If you are a returnee and do not need to undertake the beginner's course, please contact Sheena McCullagh, either by 'phone 0117 949 4468, email coaching@bristolanddisabledarchers.org.uk, or by Skype SheenaGCM, to arrange a time to come and meet us.

Update – Sunday 24 March 2013.

At our AGM on Thursday 20 September 2012 the coaching and membership secretary stepped down, no one volunteered to accept the post instead. Unfortunately this means that as it stands, there will be no general beginner's courses running during 2013. If someone steps forward to take this post, we will announce here what courses we will be running. We will, however, still be honouring the few people that were held over from the 2012 courses and the Family and Friends of members courses, even without a coaching and membership secretary in post.

Three coaches from another club have tentatively offered to help us out.  We are still in negotiation with those coaches, however if they can help we will be running courses this year, all be it on a limited basis.

We are, therefore, not currently taking names.

Meanwhile please make sure that you read the course suitability and lessons sections as well as the notes below before deciding if you wish to learn archery with us.

1. The minimum age at which we allow children to start the beginners' course is 8.
2. Children who will be 8 before 1 May in the year of their beginner's course can be added to the list once it re-opens however they cannot start their lessons until their eighth birthday.
3. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
4. To be added to the list we will need your name, address and telephone number and for anyone under the age of 18, date of birth and parental contact details. Please see points one and two, above, regarding minimum age.
5. Please also state whether you can attend on Saturdays or Wednesdays or both and if you have a preference as to which of the days you prefer, please also state that.
6. Names will be added to the list on a strictly first come, first served basis, bearing in mind point five, above.

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All our courses are run by qualified coaches who have been CRB (police) checked and have undertaken child and vulnerable adult protection courses. The coaches are supported by a team of experienced club helpers who all have also been CRB (police) checked.

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We are always heavily over-subscribed and those of us providing the lessons give our time, free of charge, to teach people who are genuinely interested in taking up target archery long-term.

Who our courses are suitable for:

• People who intend, should the lessons meet their expectations, to go on and join the club at the end of the course. We accept that there is always the potential for 'life to get in the way'; so that you may not, after all, join, but we require that you start the course with the intention of doing so. If you simply want to try out archery, we suggest you try somewhere like the Avon Ski and Action Centre at Churchill, North Somerset.

Who our courses are not suitable for:

• People who wish to progress to field archery. We do not have a field archery course and in order to take part in field archery, junior archers have to be shooting competently at 50 yards and adult archers at 80 yards. We therefore suggest that you try a club like Bath Archers, who have a field archery course and should be better able to meet your long-term aspirations.

• Young people wishing to use the course solely to meet a requirement of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme (D of E). Our courses are not of long enough duration to meet the D of E requirements and we therefore cannot sign-off your sheets. If you are genuinely interested in target archery and intend to join the club long-term, so that the D of E is simply a by-product, our courses are suitable for you.

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According to the rules of our governing body, Archery GB, a person is allowed to shoot six times before joining a club, this is for insurance purposes.

If you are under the age of 18, we will need the consent of a parent or guardian for you to shoot with us.

All lessons take place at our outdoor venue, Keynsham Rugby Football Club. For details of how to find us please see the 'location' page.

Dates:

• Lessons will run between May and August.

You will need to attend a minimum of five, and maximum of six sessions, within a course to be offered club membership. If bad weather, genuine illness or unavailability of the ground or coaches reduces the number of available Saturdays or Wednesdays to less than five, top-up sessions will be offered on mutually convenient Sundays.

Times:

Saturday course

• Saturdays weeks one and two from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm.
• Saturdays week three onwards from 10.30 am to 1.00 pm.
• Sunday 'top-ups', if needed, from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm.

Wednesday course

Please note: Wednesday lessons will only take place if demand is high enough.

• All weeks, 6.00 pm until dusk or 9.00 pm, whichever is earlier. Younger children may leave at 8.00 pm, if appropriate.

Cost:

• Full course of five or six lessons: £30.00.

