Archery club proud to compete with visually impaired veterans
David Poyner of the Blind Veterans UK Bowmen - Credit: Archant
It may not seem the most obvious sport to adapt for the visually impaired, but blind archery is thriving in Norwich.
Thorpe Hamley Archery Club, based at Angel Road School has a long history with visually impaired team Blind Veterans UK Bowmen.
Thorpe Hamley, a sighted but inclusive club, regularly hold competitions with the Bowmen, and was the first club to do so.
Club treasurer and owner of Clickers Archery Graham Harris said he was proud of the relationship between the two clubs.
'I'm really personally about giving people opportunities,' said the 51-year-old.
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'I thought it would be great if we started a competition, and now we're struggling to fit in fixtures to play the Bowmen because they play so many other clubs now which is fantastic.
'This kind of thing is so important, there are so many people who don't get a chance to have a go at things in life.
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'Just because somebody has a visual disability, it doesn't stop them from being a good archer.'
In fact, at the club's last meeting on November 16, it was the Blind Veterans UK Bowmen who took the crown, beating Thorpe Hamlet by 8915 points to 8845.
Chairmen of the Bowmen David Poyner said: 'It really was a close match which shows that visually-impaired archers can compete and win against able-bodied opponents.
'We've arranged this archery shoot for a few years now and I look forward to welcoming Graham and the team from Thorpe Hamlet down to Brighton, where we're based, for the return fixture.
'I have always been a competitive person and, since being supported by Blind Veterans UK and being introduced to vision impaired archery, I've been able to keep that competitive edge.'
For more on the charity, visit blindveterans.org.uk, and for more on the club visit thorpehamletjuniors.co.uk.
Do you have a charity story? Email locallife@archant.co.uk
