Health

Would you fight to stay shooting? Do you realise what you would loose? I do, I have ❤️🏹

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health
Flight, my favourite archery and what kept me going – scrapyard challenge meets archery 😉😂🥰🏹

If you were asked – what do you get out of archery? What would you say? If you were asked – what would you loose if it was taken from you? What would you say?

Have a think, you don’t have to tell me, you can, but you don’t have to.
So now you have thought and you think you know the answer.
Someone tries to take it, what would you do? Let them? Or would you fight to keep what it gives you?

Sound dramatic? Or it’s Saturday and you don’t like thinking too hard after being at work all week 🙃

I am asked often about what I get from what I do, there must be a reason I give between 20-40 hours a week for free on top of family, working full time and my own archery.

I know what archery can give, the ability to calm a stressed mind. My work sees me deal with complex, stressful situations. Highly emotive and draining some days. I can list the situations that have meant I go home and can’t clear the things I dealt with that day and have brought home with me, maybe I will sit and cry, drink a bottle of wine, some way of trying to deal with what the day brought me. If we go back to 2018 when I passed my beginners course, I had been shooting only a few weeks and sent a message home to say I was going to be late, I was headed into a debrief, I had taken a suicide call, it had ended tragically. 45 minutes later I received a text with a photo of my bow set up on the waiting line – “Molly is waiting for you when you finish”.

2 hours of shooting, if I don’t clear my mind those arrows aren’t going anywhere near where they are supposed to. Went home, ate dinner with my family and relaxed, no crying, no alcohol. My bow has provided that service often, she demands that I clear my head, she is selfish, if I do not give her my entire focus she misbehaves. That – that is what she gives me, the ability to let go of what my mind is carrying.


It’s also given me, my people, we are all a little quirky, those of us who fling arrows, so for the most part, we are quite accepting of the things that make each of us different. That cannot be overrated, the ability to be yourself, to let your personality free. Are you a literal thinker, a logical mind, someone who loves rules, repetition and routine. Ours is a sport made for minds who thrive on structure. It’s part of why the pandemic had such a huge impact when we were locked in and for periods of time kept off the range. That loss of routine and ability to have a space where we empty our minds. Society demands things, wants you to fit in boxes created by others, ranges and archers let you be you, with no demands or explanations needed.

There is no secret of what I have gone through on a physical, pain basis to shoot and remain shooting, the battle with my mind to sit to shoot. I have told the story and been invited into other people’s struggles as a result – surely a privilege.

But, having fought that struggle to remain and shoot. I was told very clearly by a person who I had trust in, that I had no place on a range, any range. No role in the sport in any capacity as an archer, a volunteer, project manager ….. any role. That I should walk away. They used information that our friendship gave them, over a period of 6 months to really make incredibly brutal statements about why I should walk away. November 21 to May 22 – words can create damage, and how they are delivered can create so much more.

In addition there were other things happening that were creating massive issues with my ability to feel safe on a range, issues being created by my past that had been raised and were part of what that person was using too, along with others who do not know what they are referring to but know there’s something.

All of this combined to put me in a place where I was my most mentally vulnerable since 1996. Where should I go for my mind? The range, but of course it had been made clear that there was no place for me there. So I deteriorated massively, nowhere to go, nowhere to be safe.

Remember that I said in my space I found my people? Well they were still there, I thought I lost them with my ranges and my sport. Nope! They held on, and wouldn’t let go, even though I had. A small group who together helped me find where I can go when I need safe shooting space – safe for my head. I now have a list of ranges that when I am at my most vulnerable I can walk on and each has a couple of people who will stand beside me and shoot with no need for me to explain but will just be there, whenever I need them. Others will sit with me by the power of the virtual world in the middle of the night and listen to me talk and cry and there have been literally days and nights when it’s been just about reminding me to breathe.

In the middle of all of this, because it wasn’t widely known what I was going through, though many had seen me cry on the shooting line, I took a call from someone I knew who needed help, broken down mentally and need support, someone who had used me before in my capacity as a safeguarding officer. They were getting help from the right people medically but needed someone who understood what the loss of their sport meant. Well I certainly understood that! So in the middle of my mess I could help someone else.

Then a chat about my future in the sport outside of my own shooting, a talk that saw me 24 hours later with a non profit company and an application to the government for a Community Interest Company. My projects reviewed and decisions made about my way forward. That same night a discussion about my clothes, where were my crazy leggings? More decisions made there – a reminder that this sport, with my people, accept me and my crazy 😂 so yes they would be back on the range in their wild technicolour 🥰

So the work began, to claim my right to be on the range and to be in my sport and to rebuild the safe spaces for my mind to breathe.

The outdoor season was torrid, I love competition, I am not interested in anyone else’s scores, just shooting against myself. However in the middle of that is the magic that is my flight season, you want to be accepted? There you will be truly welcome with no fear of what anyone will say. My flight family are, for the most part approximately 200 miles away, but there always. Those competition’s definitely gave me positive focus. Of course, 2022 also saw me shoot the amazing footbow which it turns out makes me laugh, really laugh with every shot fired.

