What an unusual week it’s been. We are most definitely living through history following the loss of the Queen on Thursday.
Lots of work done, quietly getting on with it in the background, being respectful of any directions are being issued around what we should and shouldn’t do during the period of national mourning.
My first EMAS meeting following my return to the safeguarding role, very grateful to have been given the time to look after myself before making that decision.
Meetings with 3 schools in Northamptonshire, 2 looking to launch their clubs now that the regular sessions have settled down, resolved some of the issues still working on some details?
My first flight workshop presentation completed and I think I now have some of those archers ready to take it up at competition next year.
Followed by my own day at the national flight competition, bringing home 2 golds, a silver and a bronze but, most importantly having great fun with my flight family. What can I say? Turns out that I love footbow! Who knew! Enjoyed the flight bow too!
Now I am at Wollaton Hall for the European Para Championships then the National Tour Final. Always fun to be amongst the volunteers who put these events on. I will answer queries whilst I am away but be aware that I am doing a lot so will likely be slower than normal in my replies.
It has been a strange day today, I think we all knew what news was going to break as the day wore on. For me the significant thing, whilst also small for many, was early in the day when the BBC newsreaders had all changed to black ties. This was not simply just news that the queen was unwell.
The breaking news this evening that our Queen had died was sad but not unexpected. A lady who has lived a life of service to the public, a nation, the commonwealth.
I am not interested in a debate around the monarchy.
I am interested in if the media will respect a family who have lost a beloved member.
In the coming days we will live through history, see things many of us never have, state mourning, a state funeral, a coronation.
I shall choose to remember a graceful lady who served us with calm and dignity regardless of how stormy the world was around her. Whose family speak of her with love and fondness and who showed us her cheeky sense of humour, the James Bond scene for the 2012 Olympics, the Paddington Bear scene for the jubilee.
This week things have picked up pace again as people returned from holiday. The quiet spell was good for letting me catch up on my studying, tidy a bit more of the website and get different things signed up.
A couple of smaller events arranged and some funding applications made for some new groups, but without a doubt this weeks big news was definitely yesterday’s latest meeting with the new county. After several months of casual conversation with a like minded person, 2 months ago he set up the first meeting with a group of us motivated to achieve the same thing, I was there to use my archery in education project with them. So here we are, 2 months in, dividing the schools into waves, first wave decided = 17 primary schools each with a group of 12 children! So, in a few weeks that will see 204 children pick up a bow!!!
Wave two is pretty much planned, a combination of primary and secondary schools and a new relationship that will hopefully see archery move into community groups where grassroots sports have already begun to be introduced. Short term and longer term goals set, not a bad couple of months work in my opinion.
Some exciting things happening in the next week which l shall share as the week progresses, thank you to you all for letting me share what I am doing and to those who take the time to message me.
As I often say, it’s always important to say thank you to your volunteers, we don’t need anything big or fancy, it’s why I suggested the volunteer badges to Archery GB, they have made people smile when received. With this thought in mind it was wonderful to receive my card for the time I gave to the European Youth Championships.
Almost 10 weeks, but that immediately makes me think that I’m heading towards 13 weeks which will be three months! What do I want to have achieved by 3 months!
Well this week, so far, lots of emails, calls and a couple of meetings regarding archery in education, helping DISC, Northamptonshire Carers get archery back up and running. A couple of new groups reaching out to see what we can do together.
Collecting kit from a school who have dropped out of the programme, no archery shot there for a year and I have to say, lessons learned about who and how I trust when they spoke to me on arrival to collect! However the kit is going to be used to boost a school who are turning their group into a club and will satellite through Integr8archery Club.
I have joined the Sport for Development Coalition, lots more to come there. Signed up to the Belong network and completed lots there, including my plan and evaluation schedule.
Spoken to EMAS regarding the safeguarding role, my thoughts around the last 5-10 years, explain the last 9 months and where I am currently, what I intend to do to create change. Pleased to say they heard me, believe in me and I am back in the role, I am immensely grateful for their support since I turned to them in May, I needed to breathe and they allowed me to do that.
I don’t think that’s too shabby for 4 days in week 10!
After 6 years of working on so many things at grassroots level I truly felt I had lost everything and had no choice but to step away from my sport, the sport which I am truly passionate about.
