Background to the British Long-Bow Society
The British Longbow Society (BL-BS, BLBS) was formed in 1951 with the primary aim of keeping the tradition of shooting the English/British recreational longbow alive. It organises competitions around the UK and has affiliates in Ireland, the Netherlands and the US. The Rules of Shooting are sent to new members - basically all shoots are 2-way with no sighters and no bouncers allowed. Members attending BL-BS organised shoots are eligible for national rankings and awards.
There are a number of BL-BS websites currently active (as listed by Google). The latest official iteration appears more complete although no on-line shooting diary available yet.
Around March of each year, members receive a printed Events Diary listing all the competitions for the coming year together with application forms for all events. Below are listed those open events occurring in the SE England region (similar to AGB’s SCAS region).
Shoots organised by BL-BS are in bold text, those organised by others (eg AGB affiliated clubs) but shooting to BL-BS rules are in normal text. There are only 2 types of shoot organised by the BL-BS, Target and Clout, listed below:
Target shoots
Rounds are always imperial and 2-way (unless stated otherwise). The overall winner is the archer achieving the most hits (silver medal), 2nd is based on highest score (bronze medal) 3rd is based on most golds (bronze medal). These are awarded on an 'unrewarded basis' - so, if you win on hits you are excluded for the 'score' and 'golds' awards - this way more archers are rewarded.
If double rounds are shot then awards are also made for the first and second rounds, again on an unrewarded basis, in addition to the overall shoot winners.
Longbows shooting a 2-way round
Date | Title/location | Rounds | Organiser/contact | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
22 April 2023 | Hurricane Longbow shoot Leaves Green Bowmen Jail Lane, Biggin Hill, Kent TN16 3AX | Single Western, 1-way | hurricane@leavesgreenbowmen.org.uk | |
6 May 2023 | Surrey County Longbow Championships + Open (Spring) Warlingham Archery Club, Surrey CR6 9PB | Single Western | Paul Gardner longbow@surreyarchery.org | |
tbc May 2023 | BL-BS Spring Target Meeting The Royal Toxophilite Society, Archers Lodge, Dropmore Road, Burnham, Buckinghamshire | York/Hereford | Mr F. Fairfield fg.fairfield@googlemail.com | BLBS Events Guide |
10 May 2023 | Southern Counties Archery Meeting (Longbow day) Waterside Archery Grounds, Exbury, Hampshire SO45 1AZ | Double National | Carla Piper secretary.scam@scasarchery.org.uk | |
17 May 2023 | Silver shoot West Kent Archery Society The Butts, TN15 8QN | Hereford/ National | Sheena Turner | |
20 May 2023 | Coronation Shoot West Kent Archery Society The Butts, TN15 8QN | Windsor | Sheena Turner | |
10 June 2023 | Kent Archery Association Longbow Day The Butts, TN15 8QN | Double National, 1-way | Sheena Turner | |
1 July 2023 | West Kent Archery Society Championships The Butts, TN15 8QN | York | Sheena Turner | |
5 August 2023 | West Kent Archery Society Meeting The Butts, TN15 8QN | Albion | Sheena Turner | |
2 Sept 2023 | Surrey County Longbow Championships + Open (Autumn) Warlingham Archery Club, Surrey, CR6 9PB | Single Western | Paul Gardner longbow@surreyarchery.org | |
9 Sept 2023 | BL-BS West Kent Meeting The Butts, TN15 8QN | Hereford | Sheena Turner | |
23 Sept 2023 | Spitfire Longbow shoot Leaves Green Bowmen Jail Lane, Biggin Hill, Kent TN16 3AX | Single Western, 1-way | hurricane@leavesgreenbowmen.org.uk | |
tbc Sept 2023 | BL-BS 70th Annual Target Meeting The Royal Toxophilite Society, Archers Lodge, Dropmore Road, Burnham, Buckinghamshire | York/Double National | Mr F. Fairfield fg.fairfield@googlemail.com | BLBS Events Guide |
7 October 2023 | South Eastern Target Meeting Newhaven Archery Club, Firle, Sussex | York/Double National | Ron Floor ron_longbow1@hotmail.co.uk | BLBS Events Guide |
Clout shoots
Shooting the SE Clout, Tonbridge
For BLBS you shoot at a target 30” diameter, white with a central 4” black spot, raised at approx 45 degrees. They are always 2-way, double (2 rounds of 36 arrows), no sighters. Gents shoot at 180 yards; ladies at 120 yards. Concentric rings are marked at 30", 4', 7', 10' and 13' from the centre. Scoring is similar to AGB but if an arrow touches the target (clout) it scores 6.
Also an additional “shoot-off by ends” is held: during the double round the scorer notes at each end whose arrow is nearest the middle – judged by distance of the part of the arrow nearest the clout, not necessarily where it meets the ground (so that archer “wins the end” regardless of score). At the end of the double round, shoot-offs are held for 2 ladies/target and 2 gentlemen/target with the most best arrows (aka “ends won”). Each archer shoots 2 arrows individually in turn and the nearest to the clout wins the "shoot-off”.
Date | Title/location | Rounds | Organiser/contact | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
27 May 2023 | BL-BS South Eastern Spring Clout Meeting Tonbridge School Centre, London Road, Tonbridge, TN10 3AD (TBC) | Double | Sheena Turner | |
14 October 2023 | BL-BS South Eastern Autumn Clout Meeting Tonbridge School Centre, London Road, Tonbridge, TN10 3AD (TBC) | Double | Sheena Turner |
Page updated 24 March 2023