Indoor season, we had been told the devastating news in the summer that dad had cancer and it was terminal, and so we focused and come the end of the summer we really had to put our focus as a family here, we were going to squeeze what we could from however little time we had and we knew it was going to be short. So I declared my indoor season cancelled, no competitions, no regular training, me and my clingy band doing what we could to keep muscles from quitting but only rarely shooting an arrow. My archery family reaching out when I needed it, but respecting every time I said I needed to focus on family. I will forever be grateful for that, when I was able to walk onto a range with my bow, just picking up like I hadn’t been away.

When the time came and we lost the amazing person that was my dad, I was away for weeks. My archery family, staying with virtually – calls, messages, hours on FaceTime and someone actually driving many miles to just sit and check that I was ok.

I have been home for almost 4 weeks, and have managed to shoot with some regularity. It’s been in this time that it has hit me dad has gone, he’s not there to tell how things are going with my little business or my shooting, those weekly chats have gone.

What I do know is this, my life is a mess and I am dealing with all that has happened in the last 17 months and the history that has been dragged back into my life. However my safe space that I lost and needed and was given back to me by my fight and the help of those archers who always accepted me, is back. It’s mine, I have claimed it. For sure there are a small number of places I will never return to with a bow, that will never be mentally safe for me again, but that is the price I will pay for what is now my calm space, that with the work that I have put in since June has now become a calmer, mentally safer place than it ever was even before.

Also, whilst I am celebrating the return of this, that I have survived and stand here stronger in my archery than I ever was, if I am careful next weekend I may actually achieve something I never have before so 🤞🏻 because it will, for me, be a reward that going through that very worst of times I made it. It will also be something to show those who have stood by me throughout this, that maybe it was worth it for them too, and to those who told me I have no place, that one strongest voice, well you know what? I do have a place, the rest of my life is in a state of carnage that I am taking day by day but here, on the range and in my sport, I do have a place and you have no right to take it from me and no idea of what you almost cost me.

Thank you to every single person who has given me anything this last 17 months, I can now say that yes, I do know what my sport gives me, and yes I will fight for my right to be on a range as much as I have battled for others in the last 6 years.

Maybe, just maybe, next Saturday evening I can pop back and tell you that I have achieved something that I didn’t know I would finish this season with, if I do it may seem small to some but for me it will be massive. 🤗

The point of this, don’t ever give up because someone tells you that you must, and that if you need it, this archery family is full of the most amazing people who will help you if you allow them to.

My last competition of the outdoor season, pulled on my county shirt before concentrating on family, my squad family never gave up 🥰🏹

Week 34 – possible trigger – be aware 🤗

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health, weekly update
What do you see when you look at these?

Happy pancake day!
How do you prefer them – sweet or savoury – I enjoy both and have no issue with having both in one sitting? Hence the weight I need to loose 🫣😂

Lots of planning and catch up in this last week means lots of meetings this coming week, excited to hear some of what will be discussed. Today I have the first of two meetings with coaches who work on my projects and I shall be feeding them pancakes 🥞 they may just be distracted enough to agree to my ideas whilst eating 😉

So I shall need to think about what to feed those that I shall be meeting later in the week.

I said this may contain a trigger warning.

About 10 days ago I was asked to consider talking/writing about my lived experiences with mental health and suicide. I have agreed and have been putting lots of thoughts down on paper, some things I can’t discuss, some I won’t – but that still leaves plenty to share. Why? Only by talking can we continue to work to remove stigma and to make it more freely acceptable to talk about issues that we are facing and this might help others when faced with their own darkest thoughts to reach out to someone.

As I have considered what I should include, I kept coming back to how we never know what someone is going through and often those of us are in a dark place are hiding it for various reasons but mainly to protect ourselves or to protect others.

So – take a look at those two images at the top of the page.
Taken about 8 months apart – Both versions of me were facing huge challenges but sharing very little.

The first? – I was sharing information and excited about lots of projects and plans but that version of me felt she had a place, a purpose and some worth. She felt loved and cared for and safe. She felt she mattered and that people could see her.

The second? – I had been to the hospital a couple of days earlier, finding myself in a place where the only answer was to save everyone from having to deal with me by simply no longer being here. I didn’t discuss it with anyone but I had it all planned, a small handful of people were aware of some of the challenges that I was facing – most were the same challenges in both photographs, but my worth, value, feeling of being safe had been removed – dramatically so. I certainly no longer felt I added anything other than burden to anyone’s life. Certainly didn’t feel loved. I will be forever grateful that on that day some sent a message that reached in, they didn’t know, but somehow the universe did.

Both show me laughing, I learned many years ago to hide, and I do! Daily! An incredibly small number of people have enough information now to be able to offer me support, 2 outside the medical profession know everything. I shall continue to hide, but that request to consider sharing my experiences feels important and as I sit writing everything down and looking at what I can’t or won’t share, I do also need to think about who my sharing will impact, namely my children.

