ALL ABOUT LASSWADE ARCHERY CLUB
CLUB HISTORY
There has been archery at Lasswade since the first sports centre opened in 1977. Our club was founded in 1979, with the first general meeting being held in October that year. We are fortunate to have close links with other clubs in our area, and some of their members regularly shoot with us.
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To mark the new millennium we set up the European Millennium Postal League in October 1999. This proved to be successful, with a number of European countries taking part. This was continued into the outdoor season for a time.
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In 2004 we celebrated our 25th anniversary and to mark the occasion had a small gathering of members and visitors from other clubs. We also had the pleasure of welcoming some of the original members to join the celebrations. Our close friends from Penicuik Archers presented us with a ceramic plaque of our original club badge to mark the occasion. We also received a surprise visit from Rhona Brankin MSP, Minister for Culture and Sport in the Scottish Government.
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The original Lasswade High School sports centre closed in June 2013 after 36 years in operation and in September 2013 we moved to the new Lasswade Centre which offers the very latest in modern facilities. Due to the changes made to the layout of the playing fields they could no longer be used for shooting outdoors. We have, however, found an alternative venue in the local area suitable for our needs.
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Over the years we have organised both indoor and outdoor Open competitions. The most well known of these is our Portsmouth, held annually on Remembrance Sunday in November. This is a UK Record Status event and a number of both Scottish and British records have been established here. Perhaps the most notable was in 1996 when the Gents Scottish record of 594 was set by Simon Needham. This event is now well established in the Scottish fixture list and is becoming better known throughout the UK. We also organise a "WA Combined 25m/18m" in October and another Open shoot in March, and both of these events have World Record Status. We no longer organise Open outdoor competitions, but we still organise our annual Club Championships, both indoor and outdoor, and have run an inter-club competition between ourselves and Penicuik since coming to our new outdoor venue.
Our members have competed in numerous events for all disciplines. Some of our members are active in the tournament circuit, both here in Scotland and throughout the UK.
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What of the future? We have an active club, membership is currently very strong and the existing membership continue to support our activities, and our presence on the tournament calendar continues at a high level. Perhaps we will still be here for our 50th anniversary?
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Derek Sangster
Founder Member
THE CLUB TODAY
Today, we have a very active club with senior and junior members who shoot compound, recurve, longbow and barebow. Some of our members shoot competitively at a national level while others shoot socially, but all members are united by their love of archery.
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During the indoor season we try to run as varied a programme as time permits. We hold three sessions per week: Wednesday evenings and Saturday/Sunday afternoons.
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We are fortunate in having a number of qualified coaches in addition to many experienced archers in our club, so we can offer a broad base of knowledge to help club members at all levels of experience.
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Beginners' classes are held both indoors and outdoors throughout the year and there is currently a waiting list. Please contact us to be added to the waiting list.
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Find out more information on the 'Shoot with us' page!