News

Integr8Archery Club and Friends ❤️🏹

Helen Sharpe Announcement, Blog with a message, Joining forces for strength, News

If you have been following us a little while or even just had a quick look around the website, you will know we have our own archery club and that we are a little bit different, this allows us to fit our aims and our needs together quite nicely.

We get asked if people can join, yes – absolutely. So we are a hybrid club, as a regular member you can pay your AGB fees via us and we will be your first club. We are also a school club and as such have school satellite sites dotted about. Why is this important? It really only impacts you from a range perspective. We have 4 school ranges registered to the club, this will be increasing to 6 very shortly. These are not open to anyone but are specific to our groups who shoot there. At the moment Integr8Archery Club doesn’t have a range of it’s own for regular members, simply there aren’t enough of us in one place, this may change it may not. We have members around the country. For some we are actually their second club as they want to support us and our aims but they are too far away to shoot with us on a regular basis. These archers are also choosing to have a club shirt and often, in place of their name on the back, choosing to put the name of their first club to allow them to support both clubs with one shirt, an idea that I love.

I did say I would let you know where and when we will be so that when you want to join us to fling some arrows you could join us. For those of us who are local to Northampton I have chosen our main shooting spot to be Archers of Raunds and these are my second club. Why? Simply the hand of friendship that they have extended me, over the last couple of years especially and they are one of the clubs involved in the archery in education project. When I discussed the needs of Integr8Archery Club they didn’t hesitate. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for the support that they give me on a personal level and also the work I do at grassroots level.

There are some other clubs you will likely see me pop up at as these are where my shooting friends are and where I have always been welcomed – Long Buckby has the advantage of my friend and county captain who allows me to pick his knowledge when things aren’t right. Banbury Cross is another warm welcome and my aim as I settle back into routine is to visit these 2 clubs once a month if I can. In the summer I try and get to Bowmen of Glen at least once a fortnight as the company is great and of course I need to settle and get over more often again to my shooting buddies at Kestrels which again was easier in the summer but definitely worth the effort. Don’t forget the clubs that extend a welcome for us to shoot have shooting fees and some require a pre-booked lane.

Usually I love competition and spend most of my Sunday’s doing just that, I’m working on it and will get back to it and when I start booking places I will let you know so that you can join me if and when you wish as some of you have suggested that you would enjoy this as a way of getting together.

So that’s hopefully answered some questions, if I have missed something don’t be shy – ask. See you on the shooting line soon.

26 weeks, 6 months!! Oh my! Thank you and some numbers🥰

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, Numbers and stats, weekly update

I cannot believe that it’s been 6 months! It’s been a massive learning curve and in so many ways. I have to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in anyway from helping put on a session, to listening to me bounce ideas around, to just giving me a nudge when I think I might not be good enough.

I was literally on my knees on the 27th June having been barely surviving for 6 months and really hit a very dark place, a small group of incredible people had literally, some days helped me to breathe and dragged me through but on that Monday evening I genuinely couldn’t see any way to keep my sport at all. To continue to shoot or to continue my work within it.

What I hadn’t counted on were 2 people that evening – one who shared their own story and then told me to put on my brightest leggings – I guess it was my very specific version of being told to put on my big girl pants and fight 😉 if you know me, you would know that was probably hitting the nail on the head. The other was someone who had stood back, remaining neutral and that evening decided to express their opinion after months of being quiet. It turns out my quiet friend has a very specific brand of motivational talking, and a lot like my counsellor mostly leaves me with my thinking significantly questioned, challenged and with a lot of work to do within my own mind. His timing was perfect! I think earlier would have failed and maybe he knew that.

For his trouble, the following morning he and a selected bunch of others awoke to messages explaining my early basic plans and what I needed to do to get started. So 28th June 2022 Integr8Archery was born, and here I am 26 weeks later, 6 months!! Having achieved so much, and with so very much still to do.