But we all see those memes and messages about be careful you never know what a person is going through. Those two photos I think are an excellent example – 8 months apart, both laughing but very very different and both hiding so very much.

So one day at a time and I move forward. Much love to you all and if you are struggling – reach out to someone – I promise you are loved and valued more than you will allow yourself to believe ❤️

If you have been triggered by anything here please visit Mind to find help.

Laughter can hide so very much

Things change, don’t be afraid to try something new if you want to stay shooting ❤️🏹 but support is there if you reach out

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health, Joining forces for strength
Rarely found without a silly face – my armour!

I picked up a bow in the spring of 2018, I had been around ranges for a while since the rest of the house was shooting and had been for a while. I loved the sound of the arrows hitting the boss, still find it soothing and I am happy to sit and read a book listening to that noise.

I had made friends, supported people, joined committees and thought maybe I should give it a whirl. Talked about it with lots of people, I don’t make rash decisions 😂🫣 I have a number of issues that I knew would likely make my shooting time short, but with some effort I might get 2-3 years. So off I went in the winter of 2017 and got a compound bow ready for after I had completed my planned beginners course early 2018. The issues with my back and shoulder pretty much mean compound is the only suitable bow style.

So there we have the first “issue” a group of established archers who protested – a brand new, novice archer with a compound bow, nope cannot be allowed, so dangerous and time limits were suggested from 12 to 24 months that I should have to shoot an alternative bow style, preferably recurve, to prove I was safe before being allowed on a range with a compound bow!!

I was lucky, very lucky, to have a group of archers and committee members support me and once I completed my beginners course, the offer of a coach – brave enough to stand beside the dangerous prospect of a beginner with a compound bow and so began my journey to shoot, not know what was coming!

My coach was starting his (then named) level 2 coaching course and the candidates needed a “Guinea pig” (my term – don’t be offended) to work with and take to their assessment. So we sat with the paperwork where I had to explain the many issues with my body that were going to be an issue with the goals I had set myself. Or rather he sat, I stood as I genuinely expected at some point during the conversation he would tell me it was a non starter and I would be better selling my bow and quitting. Nope, he never flinched and just said, right, let’s learn together!

Without a doubt having someone who never flinches and stands beside you in support is one of the greatest gifts anyone can have.

We worked and I worked hard! My aim was to get to the summer and the club celebration shoot an informal, relaxed environment with a competition and cake! My family however were much more confident in me and advised me that my first competition was booked for April! (I do not advocate booking people on to competition without their permission, my family know me though).

By the end of that first outdoor season I had shot 23 competitions and was shooting for the county – the most amazing and supportive group of archers led by, in my opinion, the best county captain there is. I had fallen in love with a 1440 and enjoyed a Hereford – but these long rounds would see me stand all day, couldn’t allow myself to sit and relax because once I do that the pain hits massively, my relationship with pain, is like everyone’s – personal and individual, but I do not take painkillers because I have watched someone very close to me struggle for many years with addiction to pain medication, I know that there will be a lot of opinion and I am not saying my way is by any means correct, but it’s my way.

I am so very grateful to those who have always supported me, laughed with me on the range whilst watching me struggle with the pain and sat with me and held my hand at the end of the day when, after raffles and medals and everything else is over, I lay on the floor and let my body relax and allow the pain in, and as my muscles spasm and seize up and I cannot move they chat with me and sometimes cry with me.

My coach suggested maybe we look at sitting to shoot, no! No – I saw this as giving in, I don’t give in to my pain, I had never done so. I was 43 and had struggled forever, for me sitting was giving in. So on we went. I had set myself a goal at the beginning of the season – a third class, I came away with a second class – happy? No! I had so many scores that were just a handful of points from a first class! So I saw failure – I had surpassed my goal but felt that I had let myself down! Trust me I know what my counsellor has said about this – my mind is and will likely always be my biggest issue.


Indoor season saw me start county coaching and a change of coach, supported back at club by my first coach. Looking at the issues that impact me both physically and mentally. I never shot less than double sessions indoors but often did the triple, I felt that I needed to keep my body capable of that consistency and volume ready to go back outdoors, a double is a few less so in my mind the triple – a few extra seemed obvious and I was having fun. I hate indoors, makes me feel trapped but I fell in love with the vegas and set myself the goal that in 2025 I will go to Vegas and shoot a Vegas for my 50th birthday.

As summer 2019 approached my body was showing the impact of shooting between 800 – 1000 arrows a week and I started to worry I might not manage that 3 years I had hoped for in the beginning. But consistency started to fail as the pain sometimes kicked in during the day despite my best efforts. My coach found himself away for work and I was a little lost, though he also suggested sitting to shoot! What is wrong with these people!

Another 2nd class at the end of summer 2019, again so close to that first! and the worry that the pain would slowly increase and the chance at the first class would be lost forever. So a new coach? First meeting we discussed all the issues and I warned him friend or not, do not suggest that I sit to shoot! He decided it was time to add to the team, and a call was made to our mutual friend who is also a physio. Sometimes you need an expert!

