The individual is at the heart of everything that I do and I choose people to work with me who do the same, it allows me to put the right coach in the right group.
A focus for me will always be welfare and safeguarding because without this nothing else will function.
I thought I would explain how that impacts my week, so in the last 3 weeks I have:
Attended the latest East Midlands Welfare virtual meeting, been interviewed on BBC radio Northamptonshire as part of the day of disability special, delivered my last session for 2024 at DISC, attended Corby Archers to deliver archery England federation cross awards to their juniors, attended a virtual meeting with white ribbon UK looking at gender based violence in education settings, attended an event hosted by the children’s society and Ivison Trust on the topic of child exploitation for sports clubs and organisations, attended a workshop hosted by BEAT around eating disorders and the festive period and joined in on the reclaim the night march in Northampton.
The other stuff I do, go to work, shoot, manage and review events delivered by coaches on behalf of Integr8archery CIC and spend time with my family, including my regular weekend with mum, all continued too.
Not everything I do sees me post photos, and it may not all seem exciting but it is all very much worth my time to keep everyone safe.
See you all on a range soon and if you are about, at the indoor nationals for certain ❤️🏹
Week 126! Integr8archery CIC was about owning the work I had been doing since 2017 and allowing access to sport to anyone who saw barriers in their way.
Sport is empowering in many ways and for many reasons, if you have been following me you know that whilst I celebrate what myself and those who work with me achieve there are some groups that, though I count them in my stats, I don’t say very much about and I never post photos of.
One such group is those that I work with in refuge, it is a privilege to be allowed in to the lives of those in these circumstances, trust does not come easy for them and is therefore something I hold very close. How these individuals see themselves is often very different to how I see them. For me they are incredibly brave and starting a new chapter. Sport has the potential to allow a person to relax and breathe and for a little while, daily, weekly….. think about something else.
These sessions are a mixture of tears, laughter, arrows and chatter, silly conversation, serious discussions. You can bet there’s a cuppa and often treats from cake to pizza depending on the mood. Sometimes I host sessions for the women who are in refuge to bring their children too, again these are amazing.
In autumn 2023 I became a white ribbon champion, this is a topic close to my heart and that I am passionate about- violence against women and girls. It’s not the only kind of violence and if you look I do have a page about other aspects I work towards, but this in particular, due to my own experience is particularly important to me. It is why I take part in the reclaim the night march, it was a cold one this year and whilst we remember the names of those who have lost their lives each year, locally we held Harshita Brella close to us.
25th November was the start of 16 days of activism and white ribbon day, why am I a champion?
It is only by raising awareness and challenging the root causes of violence that we can start to bring about change, reduce and ultimately end, violence against women and girls.
We can do this by:
• Remembering the phrase, ‘I’m not OK with that,’ to use when confronted by so-called ‘banter’ and sexist ‘jokes’ to disrupt and re-direct harmful conversations.
• Promoting equality by challenging the status quo of what it means to ‘be a man’ and to ‘be a woman.’
• Having open conversations with our friends, family and colleagues about ending men’s violence against women and girls.
• Learning about what it means to be allies to women, and how we can speak up and be active in preventing violence.
• Knowing where to find help, and sharing support with our friends, family and colleagues.
• Wearing a White Ribbon can act as an important conversation starter.
• Making the White Ribbon Promise to; never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women.
Together we can prevent violence against women and girls. It Starts with Men.
For more information, resources, and ways to get involved this White Ribbon Day, please visit the White Ribbon UK website: www.whiteribbon.org.uk
lots of admin and meetings this week, 2025 will see some new groups start which I am very much looking forward to.
I didn’t get to deliver any archery in person but love hearing how everything is going from coaches working with me, and I love the stories of success and achieving on and off the range, it can be what gets me through the meetings some days 😉
I haven’t managed to shoot my own arrows this week either 🫣 lots of work and some shifts to help out at another house, but a surprise visit and full inspection from ofsted saw us get a string good across all categories which is the reward for the hard work and certainly some intense recent months, my job is a privilege and I love it but it is exhausting mentally and emotionally at times.
Add to all of the working on my level 3 in children’s residential care and level 4 in CSE means the week has flown by!
Along with setting up my JustGiving page now I have confirmed my wing walking for next June and I am so grateful to those who have already started donating 😌
Right I am off to work and just a reminder that this week is my working weekend so I will be pretty much unavailable from Friday evening until Monday. Enjoy your weekend and let me know how everything is going ❤️🏹
A busy week of meetings and reviews and also talking with new groups/settings.
