Archers know what the 1st October is – the start of the new membership year with Archery GB.
I have received lots of questions this week and even more so today, so it would seem fitting that today is the day I would be doing a blog anyhow.
I have had to retire my red shirt. I now have a club of my own which was needed to fulfil the plans for the projects.
Over the coming weeks the children from my education project will have their memberships processed and their continued progress will be encouraged, especially important as a significant number have set themselves goals as both individuals and teams. I am excited to see what we can help them achieve by their self set deadlines.
Me? I am a member of my club and tomorrow I shall shoot my first competition in my new shirt! I am also thrilled to be joined by one of the friends of Integr8archery who will be shooting with me.
The club has three ranges registered and certified at the moment and there will be more added in the coming months but these are specifically for each group and not for general use.
With this in mind I will be predominately shooting at Archers of Raunds, with time also booked at Long Buckby, Bowmen of Glen, WOAC and Kestrels (double hit as my A4SAC friends are there) to shoot as a guest with my shooting buddies. Whilst the last 15 months have been difficult I have learned that the best place to shoot is with those who I am comfortable to be around and this is my focus.
Coaching? None, this was always going to be the next step if the last coach didn’t work out. I am blessed to have many coaches as friends and I have two especially, who I can call upon and have already proven that they can liaise with each other for my benefit, added in my ace physio to keep me going for as long as we can.
So, there we go, that’s what the new membership year sees me doing.
Thank you to all of you for caring enough to ask and good luck to you all as we move into the indoor season.
Today is the day! happy anniversary gift – the club is now live!
I have thought long and hard about today’s blog, the questions that I tried to politely answer 4 weeks ago are still being asked. However they will be dealt with at a different time, today is about what have I done in my first 3 months as Integr8archery. Having taken control of some of my work, work I have been doing for years, what have I managed to do with those projects in this 13 week period?
Well my Northamptonshire schools are still shooting, some existing and new schools have had some day sessions for different groups, resulting in me now discussing with a number of primary, secondary and a higher education facility how to get their sites up and running. 3 groups looking to have a number of children join my club whilst shooting on their site.
Hopefully continued involvement with the school games, working on a possibly huge Project Rimaya group and new multi sports collaboration in Northamptonshire with the activity partnership.
Some pilots being ironed out to get my out of school setting children back shooting, focusing on their return for autumn/winter and new children come spring.
Leicestershire is fast turning into a rival in size, likely may even be bigger than Northamptonshire – currently 2 waves of schools planned – the first a possible 17 primary schools going live, the second 12 schools from a combination of primary and secondary schools.
Plus the new development of low active groups within the county and how we can get those moving by working together across the county.
The exciting news that after successfully applying for various grants in the last 2 years, last week I received the wonderful news that the first grant I have applied for under integr8archery will see The Worshipful Company of Fletchers help Northamptonshire Carers.
I have joined forces with Well-being through Sport, the Sport Development Coalition, the Belong Network, and my amazing friend who is evolving her own work and has allowed me the privilege of the two of us sharing the space to safely find our way forward together whilst separately, for strength comes from supporting each other and working together rather than against each other.
I have almost completed the two level 2 courses that I have started in this time and I have, this week, submitted my application to learn something that will totally push my comfort zones but will add so much value to what I am doing, both with multi sports and disability sports.
So, here I am, after a very rough 12 months, finding myself that Monday evening standing crying yet again in the middle of the range, being given a very specific yet amazing brand of pep talk as I did and with the very generous support of people who believe in me, I now find myself with a community interest company and an archery club! It’s been a whirlwind and I cannot see sign of it calming anytime soon, but whilst amazed, I am also proud of these 3 months. Sure I get sad when I think of my work that I have had to leave behind, but my passionate belief in my sport and how I can use it to help change lives is stronger than ever, the work I have done for 6 years, alone or with others gave me many examples of how my quirky self can help me think outside the box to help achieve things. I haven’t lost that and now I have so many more examples to add to my list. I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged me, spoken with me, hugged me whilst I have cried, and who stand beside me in any way, special thanks to the coaches, paid or volunteer, who work with me to help provide what my groups need and for sharing my excitement when they become self sustaining.
As I sit here I know there are things that I haven’t included – my first flight workshop presentation, helping put on 4 Archery GB competitions, 2 were internationals, but my family of blue shirted volunteers are unbeatable! So many hours I have given to grassroots via my projects but also managed to volunteer at some running events too.
So, here’s to the future and whatever it brings us all and thank you to everyone who has read anything that I have written because I lost my person who I share it all with and you have all stepped into the space left behind. Thank you for believing in me when I wobble.
You surely didn’t fail to notice the excitement as I received the first order of my shirts! I cannot thank Neil at Lionhart for making sense from what I tried to explain to make me these which are perfect and also to everyone who has ordered them so far. I am so looking forward to seeing them out on ranges.