Within a couple of weeks I had my first session with the physio and lots of tears, the NHS who are brilliant have only ever dealt with me a bit at a time but this was a list of everything, what the implications are and how we might approach them.

As the indoor season progressed the issue of the stool was raised and again I refused, but the subject was raised a few weeks later after a particularly difficult shot and I decided that I would data gather, shooting under different conditions over a period of weeks, set days, stood, sat, with and without an agent. I am an evidence based creature and though we thought we knew what the results would show I needed to prove it. I am incredibly grateful to the brave souls who agented and put up with the tantrums because the idea of sitting was still giving in.

Meeting with the physio and looking at the information and agreeing a way forward. Discussion with him and coach as to what we felt the best way to build a stool was and my county team mates set about creating my stool which I hated with a passion, so I must thank them, though I think in truth they enjoyed having a reason to get the power tools out!

So my mind! What do you do when your mind doesn’t want to do what your body needs? Well the county team gave me a talking to, the physio gave me a talking to and a couple of the wheelchair archers who I have agented for sat me down and asked why I wouldn’t give myself what I gave others? Fair question but I wasn’t really in a place to hear it!

As we approached the end of the 19/20 indoor season I found myself struggling to complete even a single round and had several weeks that saw me withdraw part way through competitions, leaving me crying for very different reasons. My last competition on my feet saw me complete the round barefoot, the judge knows me well and knew what was happening to my mental health and with the support of my county team mates I was given very strict rules that allowed me to shoot and finish the session, something I will forever be grateful for 🤗❤️🏹

One of the “naughtiest” things you can do on a range!


Spring 2020 – covid! Turns out this was great timing for Bert, I named the stool to help bond and reduce the resentment, going out when there was almost no one around to get used to the idea and feel of sitting because once people started seeing me they all had questions and opinions – unless you are supporting someone – hold your tongue!

I have cried on ranges, walked out of spaces and had a torrid time, why? My mind still sees sitting as giving in, people say things and enforce the things in my head! What business is it of anyone’s what a person requires in the way of adaptation to shoot? Consider carefully what questions you might ask and also how you ask them, you will rarely be aware of another person’s struggles.

I have learned that as my stool has been tweaked and made to fit me that a substitute can actually hinder me, grateful to the club that leant me theirs when I left Bert at home and it was a valuable lesson.

Outdoors 21 saw me dig in and fight for my right to shoot, as people tried to tell me that if I needed a shooting stool I had no place on the line! What did that determination give me? I finally, by working my backside off to prove myself to others achieved the elusive first class 🥳

It was also in this summer that I found flight, I cannot put into words how much I love flight, it allows me to stand to shoot as there is a very small number of arrows. More than that I am surrounded by the most supportive group of archers, which was so important whilst having to justify my right to shoot target archery.

Indoors 21/22 and outdoors 22 saw other things happening and whilst fighting to prove I had a place on the line the other things happening in my personal life saw me come incredibly close to quitting – life, archery – everything – my beloved sport was no longer a safe place for me to be.

Without a doubt the volunteers who I share the range with at national and international events for AGB and the flight archers kept me shooting.

I was invited to attend a field course and had an incredibly welcoming group of EFAA members allow me to share their day, but as I joined them on their journey through the trees (I was not shooting) it became apparent that the unpredictable nature of the spasms I get in my shoulder mean I will not be safe on a field course, but I would most definitely recommend trying it.

The end of the season saw me grind out the scores amongst the tears to hold onto my first class, but sadly not all ranges are now safe for me to shoot at from a mental health point of view, but I do have several ranges with shooting buddies scattered across them and of course March 23 will see Integr8Archery Club start shooting on our range.

My indoors 22/23 season has been suspended due to personal matters within the family but I am looking forward to getting back at it, though there are some issues with my back which has deteriorated further in recent months, that will need looking at but I have those 8 days at Dunster to look forward to and certainly provide the motivation I need to get out there, that and the flight season will most definitely be high points of summer 23.

Why have I shared all of this? If you have read my blogs you will certainly know some of it already.

The aims of Integr8Archery CIC and Integr8Archery Club are to make our sport open and accessible for everyone, to welcome anyone who wants to try our sport, which is – in my opinion- one of the most accessible and inclusive sports there is, but also to support those who want to stay but face challenges to be able to continue shooting.

It has been a privilege to help those who have allowed me to, some have remained as Friends of Integr8Archery where we support each other. In person on ranges, or virtually in the devices we carry in our pockets and one click away so if we wobble a message from the range to one of us at home keeps us shooting.

Some of those I am allowed to support come to me because they have heard about me from talking to someone I have helped, some approach me on a range to enquire about Bert the shooting stool, but some have come to me through my role as regional safeguarding officer and for 9 of those it’s about their ongoing wellbeing and care. Please don’t be afraid to ask for help, there will be someone you can trust if you are brave enough to ask and I do not underestimate the courage it can take to reach out.