2 new settings for the new year but 3 making the decision that, for now at least, it’s time to stop. Bittersweet as they have been with me for between 2 and 3 years. Data shows me that between us we have put bows in the hands of over 500 young people and that is something to be proud of. For each of the schools it’s simply down to changes in staff and having no one to deliver at this time. There is some interest so may be back but for now kit is safely stored away until things change. Thank you all for joining me and I look forward to joining you in some of the other activities we have planned for 2025. 😌
Some welfare related stuff, including some meetings, made easier when committees are open to communication and working together to resolve issues.
A great session at Opcare in Leicestershire helping Maggie, along with other coaches to deliver to a great group of individuals and showing the adaptability of our sport on behalf of AGB. Lots of smiles and laughter and some friendly competition amongst individuals made for a very enjoyable session.
Lots of badges posted out for Archery England so I am looking forward to seeing those Federation Crosses on quivers and hats on ranges soon.
Busy weekend ahead for me at home, work and in archery related activities so I will see you somewhere no doubt. Have a great one ❤️🏹
This week is definitely feeling that summer is behind us now, highlight of the week for me was Saturday with my active group, this week in Corby, Rose came with me to meet everyone and as always we had a great time with lots of laughter. This group is about getting out of the house, socialising and keeping moving. There is such a great sense of friendship and it’s an excellent way to spend Saturday mornings. As we drove over there was some very heavy rain which did impact numbers somewhat but those of us who were there had great fun and after shooting enjoyed some lovely snacks and tea before going our separate ways. Thank you to every one who came because we know many were also busy with Diwali 🪔 preparations.
As it’s been half term there’s been time to reflect on the various schools and these always make me smile, some have been with me since 2021 some have just come on board. A couple are looking to grow and another couple are looking at leaving, or at least suspending their activity. I am grateful to everyone for letting me help support them and the opportunities they provide and I know that schools are often pulled in a variety of directions so I understand all of the decisions. Full decisions will be made with them over the Christmas holiday as it will mark the end of term.
I hope your Diwali, Halloween and/or bonfire night celebrations are all going well and everyone is safe.
The highlight of this week was most definitely my first session at Brampton View Care Home. We have been arranging this for a while and due to work I had to cancel our first arranged date. It was definitely worth the wait, an afternoon spent with a lovely group of ladies. New dates being arranged for the future and I am very much looking forward to it.
As always the day job is extremely busy and so I have had limited time for the last 6 weeks and I work hard at balance, so please bear with me if I don’t have the first date/time you ask for.
In unrelated news I have a date for my wing walk, this is so important to me as it was the last promise I made to dad as he declared that I am “bloody bonkers”. So 27th June 2025 should see me flying attached to the outside of the plane. There will be more about this, likely after Christmas but I am excited for it.
Ongoing projects are going well and it’s amazing to see some of the places who welcomed me in with Integr8archery CIC right at the beginning along with those groups started within the last 6 months really starting to bed in.
So many smiling faces across many groups, I really use smiles as a measure of how we are doing, and I love seeing them.
Thank you for trusting me to introduce you all to my sport, in my opinion it is the best there is ❤️🏹
Archery is full of people who are amazingly supportive, share their knowledge and if you need it, often their kit! Of course, like anywhere in life there are those people who are less friendly, but they are a minority and easy to ignore fir the most part.
When Jack first started shooting he’d tried other sports and they had been what we had expected, friendly but often standoffish as everyone wants to win. Very early in his competition journey he had an equipment issue and would have had to retire had it not been for the boy who was his main competitor, he had a spare of what Jack needed and the boy’s dad fit it to Jack’s bow. The idea that Jack would have to finish and his son would win, rather than by shooting against each other his son might not beat him wasn’t even considered. We were stunned that day and without a doubt the boys became fast and firm friends and have grown together and always supported one another.
More than that I have watched my children, our family, make countless friends on so many ranges because we support and are supported by others. We all want the best for each other, always, of course we all want to win, can be incredibly disappointed if we don’t, but we also celebrate the successes of others. I genuinely do not know of another sport quite like ours. I am proud of it and those of us that take part.
I am grateful to the friends I make all over the country, as a parent of archers, as an archer or as a volunteer. I love competing but I am only interested in beating myself but I travel all over the place to compete or to volunteer, I firmly believe that I may walk on to a range of strangers but it’s likely I will leave at the end of the day having made new friends.