If you join the club within one month of completing the course you will receive a £15.00 discount. When this discount is applied will depend on when you join. If you join before 1 July the discount will be applied immediately; if you join on or after 1 July, the discount will be applied to your renewal at 1 October that year. If you have joined on or after 1 July and do not renew your membership, the discount will be forfeited. For details of the cost of joining please see the 'fees' page.

Payment:

Once you have been offered a place on the course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of £15.00. The balance of the money and a completed enrolment form (see below) will be required around a month later.

Please note: If you miss either of the dates you will lose your place on the course and any monies already paid will be forfeit. Even if you have paid in full, if you do not submit your enrolment form by the required date, you will lose your place. The form is your insurance cover and, in the case of people under the age of 18, it is also the parental consent form, therefore without this, you will not be allowed to shoot.

• Beginner’s enrolment form for completing electronically (Word: 52.0 KB).
• Beginner’s enrolment form for completing by hand (Word: 53.5 KB).

You will be advised of the details of the address to send the monies and completed form to, once you have been offered a place.

Logbook:

You will need to print out and bring the beginner's logbook with you to every lesson (see below). This acts both as your record and allows the coaches to keep track of what elements of the course still need covering.

• Beginner’s logbook (Word: 67.0 KB).

Why not give archery a go, we might just turn you into the next Robin Hood (see the picture on the right).

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We provide all the equipment you need and if you do join, you can carry on using this equipment for the first three months of your membership, at no extra charge, provided that it is not needed for another beginner. If you wish to carry on using our equipment after this three month period, we will charge you £1 per session to use a bow and £2 per session for arrows. Again this is provided that the equipment is not needed by another beginner.

In addition to the beginner's draw-weight bows, we have a very limited number of heavier (stronger) bows that are available for new members. While these would never be needed by beginners, arrows of the correct length may be. Use of these heavier bows is subject to the same usage terms and conditions as detailed for the beginners bows in the above paragraph.

However if you already have your own equipment and would prefer to use this, we would need to check it over before you use it the first time, to make sure that it meets current safety standards.

Once you have become a member, if you wish to shoot at our indoor venue, you will need to provide all your own equipment, as other than targets, we keep no club equipment there.

Please do not to be tempted to purchase your own equipment until you have tried a few types of bows. Make sure that you take a knowledgeable person with you when you do go to buy your first bow and arrows.

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Winter – At this time of the year, it's lots of layers of close fitting clothes. You can't wear anything bulky or with zips, chest pockets etc as these can catch in the bow string.

If you have shoulder length or longer hair, bring something to tie it back with. If the wind blows and your hair whips forward, again it can catch in the bow string, which can be extremely painful.

For the feet, wear something good and solid and waterproof. Although we don't shoot in the rain, the grass is wet at this time of year anyway and it can be very muddy.

Summer – Again you need to wear a close fitting top to stop the bow string catching. Although it may be tempting for the men not to wear a top at all, don't do it. If you have a hairy chest, it is very easy for the string to wrap in the hairs. This hurts – a lot – as one of our club members can confirm.

As in the winter, shoulder length or longer hair needs to be tied back.

For the feet, you need to wear flat shoes or trainers. Sandals do not provide a firm enough base to balance your body, nor do they provide adequate protection.

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Bring something non-alcoholic to drink. Even in winter you can start to dehydrate. If this happens your shooting becomes inaccurate. Likewise, if shooting all day, bring food with you.

Please note – Mixing alcohol with archery is potentially very dangerous, therefore if you have had even one drink, please do not attempt to try and shoot. If we suspect that you have had any alcohol we will not let you shoot.

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Once you have completed your beginner's course, if you wish to continue, you must join. For this we need you to complete both the membership application form and two copies of the membership health form (see below). There are guidance notes to help you complete the health form.

The health forms are in strict confidence and are kept in locked cabinets at both our indoor and outdoor venue. They will only be used if an emergency occurs and may be passed to medical staff if they are called to the scene.

• Membership application form for completing electronically (Word: 49.0 KB).
• Membership application form for completing by hand (Word: 49.5 KB).

• Membership health form (Word: 51.0 KB).
• Guidance notes for completion of health form (Word: 22.0 KB).

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