everyone has a dominant eye.
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Book a place on our next course
Use the form below to book a place or more than one place.
VERY IMPORTANT: Once you have booked, you will receive a confirmation email. This may go into your spam/junk folder. Please check for this email as soon as you have booked as it contains important information about the booking. The email will come from [email protected]. If you don’t find it, please email us.
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Get in touch with us
Please read all of this page before you fill in the form, as it answers many of the questions that we get asked after someone has filled in the form. It’s not a long page but it’s really important that you read it before filling in this form. Thanks
VERY IMPORTANT: Add [email protected] to your safe sender’s list or email address book as soon as you’ve filled in this form, to make sure our reply doesn’t end up in your Junk/Spam folder.
GDPR notice. By filling in this form, you are giving us your data and we take this very seriously. We will never share your data with any third party or use it for any other purpose than communicating with you with reference to our beginners’ courses. You may receive emails and/or phone calls relating to the reason you have completed the form, we hope that meets your expectations. Thank you.