I have given 20-30 hours a week consistently for a good 4 years volunteering in so many ways.
But when I fell apart yet again on a range on the 27/6/22 it was in the company of someone different. Someone who knew the whole messy story and had a different way of dealing with what was happening to me.
I am incredibly grateful to those few people who had helped me get through every day before that. Literally helping me to breathe most days since 29/12/21.
But 27/6/22 was different, maybe a combination of things, but after a very specific brand of talking to I drove home with a lot to think about, driving time is always when I churn through thoughts, added to the fact, I don’t sleep – and I certainly didn’t that night!!!
I woke up with a determination of what I wanted to achieve, that maybe, just maybe, I do have something to offer.
19 projects, between me and my best friend! Collaborating on each other’s work and also creating new work together for over 3 years. Using my links to bring Aim4sport and Archery GB together as I continued my projects under my role as ambassador.
But the mess I was in had created issues within those collaborations.
In July with a serious breakdown in communication all round, I signed over all of my rights to a number of projects, regardless of who started them or of how passionate I might be of my work or it’s aims. Moving forward under my new brand with the 8 I have kept but hopeful that as no communication was causing issues, with me stepping away, the ones I handed over could fly without me. Sad? terribly, and I had so much still to give on them, but I believed it was the best decision at the time.
I am repeatedly asked what’s happening with work that I had passionately discussed with people. The plans I had described for evolution and roll out from May to October.
Simply this, Aim4sport is not and never was mine. Whilst I do still belong to Aim4sport Archery Club, I have had to make the very sad decision to leave as it is necessary that I can satellite the children from my projects and this was no longer going to be possible under A4SAC.
So, my company is now a community interest company, a social enterprise as was always planned. There is a lot going on for those 8 projects that I have kept.
Recent conversations with Archery GB are seeing the communication get back on track and things moving forward to help me.
Should my best friend reach out, there is much I had planned for the work that I handed over and collaboration between the 2 brands could work. If not, then I genuinely hope that he succeeds and that is all I shall ever say, so please do stop asking for my opinions.
For now, I am working hard on the schools I have on board, the many I am working to get up and running by autumn. The re-estabilshment of archery in a local disability group. Work with a local group who provide access to sports for the deaf community. Return to shooting for the out of school setting educated children. Several new collaborations and a bunch of new groups, not least a possible huge Project Rimaya development.
So thank you to everyone who has kept me going in the last 9 months, those who have helped since I made the middle of the night decision that the best way forward to protect my work was to create a business!! I know there’s a small group of amazing people who woke up that Tuesday morning 9 weeks ago to find a couple of crazy messages asking for help – and I shall never take for granted that they stepped up.
And of course, thank you to my small but amazing committee who have stepped up to join me in creating a new archery club in the joined belief that we can help amazing children achieve great things.
All of these people surely share my believe that we can change lives through archery.
This week had been lots of catching up with projects and planning as people return from holiday. A couple of new events being planned and generally updating ongoing projects.
This might not sound exciting but delivering in the existing 18 schools and working towards the 39 looking to come on board, along with trying to resolve the issues around my out of school setting group is incredibly important for those children and I am excited that the approaching new school year will let me catch up with them all and see how they are getting on.
I am also awaiting news on my application to join the “sport for development coalition”, more news on this as the application progresses but I am excited to see how new links can be made to work together and I imagine will be similar to the work I do with the activity partnership, providing access to my sport, but also working with multi sports meetings to look at how we can create change together.
So this midweek review is short but don’t under estimate the work I am doing in the background .
8 weeks! This still feels unreal, but here we are.
So, I had to cancel 2 events whilst I was away after being let down and this never sits well with me. I am trying to make arrangements to provide something for the children who have missed out, so hopefully more to come on that in the future.
10 days at Lilleshall didn’t see me stop work on the projects. A meeting with a manufacturer regarding a prototype item that both Integr8Archery and someone else wants, sees that hopefully coming soon, but also a number of other items discussed along with some input (gratefully received), of volunteers sat with us sees several new ideas for new reactive bosses. Those who know me well know how difficult I find it to sit when I am waiting so please remember that 😂 – sorry, not sorry!!!