I thought it would be a great time to look at some numbers because in recent weeks I have been asked by a number of people for some details, and also use what I had done previously to add some context. So, if you are interested here are some figures, grab a cuppa and have a read:

I completed my beginners course in 2018 and I have held lots of roles since then, I did do some volunteering within the sport before I became an archer myself but I thought 2018 seems like a decent place to start and yes, this is all volunteering, and it doesn’t include what I have done at AGB competitions or for other sporting events outside of archery.

2018 –

  • 1. helped out on 3 taster days – attended by local community groups and saw 143 people pick up a bow.
  • 2. helped out at 4 beginners course – 49 people completed those courses

2019

  1. Organised and put on a county charity event
  2. helped at 5 taster days – attended by 185 people
  3. helped at 3 beginners courses – 37 people completed
  4. organised archery for 2 multi sports events – helping 72 people get a taster of our sport
  5. volunteered for archery at the World Transplant Games

2020

The year of the pandemic! I did lots of things this year but by far my biggest achievement was helping with the return to sport guidance particularly when I picked up the phone following the original release and explained that until every archer was given the opportunity to choose to return we hadn’t yet gotten it right, those initial steps prevented some of our most vulnerable members being given the choice!

I attended so many webinars and workgroups, not just within archery but within multi-sports settings both locally and nationally and took the opportunity to study and learn for my role in safeguarding, being furloughed gave me the chance to do some of those things I had never had time for.

Sitting on the range for hours every day helping people feel confident enough to come back to shooting or try a new sport they discovered whilst locked in and searching the web, was incredibly rewarding and the ability to work with other grassroots sports to help each other was definitely another advantage to that time as we all took to get to know each other, bonds created which we still use now.

2021

  1. 3 taster days – 135 people with a bow in their hands
  2. 5 beginners courses across 3 clubs – 72 people completed
  3. business games events – 135 people shooting
  4. organised and hosted a county charity event


    archery in education starts with –
  5. wave 1 – 102 children shooting
  6. wave 2 – 136 children shooting
  7. primary school sessions – 57 children shooting
  8. colleges – 27 students shooting
  9. Out Of school educated children – 87 people with a bow in their hands for the taster sessions and 32 going onto weekly sessions
  10. 10 school staff completing an instructors course
  11. 29 coaches across all levels helping put these sessions on

2022

up to April

  1. 9 secondary schools – 118 children shooting
  2. out of school setting children – 27 children shooting
  3. 3 local community groups having 4 sessions each – 48 individuals shooting

Integr8Archery

first 6 months

  1. 13 secondary schools across 3 counties after school clubs – 208 children
  2. 2 schools now have Integr8Archery satellite clubs – 23 children
  3. weekly curriculum sessions providing archery for 72 children
  4. 4 primary schools – 68 children
  5. 3 nursing homes – 31 individuals
  6. Weekly sessions for 4 weeks for ladies from a local refuge = 15 people, LGBTQIA+ support groups = 28 people & foster families = 13 children
  7. helping 3 school games events – totalling over 200 children shooting
  8. 2 flight archery workshops – introducing 18 people to this style of archery
  9. Integr8Archery club – currently collating the paperwork for 38 children and 11 adults
  10. getting access to the anti violence pledge available online
  11. obtaining Community Interest Company status and ensuring the very strict guidelines to being non profit are set and unchangeable – my way and no one else’s regardless of who collaborates with me – set in stone so I can relax
  12. start my journey to become a disability sports coach and learn 5 new sports
  13. joining forces with Sport for Development Coalition, Children’s Coaching Collaborative, We are Undefeatable, Belong and continuing to build and strengthen the relationships with the National Governing Body, Sport England, Northamptonshire Sports, local archery clubs and counties who have the same aims, and numerous groups who, together, we continue to learn to bring people to sport but to protect them whilst they are in our care.

Throughout this time I have continued to work in my safeguarding role and deal with incidents as they arise, develop my knowledge and support a number of families in well-being. Whatever else happens, I stand by my promise that I will make sport safer for everyone and to help support those where issues have created failure of care. Together we can create change.

So without a doubt, thank you to those who told me I did have a place, there’s a lot of shooting happened because you didn’t just watch me walk away when I thought I had no alternative.

