Archers of Warrnambool experiences tenfold spike in members

The sport is gaining momentum in the south-west and one club has some big goals.

Archers of Warrnambool's membership has spiked in the past two years.

Club captain David Reid said the group only had six members about two years ago.

Now it has more than 50.

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"We're trying to crack 60 before the end of the year, that's our big hope," he said.

"That'll be a really big achievement for a club of our size."

The group also has better facilities.

"Two years ago we were shooting at the clay target club in their car park and we had three targets to shoot at," he said.

"The longest distance we could shoot out to was 50 metres."

The club has relocated to Duram Park which is just by Lake Gillear in Allansford.

It has an indoor range, with nine targets ranging from 10-25 metres, where it runs its come-and-try sessions every Saturday.

"We also have a 90-metre outdoor range so we shoot anywhere from 10 metres to 90 metres," Reid said.

"And we've got 24 targets set aside to build an outdoor field course."

Reid said a field course is like a golf course.

"You shoot anywhere from five to 60 metres in distance and the size of your target is dependent on the distance you're shooting," he said.

"So you might be shooting at something the size of a 20 cent piece at 10 metres but at 60 metres you'll be shooting at something the size of a bread and butter plate.

"That's a great sport because you could be shooting up a hill, down a hill, across a valley, through trees or from your knees."

Reid said the club intended to speak to Archery Australia about hosting state or national titles.

"That will generate a lot more interest from the local community and it will give us some revenue to start spending more money on bows," he said.

The club captain said the group had 25 recurve bows for its come-and-try sessions.

But he said there had been occasions where the club had run out of bows because the sessions had been so popular.

The group has also ramped its regular shooting sessions.

"When I came to the club (18 months ago), we were only shooting Saturdays," Reid said.

"Now we're shooting Tuesdays and Fridays."

Reid said numerous people had worked hard to build up the club.

"The club has really come a long way thanks primarily to guys like Mike Clark (president) and Kane Bartlett," he said.

Reid said the club had also created a website and increased its social media presence to help promote its events.

He added the come and try sessions had been effective in getting new members to join.

"What happens often is that mum and dad will bring their kids along to shoot and then we encourage mum and dad to grab a bow and have a try as well.

"And all of a sudden they discover there's a sport they can do with their kids that's non-contact, not at all dangerous and is a heck of a lot of fun."

Clark, an accredited coach, looks after the come-and-try sessions.

Reid said Jess Smith was another person involved in making those sessions possible.

Reid reignited his passion for archery recently.

He first took up the sport in 2003 after deciding to stop playing American football.

In May 2005, he was planning to shoot at the world titles in Hervey Bay in June.

But he broke his back in April and was unable to compete.

He didn't return to archery until 18 months ago.

"I've got to dose myself up pretty high on painkillers to be able to shoot," he said.

"I can generally get through a round but then I'm buggered the next day.

"But it's worth it, it's a great sport to get involved in."

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