Welcome to the Bristol Bowmen and Golden Phoenix Archers' web site. We hope that you will find the site informative and useful.

Bristol Bowmen was originally called Stoke Bishop Archery Club and was founded in 1955. It changed it's name to Bristol Bowmen in October 1960. The first records we have date back to 1961. During this year we had 21 adult gentlemen, 12 adult ladies, 21 junior gentlemen and 1 junior lady members. Our longest serving current members, Clive Wilkins and Ian Lassman joined in the 91/92 and 92/93 seasons respectively.

Over the years we have had several bases. We started out at Stoke Lodge Education Playing Field in Stoke Bishop. From the mid 70s until the late 80s we shot outdoors at Harvey's Sports Field in Whitchurch village, followed by a very brief spell at the Imperial sports ground but have been at our current venue, Keynsham Rugby Football Club, ever since. Over the same time our indoor venues have been, The Crypt on Coronation Road, Bedminster, Whitchurch Sports Centre and Brislington Enterprise College. Since October 2008 our indoor venue has been The Park in Knowle.

Bristol Bowmen has had a long tradition of welcoming disabled people into the club. One of the founding members, Douglas Little, was in a wheelchair all his adult life due to polio. In the 1970s we had a junior, Helen Williams, who only had one hand. Over the years we have catered for many other disabilities including, diabetis, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, mobility impairment, deafness and Visual Impairment. The current President, Ian Lassman, summed up the ethos of Bristol Bowman, "We will do anything for a disabled person that they can't do for themselves and empower them to do the rest."

This ethos stood us in good stead when, in the autumn of 2006, Golden Phoenix Archers was founded to cater specifically for people with disabilities. Although the two clubs are separate, we share many officers and shoot together as one club. Having a separate club for people with disabilities allows us to access extra help and support where needed.

For further details, or if you used to shoot with us and can help pad out details of our history, please contact the Secretary, Sheena McCullagh by email or on 0117 9494468 or 07974 694320 (mobile).

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For details of how to find both our outdoor and indoor venues, including map links, please see our location page.

Outdoor

We can shoot during the week at any time at the wish of the members.

As we share a site with a thriving rugby club, weekend shooting can only take place when they are not using the ground. In winter this means we shoot on Sunday afternoons only, but during their closed season, unless there is an 'event', we are free to shoot when we want.

Please note, we can never shoot on Sunday mornings. During the winter there is rugby practice and during their closed season there are car boot sales.

In addition, we have the following specific sessions:

• Wednesday - September to April - 1.00 pm meet for 1.30 pm shoot.
• Wednesday - May to August - 4.30 pm to dusk.
• Thursday - May to August - 6.30 pm to dusk.
• Friday - All year - 1.00 pm meet for 1.30 pm shoot.
• Saturday - September to April - No shooting (rugby season).
• Saturday - May to August 11.00 am for those wishing to shoot a long round, or who prefer and early start time and 1.30 pm for those wishing to shoot a short round. (See above paragraph about 'events'.)
• Sunday - September to April - 1.00 pm meet for 1.30 pm shoot.
• Sunday - May to August - 1.00 pm for all beginners and any club member who wishes. There is an additional start time of 2.00 pm for club members only. Please make sure that you arrive at one of the start times. We don't want to have to keep stopping the line to set up additional targets. (See above paragraph about 'events'.)

Special shoots

• Boxing day - 11.00 am meet for 11.30 am shoot.
• New Year's day - 11.00 am meet for 11.30 am shoot.

It will be very cold on both of those days, so we will have hot food of some description during the shoots. Turkey stew anyone?

• Bank holiday Mondays - 11.00 am for those wishing to shoot a long round and 1.30 pm for those wishing to shoot a short round. (See above paragraph about 'events'.)

NB Grand National Archery Society (GNAS) safety criteria must be met at all times.

Indoor

We have booked 24 indoor evening sessions.

• Time - 7 to 9 pm.
• First session - Friday 3 October 2008.
• Christmas and New Year closing - no indoor shooting 26 December 2008 (but we will be shooting outdoor, see above) and 2 January 2009.
• Last session - Friday 27 March 2009.

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After completing the beginners' course, everyone must, if they wish to continue shooting, join the club.

In line with the sport's governing body, the Grand National Archery Society (GNAS), membership runs from 1 October to 30 September each year. However anyone who joins for the first time on or after the 1 May gains an extra five months. Therefore the fees below apply to anyone joining in the extended period or renewing from 1 October 2009:

• Adults - Bristol Bowmen - £128.00.
• Adults - Golden Phoenix Archers - £80.00.
• Juniors (under 18 years of age) - both clubs - £40.00.
• Families - At least one adult and one child from the same family - £5.00 reduction in the Junior fee.

Payment may be split over two months.

You may pay by bank transfer. For details contact the treasurer, Frank Bath, on 0117 977 6484 or via email.

You may shoot as often as you like outdoors and at our winter weekly indoor sessions at no extra cost. See above for shooting days/times.

Please note, the reason that the adult fee for Bristol Bowmen is higher than for Golden Phoenix is because members of a disabled club do not pay county, region and national fees. Currently these fees total £48.00. Hence we all pay the same amount in club fees.

If the outgoing fees are going to go up, the increase is applicable for new members from 1 May each year and renewing members from 1 October each year. As long as this increase is 10% or less of the current total, the rise will be automatically added to the fees. Currently this means that up to £4.80 can be added at 1 May 2010 without the need for the rise to be approved by club members.

Guest shooting

We welcome visiting archers. Please remember to bring your GNAS membership card, or if you live abroad, your governing body's membership card, with you. For insurance reasons we cannot let you shoot without it.

There are two types of guest boss fees:

Per session

• Adult outdoor - £2.00.
• Junior outdoor - £1.00.
• Adult indoor - £5.00.
• Junior indoor - £2.50.

Monthly membership

This will give you full shooting rights for the duration of your time with us, including allowing you to take part in any club event or competition. Membership will run for one calendar month from the date of your first shoot and is ideal for students home for the holidays or anyone temporarily working or studying in the area.

• Adults - £7.50.
• Juniors - £5.00.

You may shoot as often as you like outdoors (see above for shooting days/times) at no extra cost. There may be a charge for indoor shooting, see above.

Temporary membership application form (PDF: 44.5 KB).

For details of eligibility and exceptions, please see the membership section of our policies page.

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© Bristol Bowmen and Golden Phoenix Archers