Happy Christmas

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message

What has this week been so far?

Tidying up plans for 2023, reviewing that last 6 months and what went well and where I can improve, funding applications and planning to be on the radio in the new year 😱

Christmas planning, if like me you don’t actually like Christmas it’s always a challenge! We smile and get on with it because it’s easier than defending our position, but if you need a place to scream, give me a shout.

That being said have a great Christmas and enjoy whatever you do, and I hope that whatever happens you manage to find time for maybe a frostbite shoot or some other fresh air activity. No frostbite for me this year on Boxing Day instead a day with friends and muddy bikes, I have always gotten thrills standing at the edge of a racing track so if I can’t shoot being amongst petrol heads will be great fun.

For now a coffee and Christmas clothes to pop over to the range and see friends.

See in a couple of days and take care.

Helen

Week 25 – a little early but it’s important! Anti violence campaign- Manchester Bee 🐝

Helen Sharpe Announcement, Blog with a message, Event recap, Joining forces for strength, News, weekly update
Manchester Bee at Cromford Mills

If you have looked at the website and you have been following my blogs then you will know that the anti violence campaign is something that I feel incredibly strongly about.

On the 14th May I took part and helped marshal the march in Wellingborough led by the charity Off the Streets which culminated in the arrival at the knife angel monument which stopped for a few hours on it’s journey from Northampton to Corby in order for it to be part of this important day. The aim of the day, and any hosting of the monument is to provoke discussion around what we can do as individuals and together, in unison, to stop street violence. You can read about the day on the knife angel page of this website.

As I was busy talking to people around the topic and what we can do to help offer alternatives for our young people than to join those gangs that is often how they find themselves where violence is the only answer, I entirely forgot to sign the anti violence pledge. So, the following weekend, joined by my friend and our children we visited the monument at it’s stop in Corby. When we returned home it was to be told that moments after we left my friend’s house the air ambulance had made a landing in the local park as there had been a young person stabbed just that afternoon.

Today whilst visiting my parents, I became aware that the Manchester Bee monument which is made entirely of firearms and blades collected in an amnesty in the Manchester area, was being hosted locally by Derbyshire Constabulary. The weapons used to create the bee are part of what has been collected in the Forever Amnesty campaign.

I had the privilege of visiting the bee today in Derbyshire at Cromford Mills, the first host constabulary outside of Manchester for this important symbol of what we are all trying to aim for, to bring about social change. The bee has 2 other venues in Derbyshire – tomorrow 19th December at Buxton town centre and on Wednesday 21st December at Hall Leys Park, Matlock Town Centre. If you are able to, please pop along and visit, collect your own little handcrafted bee – at no cost, but to help promote conversation at home or work. The monument is less visually imposing than the knife angel but no less thought provoking or emotive. I think the inclusion of guns has a massive impact visually and for me, gave me new things to think about in addition to those previous thoughts and conversations I had had, earlier in the year.

I must also say thank you to the 2 officers who had been on the process of packing up at the end of the day for making time to allow an out of area Witness Care Officer to not just have a quick look, but to discuss what these crimes mean to us on a daily basis both in and out of work, and what our thoughts are around who and how might be able to help drive change.

Following my time with the knife angel I had communicated with Clive Knowles who is the Chairman and National Youth Violence Educational Programme and Tour Lead, to look at how the anti violence pledge could be made available online to those who wanted to sign up but were not near a local hosting event, and as you are aware I proudly announced, and have shared the link several times since, now that this access has been completed and I ask you again to consider what role you could take in helping stop or prevent violence on our streets.

I am not asking you to jump in if you see something happening. I am asking you to consider what, if any, small part can you play in offering an alternative for a young person who may not yet have joined that gang that would take them down the path where violence becomes the only answer.

Yes, I have worked in this area for almost 30 years but that’s dealing with what has happened!

I see my role in anti violence and prevention much more in the many hours I give in grassroots sports, where we can show there is an alternative place to belong. A different group to join. One that will not take you down a path where violence is the choice you face.