There was also some other good news but I am going to put that in the end of week full round up.
For now I am enjoying my weekend volunteering with the competitions team at Lilleshall and enjoying watching county archers have their first taste of this venue that I love, which will forever be what Jack first described as Hogwarts for archers.
Speak soon as I reflect on what I have achieved so far, I have been giving as a volunteer for 31 years, to this sport that I love for 6 years, grassroots projects for a good 4 years and taken charge of my future in ways that even 6 months ago I never imagined!
As I hit my 12 weeks anniversary of Integr8archery it’s on the back of a week of volunteering with AGB and I find myself heading towards another weekend of volunteering, it drew my mind to the suggestion that I have nothing else in my life. This is a conversation that I often recall and still wonder why the person who said it believed it to be an insult?!
Which of course then leads me to the first blog I had published by Aim4sport.
Should you be interested in volunteering but are unsure where to start, please take a look at the Archery GB website
Should you be interested in the blog, please find it below, should you wish to read it:
YOU ONLY HAVE ARCHERY IN YOUR LIFE !! – HELEN SHARPE
First published by Aim4sport on the 26th February 2021
Approximately 18 months ago, as I sat amongst the parents as our children were all in their coaching session, another parent threw these words at me in anger:
“You only have archery in your life!!”
As he stood there looking at me quite obviously waiting for me to argue with him and list all the things that I do outside of archery
My reply was in fact:
“without people like me, who give back – your sport, our sport, wouldn’t function on any level!”
So yes, I am proud to say I have, outside my day job and parenting, given much of my time to my sport.
On that day I could list myself as:
Archer
Parent of archers
Wife of an archer
Club safeguarding officer, treasurer and health and safety officer.
County secretary and county representative at regional meetings.
Regional safeguarding officer.
AGB ambassador.
I had also recently had the privilege of stepping into the county captain’s shoes to take care of the county junior squad at a competition when the county captain was away at work.
So, yes I would appear to have nothing else in my life other than archery!
Well, be honest, can you find me some spare time there for a hobby!
Those who know me well know I am incapable of sitting still with nothing to do.
What many see as a chance to chill and relax? I simply see as immensely stressful and makes me restless – often leads to mischief and trouble.
So 2020 brought a pandemic and lockdown, restrictions and furlough.
How to fill that time?
Well I started, along with a lot of the nation, by trying to work in the garden, it’s seriously neglected ordinarily as we concentrate on shooting those arrows.
This was however short lived when I stuck my leg on a tree and found myself with a hole in my leg!
So what to do now I have no work or shooting?
Lockdown 3 has also found me being approached by people new to furlough asking this whilst the range is closed and they have no access to the shooting that helps with their mental health.
I stumbled across studying, haven’t done any for a while so decided to see what might help in that list of roles whilst I was injured, furloughed and the ranges were closed.
Nearly 12 months on I have now completed 3 level 2 courses around mental health and safeguarding related topics along with some other shorter courses.
May 2020 saw the opening of ranges under restrictions, many people on the committee and coaches were on the shielding lists so with the help of 3 willing volunteers I took on the task of getting the club open, which was made easier by the many webinars and sessions related to archery and multi sports that I had sat in on since early April.
As we have rolled from lockdown, restrictions and tiers this has been my focus to allow anyone who wants to shoot the chance to be able to shoot. Our sport ticks so many boxes but in strange times many want that time on the range to help with their mental health.
I have worked with the NGB to get disabled archers back on the field last summer, when they do not have an agent in their household.
Now in lockdown 3 I am agent for an archer who is able to shoot under the disability exemption.
I am constantly in webinars, training sessions and meetings in our sport or across other sports working together to keep grassroots going.
Do I only have archery in my life? Probably, is it an insult? – never. I will work to allow people to enjoy my sport, our sport because I love it and all that it can give.
Would I recommend you give as many hours as I do to volunteer – no!!
Would I recommend you find a way to volunteer even a couple of hours a year?
Absolutely, because in my opinion, you will get something back if you give even a little.
Considering that I have just gotten in from 5 days of volunteering at 2 huge events, I am quite amazed at how much else I managed to get done.
Without a doubt due to the fact that I do not sleep !
New club details almost ironed out but absolutely looking to be ready for the 1st October 2022.
A new school for the Northamptonshire arm of the education project.
3 grant applications submitted for different project groups.
Lots of emails and facetime/zoom calls regarding various things.
A lot of conversations which help me see that yes, I have suffered at the hands of someone and people are unsure what is the best way to deal with it, but they do want to work with me and are excited to see me continue with my grassroots projects and what they might be able to collaborate on to work with me.
I have never taken this for granted because I genuinely didn’t see it as likely. So I am feeling proud.
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.