Without a doubt I am probably proudest of using my experience, physically and mentally to help and support others and I am so pleased that people are beginning to recognise that if you are wearing an Integr8Archery shirt that you belong to a group of supportive, like minded archers and you might be on your own on that shooting line but you carry all of us with you.

Great things can come in unexpected ways

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health

Teachers strikes, I am not debating the rights and wrongs of strikes, I rarely air politics publicly – as a result of spending most of my working life employed by central or local government.

My daughter was home on Wednesday as a result of the strikes and we weren’t really sure what to expect for the school club, only 3 out of 15 children attended. Initially seems disappointing however, it gave those children the chance to have some focussed time with their coach to really assess how they were doing. So I am taking it as a positive that we had the chance to have the opportunity to spend focussed time with those 3 children.

The coaches who work with me are amazing and I do not take for granted that their enthusiasm never wavers and they share my ability to sit round a cuppa, discuss any issues arising, bounce ideas to find solutions and then we laugh off those moments where we might have had the urge to scream! They accept my ability to bounce on a sugar high without me actually having had the sugar 😂😂 something many find infuriating but they know that it’s the root of my ability to think outside the box and that allows me to find solutions to the situations that present themselves.

I am weird and quirky and some see that as terrible, but life has taught me the ability to see things differently to most, the experiences that gave me that ability don’t need to be shared but it’s the positive that I take from them and I use it to look at issues that may be a barrier to giving someone the opportunity to try something new. It doesn’t always work but it certainly does regularly and my coaching team embrace my crazy ideas because together we make them work and successfully get bows into hands.

Remember to say thank you to your coach and anyone else who helps you, even in the smallest of ways, to be appreciated is often what gets them back out there on their bad days.

Thursday was Time to Talk day.

I don’t hide my struggles with mental health, they have been there for many years. They have definitely had good spells and bad spells and since November 2021 there has been an incredible battle for me.

May 2022 was definitely the worst for many, many years.

My focus, with the help of a small number of people is to learn to carry what happened, what caused it and shuffle forward.

The ability to talk is so incredibly important click the link and take a look at the information from Mind, I understand that talking about mental health can be scary but you may make a difference.

A few of the coaches who help make my projects work, I am blessed to have so many who share my goals and I will try and introduce them all over time ❤️🏹

Why can we talk about physical health but not mental health?

Helen Sharpe Health
A most awful day?! But an amazing support crew along the field ❤️

I am often asked about why I talk about my mental health, why don’t I hide it? Erm, because it shouldn’t be hidden!

Easter Sunday 2020 I decided, as I sat drinking my early morning coffee in the garden, to cut down a couple of trees and got on with it, was making good time proceeding well, and boom – found myself impaled on a tree stump! Scared people who cared whilst we waited to find out the short and long term answers. Thanks to an amazing surgical team seeing me in A&E and then going on to see me every second day for a couple of weeks, I can say I have still got my leg, it’s got a scar and a dent and I have covered it in an ocean where every creature represents and is named by an archer.

But as I went through that process and even now when it’s not happy, people want to know, how am I getting on, can they help?

I have joint and pain related issues, my asthma that’s not happy, my damaged ear with it’s resulting hearing impairment and now the blood disorder. (Yes! I know I am physically a wreck 🤷‍♀️). All of these things, people help or ask about.

But my mind, well – it would be easier if you hid it, kept it to yourself, it’s uncomfortable.

It’s still Health!!! So Why?

I am not going to hide it, and if me talking about it helps someone else with their issues then I am glad I shared.

This last year has been horrific, I don’t need to share why, but I can say when I need to – today I need a bit of extra care, or a little extra support or can you just be a little more mindful?

I have been blessed to have a small group of amazing people who have supported me more than I could have imagined and I am grateful. I have cried – a lot! You find it annoying? Not anywhere near as much as I do!!

My counsellor and I have worked harder in 2022 than we have had to in years. We are kind of at an impasse now, there are so many answers I need that are being withheld and telling me to get over IT when you really do not understand what IT is, doesn’t help, but I will likely nod and humour you and just remove you from my circle because then you don’t have to deal with it, because that’s what you are saying, you don’t want to or it’s uncomfortable to.

Those amazing people who stay by my side, they admit, like me that we don’t have the answers, that’s ok, they are however willing to sit with me in my dark, and because of them and my children I am still here when there have been serious spells this year when I almost wasn’t, because I believed (and sometimes still do) that might have been the better answer for us all.

I am not asking you to take it all on, I don’t need everyone to know the whole story.

What I am asking you is why if I am physically unwell is that ok to discuss but when my mind wobbles I am asked to hide it?

Stigmas around mental health are tough to break, but I will not live with them or hide because of them.

There is a lot of information out there and this is important to know where to look because most people have issues at some point in their lives and need a little support, but for some people it’s a daily battle – ongoing.

Please check out Mind if you want to learn a little.

So relieved when I walked onto this range in June that it was one where I do still feel safe, never shot on it, but certainly would have walked away from my sport if this had not been safe for my well-being. ❤️🏹

International Men’s Day – 19th November 2022.