I was asked recently by a coach “ why is this my issue, why should I be involved?”.

Aren’t we all trying to work towards young people choosing sport?

Don’t you see how that fits the aims of the of anti violence and social change campaign? It’s a huge part!

So many of us are working to improve access at grassroots levels and to get our sport into schools, this is such a logical part of what we are doing and that is your pledge, right there.

So signing the pledge is just becoming part of that wider group who together, each with our own small step, can create a movement that might make our streets safer for the people caught up in these issues. Remember some of those who fall victim are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s not all those “wrong uns” as was recently described to me!!

Flu for me and then in my dash to catch up – I broke the website!!!!

Helen Sharpe News

Hello!! 🫣😂🙃

8 days in the house with flu and some scary moments in there when it attacked my asthma! But I think I am now well and truly on the mend.

So today I thought I would catch up properly with everything and get up to date and broke the website in my enthusiasm!! Thank goodness for the very lovely people at one.com who with significant patience have got me sorted 😍

So this is now much later in the day than intended and I have still got lots to do, so as a result this will be short.

The schools have all broken up for Christmas break and the children appear to have had lots of fun in their final sessions and were mostly sent home with sweets as a result of their Christmas shooting activities. Thank you to all of the teachers, school instructors, Maggie, Duncan, Jack, Chris and Julie for another fantastic term with over 250 children shooting on a weekly basis, amazing work.

Much love to Julie on her recovery following an accident on the icy paths, please be careful in this weather people.

Tidying up plans in the coming days ready for the new year so we can relax for a few days over the Christmas break.

So pleased to hear that the funding we applied for from Northants Sports has been granted to allow Chris to bump up her training from years as an instructor to now become a sessions coach, I guess that means that the last 15 months on the education project and being a committee member for the club from August didn’t scare you off 😉

Thank you for your commitment to the work that we are doing, never do I take it for granted.

The plans have been set for my disability coach training in the new year and I am thrilled that they have accepted my offer to help out at two clubs on my Saturdays to consolidate my training and utilise me when I make those trips to London rather than the usual one. It’s going to be exciting learning how to deliver 5 new sports in an adaptive environment.

Have a good weekend, shoot strong, stay safe and warm ❤️🏹 and in case you are too busy with plans in the coming days, have a fantastic Christmas break 🎅🏻🎄

Week 24! Lasted a lifetime but some things did get done!

Helen Sharpe News, weekly update

This week started with the funeral of someone special who always encouraged and supported me to do anything and be anything, I shall miss her dearly and will try to remember all of the things she taught me in the time I was privileged to have her in my life. From the coffees she made me to sit and recover from the emotional weekly counselling sessions as she lived close by, to her amazing relationship with my children, definitely a dear friend who’s love I shall carry with me always.

Sessions to catch up on with Northants Sports from the latest NFDS meeting, in particular in regards to the VR therapies and the Special Olympics Great Britain.

I have a lot of catching up to do and apologies to send for missed and/or late communications and I am starting all of those in the morning as I appear to finally picking back up after 5 days of being seriously unwell. If I can make a call I will but most likely it’s going to be majority emails for at least a little while as I recover fully.

As the schools we have been working in are winding up for Christmas it has been nice to hear of the fun being had to bring the term to an end in preparation for their breaks, thank you to Maggie, Chris, Duncan, Jack and Julie and all of the teaching staff who are still using their instructors qualifications across the many schools. Enjoy your breaks and look forward to seeing how 2023 progresses, in particular for those children who have set themselves targets.

Week 23 – disability, inclusion, grassroots and friends

Helen Sharpe Event recap, News, weekly update
Integr8Archery, Arcus Archery and Archery GB – strength in numbers

Another busy week, a pleasure to attend the West Northants Council International Day of People with Disabilities and the celebrations. Having previously met and spoken with Paralympic Champion Swimmer Ellie Robinson it was a pleasure to hear her speak again and also to watch the performance by Born to Perform. I always come away from these events energised and with my mind racing with ideas around how we can overcome barriers. Absolutely helps me feel that the work that I am doing with Integr8Archery and on my way to becoming a Disability Sports Coach is worth the hard days I sometimes have.

