Defence Force Veterans into Archery

This Saturday, 19 October, 2019 as part of the one-year anniversary of the successful Sydney Invictus Games, Archery Australia along with Veteran Sports Australia will launch a new partnership to help Defence Force Veterans and their families access the mental and physical benefits that sport can provide by launching VETS into Archery.

“The Invictus Games showcased just how powerful sport can be and what an amazing role it has to play in people’s lives” says Rick Hastie, CEO of Archery Australia. “There were some truly inspiring stories about how sport helped turn people’s lives around and our aim is to assist in breaking down some of the barriers to participation by giving access to our great sport.”

Archery is a sport for everyone and anyone, no matter of your background, ability or age. There are so many veterans that are already fantastic Members of Archery clubs across Australia, we’re hoping to increase this involvement by showcasing some of the benefits Archery and sport has to offer.”

The new program has been endorsed by Sport Australia, who have helped fund the nationwide program which is striving to create greater links with Archery clubs and their local Veteran community.

Vice President of Archery ACT Stephen Slack, is a veteran himself serving in the Royal Australian Navy for 23 year as a Chief Petty Officer who served on numerous ships and was deployed to Iraq.

Stephen, who is also a member of the Tuggeranong Archery Club in Canberra first got into Archery through his kids, after an Archery coach that he knew from 30 years ago made contact.

“The kids went to a come ‘n’ try first and, as the weeks went by, my partner started,” says Stephen. “I was still reluctant to pick up a bow because I’d injured my hand, which meant that I had to shoot using my opposite hand. I’d been a left-handed shooter as a kid and I now had to start shooting right-handed! Eventually I picked up a bow and I noticed almost instantly that stresses in life moved aside and my focus was just on my shooting.”

Fast forward to 2019 and Stephen is now the National Champion for Open Recurve at Clout. But he reckons there’s much more to the sport than just competitions.

“Archery really is a sport for everyone, all year round,” he says. “Being part of an Archery club gives you a real sense of belonging. It’s mentally and physically rewarding and it’s really easy to have a go at.”

The Veterans into Archery program will be launching on Saturday, 19 October, 2019 at Tuggeranong Archery Club, hosted by Archery ACT, from 10am-2pm where Serving Personnel, Defence Force Veterans and their families are encouraged to come down and get involved. There will be free Come N Try sessions, demonstration events and inflatable archery activities for the kids and a free sausage sizzle.

Registration are open for the day by Clicking Here

Please email support@veteransport.org.au or info@archery.org.au for more information.