Wymondham Archery Club started after 2012 Games is UK biggest
A town archery club that started amid the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games has grown to become the largest in the UK.Wymondham Archers club in Norfolk began in 2013 and already has more than 350 members, with the youngest archer seven years old and the oldest coming in at 91. Peter Hill, chair of the club, said that, despite the Robin Hood cliches, the club was a "community asset"."What it does mean for us is we are making archery more acceptable and appreciated by people across the community," he said.
"We are massive by comparison to where we were in 2018/19... quite unbelievably we are the largest UK Archery GB club."
Governing body Archery GB said that out of the 779 GB archery clubs nationwide, 18 were based in Norfolk. It said there were many benefits of the sport, including mental and physical health, tackling isolation - and teaching focus and resilience. It was one of the original Paralympic sports and could be adapted for any ability, Archery GB said.
Mr Hill said that with such a diverse age range, members played alongside each other creating friendships and building camaraderie. "It really is more than just an archery club because of the breadth of age and because of the breadth of ability you end up in a very familiar environment," he said."It's a really good sport because we don't have to pass the ball, it's just solitary yet we stand side by side." Mr Hill hailed the sport's accessibility with members who have physical and hidden disabilities. In the future, he hoped the club and its facilities would continue to grow, with aspirations of an indoor archery range that would be unique to East Anglia. He described how one of the club's members said the club provided "caviar archery for fishfingers prices" which, he added, said "a lot about the quality we provide and the affordability".
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