This weekend was the National Indoor Championships, Junior National Indoor Championships and the Back to Back events that end the 2022 AGB competition calendar. I so enjoy these days with my friends who by volunteering together we use the power of the blue shirt to pull off events that enable others to have amazing experiences. We can’t all win but it doesn’t mean they don’t take something positive away from the experience. Registration is also a great way to meet them with a smile, I often hear “I can’t attend a national competition because I am not good enough ” from local archers! Nope, we can all go and experience these things. I see my job to be that first face you see and to make you feel welcome and absolutely in the right place. Where I can I try and keep an eye on some and find out how they are getting on. Being in those environments with hundreds of people can be intimidating- if I can help a little then I did my job, one of the greatest things is when people come to find me to tell me how they got on. It’s a privilege that they remember me from the beginning of the day and come back to say thank you. Long days but absolutely worthwhile.

Another big shout out to my amazing friend Deb Horn, who I have mentioned several times over this 23 weeks. Our aims are linked and collaborating will make us stronger and she is moving forward with Arcus Archery as I announced a couple of weeks ago, but doing things a little differently can be a little slow when technology has to be tweaked to fit our needs so many thanks to Arran Coggan and Helen Smedley who have been very patient whilst we sort all of it out. The support of the National Governing Body is something that I have never taken for granted and I do believe that there is strength in collaboration and whilst there has been some change for me in 2022, collaborating is still going to help my projects move forward. Also thank you to the people who stopped me to discuss what I am doing it’s always going to blow me away I think to hear that people are interested so thank you for the kind words.

So now I want you to think about safeguarding, a topic I know makes many people groan and their eyes roll. For me it’s the biggest, most important issue. I work hard in this area. But, ask yourself, do you keep up with issues that relate to it, do you just think it’s boring so don’t pay it too much attention? There are lots of other things that tie into safeguarding.

The scenario is this:

A busy competition day, lots going on. Someone missed something and as they were asked to do it, needed a little further explanation. The person behind was getting a little impatient and said something rude to the person who required that little bit extra help. The person explaining pointed out that it was taking a little longer because the person required help because they had a condition and named the condition.

So, safeguarding? GDPR?

Personally I will do all that I can to help, I will not allow people to be rude, I don’t believe an explanation is needed and I do believe that disclosing another persons medical issue, physical, mental, learning related is a breach of GDPR.

I will leave you to think on it.

Competition days are not just about medals

Volunteering, friends and rewards

Helen Sharpe Joining forces for strength, News, Numbers and stats

So this weekend sees the last AGB tournament of 2022. What do I get out of giving my time to these events? The privilege of being part of an amazing team who together put on world class events.

The only way you can find out how much you can enjoy it is to have a go. So why not take a look and see what you could be involved in.

Is it hard work? Yes. Will you enjoy it? I would be surprised if you don’t!! Will you want to do it again? I believe so!! My family of blue shirts are pretty amazing and achieve fantastic events by being the best team there is.

This weekend my amazing friend is joining us – let’s see how she gets on.

With everything that has gone on this year I had withdrawn from competition volunteering but that didn’t last very long did it 😂

I have volunteered at:

Junior National Outdoor Championships

European Youth Championships

European Para Championships

National Tour Finals

AGB National County Team Competition

AGB National Indoor Championships

Junior National Indoor Championships

18 days – you don’t have to give that much of your time 😂but I think you should give it a try and see what you think.

I was asked why I hadn’t just walked away this year and why I stayed with my sport and fought for my projects. There are still days I see it as a possibility- but it takes care of me as much as I take care of it! Plus I only have to start looking at stats to remind myself of what I am doing it for. I have been looking at numbers in a big way for the last month. I will share more of these another day but how about this one? Every week in Northamptonshire alone my Archery In Education project sees 225 children shoot on a weekly basis, that doesn’t include the ones who drop in for a taste!