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health


Firstly I want to say I am blessed to know many men and boys who are amazing examples of what we should be celebrating and are great role models, you don’t have to be prefect to be an example to others.

So I would like to say thank you to every one of you who bring something to my world. I am not going to name names or list what each give me, support, laughter, hugs, listening to me on my worried, sad, excited days. Encouraging me to be the best version of me that I can be. Without a doubt my dad and my son have been amazing this year despite their own issues, but there are others who have not given up on me and gently pushed me – thank you, every single one of you.

The theme of 2022 is helping men and boys. We are all familiar with Movember which is an opportunity to raise money and focus on men’s health and tomorrow, 20th November is International Children’s Day and it is suggested this year that we focus on 48 hours of celebration of men and children the special relationships that they share. With this in mind I would like to thank Paul Sharpe for being a great father to our amazing children and helping them to achieve their goals.

Take a look at these links and enjoy helping the men in your life know that we do appreciate everything that they do.

International Men’s Day UK

Movember UK

Me and my dad – just a little while ago ❤️


It’s Saturday again!! Another busy week but a Saturday repost ☕️

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Health, Re-published blogs

This has been a busy week and I have a couple of things to share, especially news that I received yesterday, but I will cover all of that in Tuesday’s end of week blog.

The last few weeks have been re-posted blogs after someone asked if I could share them as they had heard about them from another archer. This one seems especially appropriate as we are moving indoors and this was originally posted towards the end of the last indoor season. So, grab a brew and have a read. A quick thank you to the archers who have reached out in the 8 months following this too, I know how hard it is to talk to someone about the changes that we fear, thank you for trusting me.

SOMEONE ELSE’S PERSPECTIVE

Originally Published 25th February 2022 by Aim4Sport.

Firstly, read all of this if you are going to read it! 

Last year I wrote about my issues with moving to seated to continue shooting. 

The response to that has blown me away, thank you to everyone who responded but especially to 5 people who reached out. Each with different issues, some were moving to seated, some a change in bow styles, but all at a point where it was to change or quit? 

Each with similar issues around the changes but chatting and sharing and a couple of archers who really let me help, we are all still shooting. That’s not to say some days are not still a struggle as we adapt to the changes. 

So, what have I learned in the last year following that blog? 

That I am not the only one struggling, that sharing your story can help others in ways you didn’t expect. 

But – also? 

I have always enjoyed competing, it’s never about anything other than competing against myself. I enjoy the company of other archers and I hope each achieve their own goals, but their outcome does not effect mine, because I am not competing against them.

So with this in mind, summer 2021 was a return to competition for many, opening back up still dealing with the pandemic. 

For me, trying to come to terms with taking the shooting stool to places and with people I don’t know, unsure how I would be received. 

My team – coach, Dave Leader and physio, Benjamin Horner – always there, when I wobble and need a word. It’s my right to shoot and we are claiming it. My club, Aim4sport AC supporting the change.

Not everyone is open to those who make the shooting line awkward, require some accommodation, but my aim when I applied to become an Archery GB ambassador was to push inclusion and I have worked hard to ensure that disability archers are not excluded, so why is it harder to push for yourself than for others? Admit it, it is for most of us! 

Some of the toughest opposition I have faced has been from entirely unexpected sources, those you’d expect to support me. 

I have had an amazing team of people prepared to work as agents for me, a role I have done for many over the last 5 years, wheelchair archers, VI archers, world transplant games! 

It took one of those archers who I had agented for, to give me firm words to have me accept it was ok to ask for help, that I am not a burden despite the words of some. 

So off I went, into the outdoor season, sometimes with an agent, sometimes not!! But determined that I would see only my aim to get that elusive first classification that had been so close but eluded me for 3 years as my body gave into the pain. 

I chose the first shoot out of county very carefully. 

Guildford Archery Club is somewhere I have enjoyed shooting and watching my children shoot, perfect. Or so I thought!!!! (My mistake not theirs)! 

I arrived the night before to realise I had left Bert (the shooting stool at home)! 

I messaged the TO and was entirely overwhelmed the following morning to arrive and find they had me a stool waiting!!!!! Wow! A little emotional and hugging the work party who were proving that I had absolutely made the right choice in my first competition out of county with no agent! 

It didn’t go so well, I couldn’t finish, though it looks very similar this taught me that all of that time working with my engineers to get my stool set for me was worth it. They are not all the same.

A learning experience so definitely no regrets. 

I was encouraged by this to go out and get on with it. 

Often finding kindness but also often finding myself sat in the very same place. Right at the end, on the right of the shooting line. Lonely, to be truthful but happy to be shooting and this is perhaps the price to pay to continue with my sport? 

The outdoors ended and the move indoors which I hate every year! New bow to celebrate getting that first classification finally!!!!! 

For a variety of reasons I haven’t managed many indoor shoots but I am booking in and trying to aim for the target I set myself. 

The indoors seems to make availability of agents less? 

So key to this is being brave enough to ask for help.

Then I struggled at a competition with my mental health, and as the work party paid attention to me because they knew I was struggling they suddenly noticed what no one ever does! 