I don’t hide the issues I have, or that it is sometimes incredibly difficult to leave the house let alone pick up my bow and shoot. Not helped by the occasional rude individual who feels that sharing their opinion about me sitting or even how I am shooting, is perfectly acceptable. Without a doubt the friends I have made help me and support me and I am blessed to have them, particularly a core group who have stood by me throughout everything. Without them there would be no Integr8archery CIC because they believed in me when I didn’t.
This weekend saw me hit a rough spot with my PTSD and the night terrors wild, I know the trigger and I will settle again, but in the mean time a bit of support means more than I can say. At the same time a couple of friends also needed a little support, so we are an archery family and we pull together, all helping each. What started as a rough day on Sunday ended after lots of love, laughter and hugs. With arrows shot through the day. We all achieved what we wanted on Sunday and we all enjoyed our day and I never take for granted what we share, in fact I am immensely proud of how our sport brings out the very best in most of us.
For me the most important thing is safeguarding – if we are safe we can build everything else on that, but without it, what does the rest of it even mean?
Welfare and safeguarding has been key to my day job for 30 years and threaded through all of my volunteering since I was that 16 year old in the summer holiday club for children with disabilities.
Work has seen me deal with many things from modern slavery to abuse, but the training that I have had over the years and ongoing CPD both mandatory and things I choose to do myself help prepare me for my welfare roles in sport, I feel it’s especially important to try and understand how different the world is for young people in today’s world than when I was a teenager, some risk won’t ever change but in a world full of social media and technology it’s also very different with risks I never faced.
As a welfare officer I have never been busier, I see this as a good thing as it is certainly in part as a result of a greater awareness of what is and isn’t acceptable and also how to raise concerns, it does mean I am busy though! So please do remember that.
I firmly believe that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and not just that of welfare officers, you may be the person who sees or hears something and the individual at risk may not feel that they can reach out so, yes, we all have responsibility.
I am grateful that my sport is accessible and adaptable and can be accessed by almost anyone, disability is not a restriction and it is known to be great for mental health. We all have a responsibility to ensure everyone is safe.
Ask yourself, do you know who to raise concerns with, how and where to contact the appropriate person? If not maybe it’s time to just ensure that you do in case you need them.
Have a good week and stay well ❤️🏹 see you on the range
Wow, what a week! I wasn’t allowed to shoot, long story but I am ok now and as long as I promise to listen to what’s happening with my body I am allowed to pick up my bow 🥳
but I didn’t sit around and do nothing, I have been talking with a friend for a few months about some plans they have for some space they want to use and how they want to use it, I have been over to take a long look and aside from learning that our definitions of the word shed are very different 😂 the space is amazing and it was a pleasure to hear her plans and ideas and a privilege to be asked my opinions. It is going to a amazing to watch and to be invited to help and support her – wow 🥰🏹
exciting times to come without a doubt and I cannot wait to share what she is doing because I am incredibly proud of her 😘
some reviews of projects, always, always a great time to look at how things are working and what is successful and what needs changing and in some cases do some things need to stop.
then an amazing afternoon sat with 2 young people – ages 9 and 11 and listening to how they want to help their peers, one has recently started secondary school and wants to show people how sport can be inclusive the other has just become a wellbeing ambassador in their primary school and both want to show how sport can be a positive influence on mental health. To listen to young people talk like this is so motivating because whilst inclusion, equality and wellbeing are my driving forces there are some days it feels like I might be swimming against the tide and these conversations give me hope for the future 🥰
Again, I look forward to being able to share news and updates on their plans over time.
indoors has started for most of us, which I hate but I am also pleased considering the flooding issues in Northamptonshire at the moment.
The anniversaries always blow my mind! I doubt it will ever stop, I love looking at the numbers when I hit those dates too. I love my sport and I am passionate about inclusion and access for all. It’s hard work some days but those numbers remind me it’s absolutely worth it all.
This week so the thing I really hate, having to cancel, weather is uncontrollable and I have to reassess constantly and risk assessments are incredibly important, the predicted weather didn’t arrive until after we would have shot but the county has been mostly under water since the rain started and I still stand by the decisions I made every time I cancelled.
Lots of meetings this week, the beauty of online and the ability to divert around closed roads means they still went ahead.
Looking forward to the next few weeks and some new things starting which is always positive. Indoor season looming which I hate and look to ways to motivate myself and I have signed up to the virtual archery league as in previous seasons, it keeps me shooting for sure.
