We are a small friendly club based in Warlingham, Surrey and our main discipline is target archery. In addition to this we also run longbow and clout shoots, including hosting the Surrey County Clout Championships and the Surrey County Longbow Championships.
The Club
Archery club size is normally bimodal: either large with 100+ members (some as many as 200) or small with around 50 members - we fall into the latter category. We do not own our own grounds; as a result, we only get access to our field on Sundays and summer Wednesday evenings (and the occasional Saturday).
However, we consider this an advantage to club cohesion as all members get to shoot together and this fosters a friendly camaraderie. It also means people are able to discuss any archery related issues with more experienced members and to receive assistance.
Some of our archers have represented their country and county and some still retain county records. Also, members have the opportunity to represent the Club at various competitions if they wish and the county should they qualify. However, you don't need to aspire to be the next Robin Hood, Hawkeye or Katniss Everdeen to enjoy your archery - for many it's just a sociable sport in beautiful surroundings. Whatever your aspirations we can help you achieve them and enjoy your archery.
If you want to know more about the Club, read on...
Management committee and coaches
The Club is managed on behalf of the members by a management committee elected each year at the Club's AGM. The 'officers' of the Club are the President, Secretary, Treasurer and Captain*. These 4 plus the Records Officer and the Safeguarding Officer are also Directors of the Club.
Our coaches are experienced Club members. They are qualified to the national Archery GB coaching standards and undergo regular enhanced DBS checks.
* The Club Captain's role is currently being covered by other members of the committee.
David Short - Club President
Dave has been with the Club since 1977, starting as a junior archer, and shoots recurve freestyle.
He won his first of many Surrey Championship titles in 1986 and followed this up by achieving Grand Master Bowman status in 1988. He still holds some county records.
Dave has also been a coach in the past and has a great breadth and depth of knowledge on the skills required to be successful in archery.
Contact: via the Club's 'Contact' form
Keith Barrett - Club Secretary
Keith is the primary contact for anyone joining the Club or enrolling on beginners' courses. He is responsible for most internal and external communications as well as keeping minutes of Committee meetings and AGMs.
Keith has been a member for over 30 years, shoots recurve freestyle, and describes himself as a keen club archer. Over the years he has fulfilled several of the other Committee posts and has been Secretary since our move to Warlingham Park School in 1996.
In more recent times he has acquired another 'string to his bow' being caterer to the annual Surrey Clout Championships hosted by the Club.
Contact: secretary@warlinghamarchers.uk
Paul Gardner - Club Treasurer, Webmaster and coach
You will invariably see Paul with his little book and moneybag collecting the shooting fees at the field.
Paul has been with the club since 2001 starting with recurve and since 2009 shoots longbow (summer) and recurve freestyle (winter). He has won county target and clout championships and has represented the county shooting the longbow.
He became the Club's Treasurer in 2009 and keeps track of all income and expenditure incurred by the Club to ensure our finances remain healthy and the Club's tax affairs are in order.
He has been maintaining the Club’s website since 2014 and qualified as a Level 1 coach in 2017.
Contact: treasurer@warlinghamarchers.uk or webmaster@warlinghamarchers.uk
Gillian Reeve - Club Records Officer
Gill became Records Officer in June 2022 and has been with the Club since 2018 and shoots recurve freestyle.
She will record the members’ scores, if they submit score sheets, and calculate their classifications and handicap using the Club's software package. This also provides the information for the twice yearly awards of the many Club trophies and medals to recognise members progress and achievements at all levels. Individual performance reports are also available on request.
Gill also administers our National and County winter competition entries.
Contact: recordsofficer@warlinghamarchers.uk
Sue Lyle - Club Safeguarding/Welfare Officer
Sue became the Safeguarding Officer in June 2022 and has been at the Club since 2019 and shoots recurve freestyle.
Contact: safeguarding@warlinghamarchers.uk
Gary Lidbetter - coach
Gary started in 2008 and is shooting recurve freestyle. He qualified as a coach in 2013.
Our history
Warlingham Archery Club was founded in 1951 and has moved between a number of sites within the Warlingham area since then. We have been established at our current site since 1996.
In 2011, we celebrated our Diamond anniversary with an invitation shoot with all attendees and members receiving a commemorative mug.
The Club has thrived in recent years and today we have a keen and active membership, with a variety of abilities and interests within the sport of Archery.
Our Club badge depicts one of the archers from the frieze of the Bayeux tapestry. (There are 23 archers depicted in the tapestry which you can now view online. Counting from the left, can you identify the 1 that most resembles our badge? They start at the 55 metre mark - note that Harold gets it in the eye at the 57 metre mark.)