The National Series Finals – one of the UK’s premier archery events – will be coming to Nottingham on Sunday 1 September. The grounds of Wollaton Hall will play host to the head-to-head finals, with recurve archers shooting matches at 70 metres and compound archers at 50 metres.
The event will go straight into the action, with Lucy O’Sullivan and Rikki Bingham opening for women’s compound, followed by Paralympic champion Danielle Brown taking on Andrea Gales. In the men’s compound division, first-time finalists Matt Arnold and Michael Cauwe face off first, followed by defending champion Adam Ravenscroft taking on five-time finalist Liam Grimwood.
The recurves will take over in the afternoon, with Nicky Hunt shooting against Amy Oliver, in Nicky’s first time in the final as part of the recurve division. Their match will be followed by Naomi Folkard – a recent gold medallist at the World Games and last year’s National Series champion – against first-time finalist Abbie Fisher. Olympic team mates Larry Godfrey and Alan Wills will be going head-to-head in the first round of men’s recurve matches, while Ashe Morgan and Michael Judd will take each other on in their first National Series final for a shot at the gold medal.
Following the popularity of the knockout format with spectators at the Olympic and Paralympic Games last August, organisers are hopeful that the event, combined with the iconic location, will draw people in. Archery GB chairman David Sherratt said, “With this calibre of athletes we expect a close race for the gold medals. It is more than an archery event, it is a festival of archery and there will be something for everyone. Wollaton Hall is such a fantastic location and we anticipate that this will be the best National Series Finals we’ve ever seen.”
There will be opportunities for spectators and visitors to the hall to have a go at archery, alongside other family activities. There will also be four exhibition events from youth and Paralympic team archers.
The Nottingham is sponsoring the event, and chief executive David Marlow has commented, “We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Finals which provides us with a unique opportunity to support an activity that has such strong links to our Nottingham heritage.”
For more information regarding the National Series please visit www.archerygb.org
Danielle Brown (women’s compound) and Ashe Morgan (men’s recurve) at the Nottingham Riveria ahead of Archery GB’s National Series Final at Wollaton Hall, 1 September 2013