I am on the far right of the line again, literally my nose against the brick wall for a double Portsmouth. 

What happened next however is what is most important. A conversation that they have never seen what happens, knowing they have seen it at theirs and other tournament venues but never thinking of the impact of what is happening on the archer! 

Apologies, it’s ok – it really is, or is it? 

Most of us just feel grateful that we are welcomed, that we are accepted, as a burden as we are often told and you make space for us on the line! 

But I can say that their reaction and how talking to me, talking to the judges about practicalities and ways to move us whilst meeting all the needs of everyone, means that going forward anyone seated at Archers of Raunds will be less isolated and definitely included in the shooting line. 

It also opened up an entire conversation around how we sometimes look at the easy fix but is it the most appropriate fix for the person you are trying to help, will they ask if they need more? 

Can you look at what you do and say did you just do enough or did you put a little more thought into what the individual might need? 

Did you accommodate them or did you actually welcome and include them? 

I am not asking for you to make people feel special, just considered. I also know that some archers like the very end so they can focus the mind and shut everyone out. 

All I am asking you to question is how do you feel when you look at the line, how might you be accommodating everyone. 

I know that this will annoy some, those same people who have tried to tell me I have no right to shoot if I cannot stand or if I cannot collect my own arrows. We are, after all, entitled to our own opinion, but if we can make people slightly more welcome in our sport surely it’s worth just stopping to think for a moment? 

16 weeks – time is flying by!

Helen Sharpe Health, News, weekly update
Last outdoor competition of the season

So, what’s happening?

Lots in the background and the coming weeks will see a lot of work put into action. Meetings with archers, facilities, suppliers, committees, multi sport groups, basically planning, planning and more planning.

Some exciting things in the pipeline for new groups focusing on support and inclusion and particularly showing what we already know, that our sport is amazing for helping with your head space, mental health and stress can be helped by the simple art of repetition that we all spend so many hours taking part in.

New schools, existing schools, activity partnerships, new relationships to work together and strengthen what we can achieve through the power of helping people access sports in a safe and welcoming environment. Plans for next outdoor season bubbling away and firming my list of coaches interested in helping with the goals of what I want integr8archery to achieve.

4 new people who have reached out based on what they are reading to chat about their ongoing archery and if what they want is achievable, realistic? One of who is a novice disability archer who is wondering if they can succeed at becoming a coach!
Those who know me well know that I am a huge Disney fan so ” if you can dream it, you can do it” was easy to quote.
But seriously I have two wheelchair friends who coach at different sports and one is also a personal trainer and dance instructor (though just in case he’s reading I have yet to be taught how to dance – just saying!).

So when asked why I am posting twice a week? Firstly I am a person in charge of a community interest company and I think it’s incredibly important that what I am doing can be seen, but these things I write, sometimes they strike a cord for the person reading them and they reach out and chat, the power of community is so very strong and I have spent years working on my little piece of the community in which I give, this has never meant that I need to be in the same room and I have friends that I have known for years who I have never physically met but we are so much stronger together because of the support we provide each other. So I will continue to write twice a week and share, because I am actually surprised at some of the things that are the bit that people read that connects us.

To prove this point, following Saturday’s blog, I had people thank me for sharing and also talking about the difference I have made for them in times that they were considering leaving the sport and how they are pleased I have chosen to stay and continue the work that I am doing. Never underestimate the difference that a kind word, a smile or a hug might make. I appreciate those who stay in touch to let me know how you are getting on, I enjoy your news and successes, we each measure our own success based on what we want and I celebrate with all of you.

This week? More meetings and calls to firm up some plans and some more funding applications for some of the groups, so enjoy your week and thank you for joining me so far. ❤️🏹 I never take any of you or the time you take to read what I am doing for granted. Thank you 😊

I might, one day, learn how to take a photo with a serious face – but to be fair i haven’t in the 47 years so far 🫣😂

Next in the series, following on from last weeks blog, around health and change.

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Event recap, Health, Re-published blogs

Last week’s republished blog was around the changes created by my physical health and the pain it creates, the decision to continue to shoot or quit. This week is around the battles my mental health can create and sees a republish of a blog that I wrote and was first published by Aim4Sport on the 19th February 2022.

This seems particularly important as I have rounded off my outdoor season with a shoot for the county today and I have reflected on my personal social media how the first competition of the outdoor season saw me cry through three dozen arrows as I battled with the idea of loosing my sport completely, had a rollercoaster of emotion, successes and failures but I am reaching the end of the season in a different mind set to how I started.

So, I again, invite you to grab a cuppa and read this from earlier in the year:

MAYBE THE BIGGEST SUCCESS WAS JUST LEAVING THE HOUSE?

Published 19th February 2022

Right now life isn’t easy, there are a long list of things happening and I am waiting on tests and results on top of all of that. 
I haven’t been able to shoot properly after upsetting my back, literally 3 weeks ago today I couldn’t put my foot flat to the floor and I am blessed that my physio is also my friend and that my coach is my best friend because that is what it took to get me through that particular evening. 
So today was going to be my first real competition with Calliope (my new bow). Booked weeks ago and long before all of the things that have hit to add to the usual struggles.

