Open Day and Fundraiser

Aequus Archers Open Day and Fundraiser – Saturday 27th August 2022

After much hard work and organisation, on Saturday 27th August 2022 Aequus Archers ran their first Open Day and Fundraiser event on the club field at Milford.

The field was decked out with bunting, balloons, and a gazebo providing refreshments, as well as all things archery. I have to say I have never seen so much balloon-blowing skill being displayed in one place at one time!

Thanks to Morrisons Community Champion and our keen club bakers we were able to provide refreshments the funds from which will be donated to Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society – the club’s chosen charity this year. As a result of the generosity of our visitors and club members, we will be able to make a donation of £125, in memory and support of those families who have been touched by this devastating syndrome. Baptiste, you did a fabulous job of making sure people bought cake and drinks.

We offered four ‘have-a-go’ sessions for juniors and seniors and these were very well attended raising £325 for the club. Visitors received some basic coaching, and then scored 18 arrows, followed by a competition to see who could get closest to the gold. It was fantastic to see the wider community of Belper participating in our beloved sport.

We are hoping that as a result of the ‘have-a-go’ sessions we will see some of the participants move onto a beginners course and, hopefully, become members of our club which will help to continue to secure the club’s future.

It was also fantastic to see club members demonstrating their skills on the main field, showing how diverse we are not just in terms of the type of bows we shoot, and the distances we shoot, but also in our membership and the fact that we like to support each other and have fun. of archery, we get involved in. There were lots of questions from our guests about our club which was brilliant.

A final word from me – a massive thanks to Abi for pulling all the publicity together for the event and managing all the bookings. To Shaun and to Clare R for being on hand to support the coaching process, to the working party who went down to the field on Friday night to cut back vegetation, clear the footpath and importantly, fill the rabbit holes! To everyone who volunteered their time today to promote our club and show our community why we love archery.

Clare King 27.8.22