UK Student Archery Association

Lockdowns, firebreaks and tiers [19/Nov/20]

The E-League is attempting to navigate a path through the choppy and changeable waters of Covid-19 restrictions. November is usually the E-League's Round 2, but this season November (the E-League round) has been scrapped, with November (the calendar month) being split between the rounds either side. The Sep/Oct round was extended until Sat 14th Nov, with a revised score submission deadline of Sat 21st Nov. Check out the E-League section for the latest and submit your scores on the E-League website itself.

Last season's podium were Warwick, Birmingham and Oxford, with a chasing pack of Exeter, Plymouth and Loughborough in 4th, 5th and 6th.

The Dec/Jan round now starts on Sun 15th Nov and runs til the end of January 2021. This will help avert a wipeout in November (the E-League round) but that any scores which are shot during November (the calendar month) are not wasted. As it stands now, the February and March rounds are unaffected. Depending on the volume of scores received, further changes are not ruled out.

The change brings the number of E-League rounds in 2020/21 down from 5 to 4. The E-League has had four rounds twice before in 2005/06 and 2019/20.

In a similar vein, SSS organisers have extended their first leg of the season. This is now scheduled to run for the 4 weeks from Monday 15th November until Sunday 13th December. SSS leg 1 is the only regional league match scheduled before Christmas. The combination of firebreak in Wales and lockdown in England has put NEUAL, BUTTS, SEAL and SWWU completely on hold until the new year.

Out of the 10 regular SSS clubs, Glasgow, Strathclyde and UWS are located in local authorities set to move into tier 4 (the highest one) of coronavirus restrictions which permits no indoor archery at all. Most of the rest of the league are currently in tier 3 local authorities, with no indoor archery for over 18s. Only Aberdeen are - for now - in tier 2.

In a typical November, the student archery calendar is brimming with fixtures and possibility. Regional league tables for the season have been published, but everyone is joint first on zero and sorted alphabetically, a further boost for Aberdeen, as well as for Bradford, Birmingham, Anglia Ruskin and Aberystwyth. Hard lines to West of Scotland, York, Warwick, West of England and Sussex.

BUTC organisers hope to have a hosting announcement before too long. The preferred weekend is 27/28 March 2021. BUTC 2020 had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, so it is to be hoped that the discs will be rolling again in 2021.