Posted by ArcheryGB is Britain’s largest national governing body of archery. Archery GB is responsible for the archery at all levels within the UK from elite to development and has more than 40,000 members. Archery GB is the umbrella organization for English Archery Association, Archery Northern Ireland, Scottish Archery and Welsh Archery Association. There are eight Regional Societies under Archery GB, as well as numerous different county societies. It is a member and affiliate of the World Archery Federation (WA) as well as FITA, the Federation Internationale de Tir a l’Arc. The society’s motto reads “Union Trueheart and Courtesie”. World Archery is the another largest national governing body for Archery.
Role
Archery GB is the largest archery association for target archery in Britain. It also includes other forms of archery such as Clout archery, field archery, or even field archery.
The society currently has responsibility for over 750 clubs and 28,000 registered members across the UK, all of whom can get the publication Archery UK four times a year, included in their membership. It also organises its own national competitions and is accountable for the training of coaches and making sure that all affiliated clubs are covered under the public liability insurance policies. The costs are partially covered by affiliation fees, which all club members pay in addition to regional and county associations as well as Archery GB itself.
Histories
In 1843, the first Grand National Archery Meeting took place on the Knavesmire in York. However the Grand National Archery Society (later Archery GB), was not established in 1861 when it began to meet in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. Its early activities were limited to organising the Annual National Championships, being at that time just one of the archery societies but it didn’t establish itself as the official governing body for the UK until some time later. After that, it was mandatory – rather than an option for all archers who wanted to participate in a competition or shoot at a club to become an GNAS member for insurance purposes and the administration was handled by clubs, counties , and regions.
Three more important historical societies – all of which survive today – were the Royal Toxophilites (founded in 1781) The Woodmen of Arden (founded in 1785), and the Royal Company of Archers (founded in 1676). Although they are separate from the GNAS but some of their members may be part of both.
Some of the Archery Equipment list:
GNAS/Archery GB is now well-established in the Olympics. British archers have won a total 4 medals since 1972, when the sport was restored to its original beauty.
Craig David was appointed as an official member of the British Archery Team in April 2021 as the bow selecter.
Rebranding as Archery GB
An official announcement was made during the Annual General Meeting, held in Lilleshall on April 19th, 2008 confirming that Archery GB will be the name used for trading the GNAS. A report in the issue for Summer 2008 of Archery UK, the official GNAS magazine, says:
This significant moment in the Society’s history marks a change that is just beginning to take shape with elite archers sporting the new Archery GB branding. The Archery GB brand will now reflect all aspects of the organization including the Olympic team, coaching programs, events as well as membership. The change is due to recognition that the Grand National Archery Society brand, whilst naturally close to many, doesn’t represent the fullness and importance of the group that represents British archery on a global level. The logo is old-fashioned and rather dull, and the name conjures up images of an insular organisation that is a fan of horse racing, which is an unfair image of a body of such stature.
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