A chat with the National Governing Body regarding the pilot we had previously built for a new kind of club, just because the original plan has failed because people have stepped away doesn’t mean the plan has fallen apart, and they have given permission for Integr8Archery club to form and run the pilot.
Lots of conversation with my friend Deb Horn, as we have been talking for weeks, sees several collaborations starting and she will also be trying the new club plan, we have each found ourselves at the same point but from different starting places. Excitingly sharing the next step as we each aim for non profit ways to put bows in the hands of children.
Conversations with a number of people around funding for different things, all very positive and I am very optimistic about what we might be able to do.
Just in case that wasn’t enough I had some conversations around the thoughts that I have had about bringing my long held plans to start judging at 50 forward and the amazing amount of knowledge shared with the fantastic team of judges I was caring for certainly helped me with the thinking, for which I am grateful.
To relax a little yesterday we had our latest arts and crafts archery session, this sees us shoot to create tie dye shirts, always exciting and we always get fantastic results. Thank you as ever to Fii for doing the organising.
Right, off to sort the emails, stay safe and shoot strong.
A day late but I think that can be forgiven considering how I have spent my recent days.
This week has been amazing, there is no secret that I lost my way, it was taken quite dramatically but with the care and support of amazing people I am finding my way forward.
Seeing all of the juniors from across Europe this week has only fuelled that, talking to other teams and hearing that we all seem to have the same issues wherever we are makes me want to create what change I can and there’s certainly a lot that needs doing. But together we will do it.
Meetings with manufacturers and discussions about prototype products, the National Governing Body and how we move our collaborations forwards and after weeks of conversations with a friend with the same aims and similar work, definitely a collaborative team effort to move forward.
I am proud of what I have achieved by setting up my little company and being given the status that will mean I get to protect it going forward.
Now the work really begins – lets do this!
And those who know me well, know my long term plan was always to grow up and be a judge, conversations in recent weeks to consider bringing this goal forward, see my intentions cemented after 10 days with a group of judges who have encouraged and shared knowledge – archery is a community and you are never amongst strangers. I am passionate about my sport, that is something no one can take away from me, try as they did.
Thank you to everyone who has given me even the smallest support in the last 9 months, it’s been stormy and it’s not passed yet, but we will do amazing things together.
Firstly apologies for this being a day late, I am away volunteering at Lilleshall and I am not sat still for long. It is, however a great time, with great archery friends supporting each other whilst we pull off what has so far been a fantastic event. I am looking after the judges and they are a great bunch of people from all over Europe and prove again that our sport can create the feeling that we all belong to one big family.
If you want to consider volunteering at these events please take a look at the ArcheryGB page for more information.
This week has still been busy despite me being away for much of it.
A meeting with the new county who are looking to launch the education project in their area, sees us having possibly 31 schools who wish to consider being part of the first wave as a pilot. Equally amazing and exciting.
Talks with new suppliers and manufacturers around what we want, both existing items and the development of new products.
There have been some disappointments this last couple of days too, but I shall cover those in greater detail in my mid-week update as I am shattered and have another packed day tomorrow.
stay safe, speak soon – and I will answer lots of emails tomorrow, if you are waiting on something.
Thank you to Malcolm Rees for the photgraphs – as always – great images
So a quick round up of this week. Busy busy busy! The new county I am working with are up to 21 schools who are interested and things are moving swiftly – very exciting. Very much a testament to what a group of like minded people can achieve together! Similarly , 9 new schools are working towards what we might do together in Northamptonshire. As ever I was disappointed to have to cancel an event on Friday but the coach tested positive for Covid in the morning and I would much rather be safe.
So, here I am ending my week by starting 10 days at Lilleshall volunteering at the European Youth Championships, an event that we have all been waiting for as it was one of the many impacted by the pandemic. I have recommended before, and I will do so often, volunteering is hugely rewarding and many sports wouldn’t function without people giving up their time. You don’t have to be crazy enough to give 20-30 hours a week like me 😜 or to make a business of it, though I am proud to have been signed off a social enterprise, community interest company, which I did suggest makes me a professional volunteer I think? If you want to come and watch the finals, there’s still time to buy your tickets, take a look on the Archery GB website.