I had finally managed to get my first class badge with the 2021 outdoor season – 3 years in the making and hard earned. 
So I came to the outdoor season with a goal and a new bow! 

Tried a frostbite on Boxing Day and couldn’t finish, then the back!!! 


Had a couple of issues leading up to this week, like sitting crying with my laptop because I could not press the on button and having to call the office to admit that my mental health had tanked. 
Sunday morning arrived and I love competition, I am only shooting against myself and never have an expectation of the actual event itself. 
But today it was tough, really tough, for a variety of reasons. Still struggling with the concept of sitting to shoot some days, because no matter how much support you have, some days the voices who are trying to push you down are louder.

No you can’t see what is wrong with me, no you have no right to ask or to share your opinion of me, but some feel it’s ok to tell you if you can’t stand you shouldn’t be shooting. 

So, feeling vulnerable and having a rough week, I discover my agent is not joining me. 


Why am I trying? Why am I fighting, surely just quitting would be easier!! 


But I have people in my life who know how I would view that later if I gave in!! 
So with some encouragement I took a deep breath and left the house, not easy and I have, in the past, spent weeks/months in the house unable to step outside so never underestimate the effort it may have taken to step over the threshold and go outside.


By the time I arrived I was sobbing, tears streaming down my face, but I knew there were people inside that range who would support me, and all the things in my head trying to tell me to go home would be wrong if I could just get out of the car. 
So I walked in and indeed there were people, archers who don’t need information but I just reached out and said I need your help, I need to shoot today to allow me to continue tomorrow or that may be the end of my shooting for good.

And help they did with no information, people who knew me, people who didn’t, getting me and my kit in, set up and onto the line. Three different agents over 2 sessions. 
Pretty? Not at all!! 
Though there were a lot of photos taken so I will see if I looked like I might have vaguely had a clue how to shoot! 
Scores? Who cares? First competition with a new bow, no agent and overwhelming anxiety.


I came home with 2 silver medals for the single and the double rounds but they are more like medals for surviving the day. 
I cannot thank the people who got me through today enough and I look forward to returning to the same venue in 6 weeks to shoot again, hopefully with a smile on my face. 
But also, from my day, came learning. 
A club who saw me and the issues and reached out to ask some questions about the stool and how I felt and a realisation that actually they have never really taken into account some elements around seated archers, so a conversation with the judges and some new things in place to allow them to support anyone who shoots with them to be in the most comfortable environment that they can be.


It makes a difference to know a club welcomes anyone and will work with them to get things right if they realise they can improve. 
So on a day when my biggest achievement was leaving the house and not letting the voices in my head beat me and take away my sport, a positive experience for us all and one that will hopefully help others in the future. 
My point? Be kind, always kind because you never know what someone went through just to be stood in the room with you.

AUTHOR ARCHIVES: HELEN SHARPE

Be careful out there it’s only going to get hotter!

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Event recap, Health, News

So today’s event at the local school has been postponed until Monday to allow us to move indoors. This will be a great day to give back to a group of young carers who do an amazing job of both attending school and keeping up with their education, whilst at the same time taking care of someone .

They will have so much more fun being inside in the cooler environment than trying to battle the rising temperatures and heatwave.

With this in mind, and the fact that earlier in the year I signed up with melanoma fund to become a sun guard ambassador I would ask you to take some time to look at how you take care of yourself over the next few days.

Key is looking at heatstroke, heat exhaustion and hydration.

Staying safe and well in the heat – messaging from public health for parents/carers and guardians:


A Heat-Health alert has been put into place as even overnight temperatures are predicted to be very warm.

High temperatures come with health consequences for some people. It’s important to protect those most vulnerable including our children, those with health conditions and elderly, as well as keeping yourself safe.


Here are our top tips for staying safe in the heat:
• look out for those who may struggle to keep themselves cool and hydrated
• stay hydrated, take water with you if you are travelling or out and about
• stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm as this is when UV rays are the strongest – avoid physical exertion at this time
• if you have to go out in the heat stay in the shade, apply sunscreen and wear a wide brimmed hat
• close curtains in rooms that the sun faces – this will help rooms remain cooler – remember it could be cooler outdoors than indoors
• never leave anyone in a parked closed vehicle – especially not animals, children or babies
• avoid travelling at peak times on motorways, particularly if transporting children or the elderly
• sadly accidents, often fatal, happen in water at this time of year particularly involving youngsters. That’s why we’re asking parents to supervise their children in and around water. Although it can be fun to cool off in water structures such as bridges, locks and flood channels, and reservoirs and quarries should be avoided. Make sure you know the RNLI’s Float to Live
• unexpectedly cold water or strong currents can catch even experienced swimmers off guard. Better to swim safely at one of the county’s organised events where support is provided


Look out for signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and follow some common sense behaviours to make the most of what should be a glorious time for most.

Photos from our sun safe event in April