History

A Brief History of Maidenhead Archers

1952	Maidenhead Bowmen were formed, introducing a new sport in the Maidenhead area. The shooting venue varied, as did the membership numbers.
1972	Maidenhead Bowmen held their first A.G.M. at Braywick Sports Ground, their now permanent shooting ground.
1987	Maidenhead Bowmen merged with the archery division of the sports and social club of Flexello Ltd. The Flexello Club, founded in the spring of 1976, used to share a ground at Taplow with the other sporting divisions of the company. The sports club lost the use of the venue, and became a club without a ground. The Club name changed to Maidenhead Flexello Bowmen.
1999	Support from Flexello Ltd ceased and the Club name changed to Maidenhead Archers. The current site at Braywick has hosted an archery club for nearly 30 years – in fact, ever since it became a sports ground.
	The Club can boast of several beginners who have been – and are – shooting for the county of Berkshire, as well as a former member who has shot for England at Internationals and the Olympics. Some former members have progressed to become county or even national coaches, or become authors of archery books which are widely referred to.

A Brief History of Archery as a Sport

	Archery is one of the oldest sports which is still practised today. The bow and arrow can be found as far back as the Palaeolithic era, which started around 2.6 million years ago. Archery has long been popular as an amateur sport, especially in England.
	The World’s oldest and longest established recorded sporting event is the Ancient Scorton Arrow, which was first held in North Yorkshire and has been in existence since 1673. This competition has continued to be held annually ever since.
	The Grand National Archery Society (GNAS, but now operating under its trading name of Archery GB) is the governing body for all types of archery in the UK and was formed in 1861.
	Competitions are divided into categories and cover target, field and flight shooting. In target archery, various rounds are shot – the rounds being defined by different combinations of arrows shot and the distances involved.
	Archery was a sport in the Olympics between 1900 and 1920, but was dropped after this as there were no internationally recognized rules. Rules were established in the 1930’s by the World Archery Federation (also and formerly known as FITA from the French Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc), but archery was not reintroduced into the Olympics until 1972 as an individual event. However, the only type of bow to be used is a recurve, not longbow or compound. Since the 1984 games, the South Korean women have excelled in the women’s event and won 14 out of a possible 15 gold medals. Olympic events consist of a ranking round, an elimination round followed by the finals round. 70 metres is the standard distance shot for Olympic archery.