UK Student Archery Association

Gwangju for you [04/Nov/14]

29C and 80% humidity, with the rainy season approaching? Not the UK in November, but Gwangju, South Korea in July when the 28th Summer Universiade rolls in to town in 2015. Archery takes its place as one of the guest sports. Relevant details and links are in the Internationals section.

Archery GB has published some information (on 24th October) about team selection for this event. There will be an Archery GB selection shoot on the weekend of 25th April 2015) combined with the selection shoot for the World Senior, Junior and Para Champs. Registration for this - and the £30 entry fee - is required by 14th November.

You need to have shot certain qualifying scores to be eligible, see the Selection Policy document on the Archery GB site. Broadly speaking, recurves need 1230s. Qualifying scores need to be submitted to stephanie.kelly@@archerygb.org, with a completed application form including a £30 entry fee - that deadline again, 14th November.

The closing date for nominations to BUCS is 15th January 2015.

Perhaps the real headline is that, according to the Selection Policy document, the cost of attending the event is in excess of £3,000 per athlete, and each athlete will be required to make a contribution in the region of circa £1,200-£1,500. Each selected athlete will be required to fully cover this cost as there will be no Archery GB contribution - not even the £30 selection shoot entry fee. In fact for recurves, even the selection shoot could be moot since the second & third archer will be selected for nomination by the Performance Director and Head of Performance on a discretionary basis.

It is disappointing that Archery GB are not even part funding the trip, albeit to a far flung part of the world. Aren't the cream of the 2015 student crop likely to be contenders for the Olympics of 2020 and 2024, if not 2016?

Still, if you've 2.4 million South Korean won lying around, check out the Internationals section for details and links. If you're not a UK passport holder then consult your "home" equivalent to BUCS.