European Archery Championship launches with a bang

Tournament to take place in Nottingham in May This week, one of Archery GB’s top archers, Duncan Busby, performed a skilled archery trick shot to start the European Championship year with a bang. The event took place in the ballroom of Nottingham’s iconic Council House to celebrate the tournament coming to the city in May. Tickets are now on sale for the event, which will see hundreds of top archers from across the continent gather in Nottingham for the tournament, held in association with The Nottingham Building Society. Tickets are available online, or from Nottingham Tourist Information Centre. The event saw the entire room hold their breath as Duncan, a double gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, performed a challenging shot through a line of balloons, requiring the accuracy and concentration of a professional archer. The trick shot saw the spectacular line of balloons popped to start the countdown to the tournament in just over four months’ time. The championship will take place at two locations in the city, commencing with the qualification and elimination rounds at the University of Nottingham’s Highfields playing fields from 23-27 May. The head-to-head finals will then be hosted in a 1,500 spectator purpose-built archery arena in the heart of the city in Old Market Square on the weekend of 28-29 May. This will be only the second time that Great Britain has hosted the European Archery Championship in its history, the previous event being in Stoneleigh, Coventry in 1978. The biennial competition has been running since 1968 and Great Britain has enjoyed much success over the years. The British team will be looking to emulate last year’s World Archery Championships in Denmark, where Adam Ravenscroft claimed the bronze medal in the men’s compound classification. The European Championship in Nottingham is part of UK Sport’s National Lottery funded #EveryRoadtoRio events series, which will feature over 30 world class sports events with opportunities for the British public to support their athletes in the build-up to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016. To find out more about the tournament and purchase tickets for the Finals on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May, please visit: www.euroarchery2016.org Neil Armitage, CEO (Interim), at Archery GB, commented: “The launch was a fantastic opportunity for Duncan to show off the skills and focus of a professional archer. While this may have been a fun spectacle for our guests, there will be a similarly tense atmosphere during the head-to-head matches at the championship this May. The nail-biting shoot offs make a fantastic atmosphere for spectators and we look forward to welcoming both established archers and newcomers to watch the event this May.” Councillor Cat Arnold, Executive Assistant for Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “Nottingham is proud to be the host city of the European Archery Championship, the first time that this exciting championship has been held in the UK since 1978. We’re delighted to welcome archers from around Europe for this Rio Olympics 2016 qualifying event. “Thanks to our headline sponsors Nottingham Building Society for helping us to bring this prestigious event to the city.” Vicky Hall, Sponsorship and Events Manager for The Nottingham, said: “As sponsors of the Nottingham Building Society Archery GB National Series Finals for three years, we are proud to be associated with this prestigious event. Archery is such a firm favourite with our local communities – especially in Nottinghamshire, the home of Robin Hood. “We are delighted to extend our support by sponsoring the European Archery Championships and once again be working with such impressive sportsmen and women.” Working together with Sport England, Archery GB aims to create a legacy of the championship in partnership with the Major Events Engagement fund. The Archery in Notts campaign aims to raise the profile of the sport throughout Nottinghamshire and get more people of all ages trying archery in 2016. To find out how to get involved or find a local club to try out the sport, please follow @ArcheryinNotts or visit www.euroarchery2016.org