Club History
The first ever meeting of those interested in forming an archery club was held on 4th Nov 2004 in the bar 12 Merchiston Place. In this meeting a club was constituted and a committee elected. The first ever actual practice session was held at the Sports Hall of Queen Margarets University College on 31st Jan 2005 – archery had been deemed too dangerous for Napier’s own facilities. QMU(C as it was then) had their campus in the Corstorphine area of the city – unfortunately the sports hall was only long enough to shoot about 14m. In order to get 18m sightmarks, the club shared practice time with Heriot-Watt Uni AC. Safety netting (on loan from Edinburgh Uni AC) was hung from weighted down netball posts and had to be tripled over to stop arrows.
Six archers represented NUAC at the club’s first competition, making the long journey to Loughborough for BUSA Indoor Champs on 26th Feb 2005. The club won its first medals shortly afterwards as the novice team were third at SUSF Indoors in St Andrews on 12th Mar 2005. With no outdoor venue at all at this stage the club continued to share facilities with Heriot-Watt.
In 2005/06 the club was able to advertise during Freshers Week and the membership grew significantly. The club also took part in the SUSF League for the first time finishing 2nd convincingly in both senior and novice leagues setting many club records. However the practice facilities were a significant problem and the club were once again forced to rely heavily on Heriot-Watt, who physically hosted Napier’s “home” SUSF League Match on 11th Feb 2006, as well as providing an outdoor (and full size indoor) facility. The novice team finished second in all SUS competitions and was 6th at BUSA Indoors, the club picking up its first BUSA medal in gents novice recurve. The club attended BUTC for the first time in Warwick on 11th Mar 2006 but was eliminated in the round of 32. The club and ACME remotely hosted BUSA Outdoors 2006 at Lilleshall NSC in Shropshire – the attendance of 260 is still a record for the event. Towards the end of 2005/06, a safety assessment of QMUC concluded that it was not a safe archery venue and recommended that the club be allowed access to Sighthill Dome.
The club’s first session at the Sighthill Dome was delayed until the fourth week of term by “staffing issues”. This led to a lower number of beginners than before, who were four weeks behind in their training. Coupled with a high number of those graduating in the summer meant the 2006/07 competitive season was a struggle. The club was however able to host its first genuinely home match at the Dome on 9th Dec 2006, a SUS League Match against St Andrews and Heriot-Watt, and also sent the maximum two teams to BUTC, the B team nearly upsetting 5th seeds and eventual semi-finalists Keele in the round of 32.
The second season in the Dome marked a return to more successful ways with the senior team finishing 2nd again in the SUS League. The novice team exceded expectations by winning the club’s first SUS championship after a narrow win over Edinburgh (the club’s first) at the start of the season. The club also hosted a SUS level championships for the first time, the SUS Novice Champs taking place in the Dome on 1st Dec 2007. The club also had an archer in all four of the semi-finalist teams at the SUS Head-to-Head event, with the novice team 7th at BUSA Indoors and achieving promotion in Division 1 of the ELeague for the first time. The club narrowly failed to win their first match at BUTC, the A team losing by 1 disc to Oxford. Towards the end of the indoor season, the club was evicted from the Dome, as it is due to be demolished (once they finish taking the asbestos out) as part of the Sighthill Campus redevelopment. Not due to reopen until 2010, the club currently has no guaranteed indoor venue for September 2008, although George Watson’s school is currently the most likely destination. The club was able to secure its own outdoor facility for the first time, on the Graduation Field, next to Craiglockhart Campus although it is only 50 yards long and accommodate only 3 bosses. The Club has hosted SUS Outdoors 2009 and is scheduled to host SUS Outdoors 2010, both at Bathgate
For the 2009/10 Indoor Season, the Club has practised at Archers Hall on Buccleuch Street which is owned by the Royal Company of Archers.