Worth fighting for surely? Then there are my other projects!!

I have not lost sight of the ones I had to drop either, every now and then I look at them and ponder, could I pick them back up? It would be a lot on my own and at the moment I have to be realistic and say no.

Right I need a cuppa, see you Tuesday for 23 weeks!!


22 weeks, it’s getting cold, still outside where we can be though.

Helen Sharpe News, weekly update
Great spaces in the schools who work with us

Lots of admin, meetings and planning this last week.

Without a doubt I am most proud that the club at one of our secondary schools properly started this week, in addition to their curriculum sessions that have been running several weeks. These are the children who have been setting themselves goals and are now making arrangements for having video kit in place to watch themselves back and also these newly formed club members want to make a number of videos to help the curriculum sessions – these children are amazing, a few weeks of shooting, set up their club, set their individual and club goals and already looking at how to coach each other and help their peers improve.

Thank you to Duncan for agreeing to join the Integr8Archery coaching team, I am careful who I choose to engage in projects, and I am thrilled with how my team of coaches is doing and of those who are agreeing to work with me. Also the reserve list of coaches who are looking to help in the future but have currently got commitments stopping then starting right away.

I have learned a lot in the last 18 months about how to select my workforce and it’s most certainly paying off this last 3/4 months as things really start to settle. There is nothing more freeing than knowing that those representing the projects are doing so in such great style.

Chats around data sharing to allow comparisons and best practises and to see how different people working on similar projects can help each other with shared ideas was a very promising conversation.

Also safeguarding best practices and forging a way forward to make positive changes – the future holds great possibilities if we can pull it all together.

Keeping it short and sweet because I know everyone is concentrating on the football, something I love but have rejected in protest this year, the first World Cup I can remember not watching, but some things are greater in importance.

Take care and speak Saturday, I will be volunteering at the indoor nationals so I hope to see many of you there ❤️🏹

21 weeks, it’s cold! Illness doesn’t stop everything, emails can be sent from under a quilt 😂

Helen Sharpe Blog with a message, News, weekly update
Pretty much the expression that I have been mostly wearing this week

So week 21 saw me hit with germs and mostly sleep. Turns out the already poor functioning blood doesn’t do recovery well!
However, despite all of that, I did manage to get some things done.

Conversations about how we divide the Muslim community group into smaller manageable groups to introduce to archery. I am thrilled at the choice made for our first priority and I cannot wait to see them start.

A couple of new groups reached out and though early, I think they both look like we immediately have a plan of action so it’s going to be exciting over the coming weeks.

Schools moving into club phase, and the numbers of children wanting to extend their archery from curriculum to club has taken me by surprise but I am thrilled that they are enjoying it, setting themselves goals and seeing it as an alternative to hanging around the streets after school finishes. Most definitely proof of those conversations I had in the early summer at the knife angel event.

Whilst I had been disappointed when first hearing of the weekend’s training for my Disability Sports Coach course being postponed, by the time the weekend came around I was actually pleased as I likely wouldn’t have been able to make it, but it did give me time to plan and suggest ways that I can maximise my days in London for placement days so it wasn’t wasted time.

Lots of talk around well-being, some general but some specifically around issues arising, sometimes a coffee and sharing thoughts is all it takes to see a way around a blockage in communication. It is always a privilege that people see me as someone they can trust for these conversations.

A fitting point, perhaps to remind you all that it’s safeguarding adults week, if you want to know a little more the Ann Craft Trust is a great place to start.

Several other project issues this week would point me to the belief that within the “art of repetition” we could use improvement in the “art of communication”.

Within the three Monday schools sessions 7 children picked up a bow for the first time, these are the things that keep me moving forward on the days I might quit and Monday afternoon seriously was another of those “why am I doing this” moments.

Gratitude to the friends who reached out and made me laugh and reminded me that I love this sport and I am passionate about what we can achieve with it. So I guess I will stay a little longer 😉 (we know that I am unlikely to go anywhere really).

Finished the week with a smile despite the illness and wobbles