Welcome to Bebington Archers
Founded in May 1968, Bebington Archers prides itself on being one of the most welcoming and inclusive target archery clubs on the Wirral. With members of all ages and experience levels, the club aims to bring everyone together regardless of whether they are complete beginners or seasoned competitors.
Based in Birkenhead, the club is well represented at competitions throughout the region and beyond and can boast that in the past two years alone, several of its archers have competed in the Archery GB 2025 National Tour and 2024 & 2025 Indoor Home Nations Cup for England.
We have two venues. Our indoor range is located in a business centre in Birkenhead, with 8 x 20 yard lanes and a club room for relaxation, bow tuning and set up. The range is available all year round, it never closes. We have an outdoor range at the Birkenhead School for our summer season from April through to the end of September with weekend afternoon and weekday evening sessions.
Affiliated to Archery GB (previously known as the Grand National Archery Society), English Archery Federation, North Counties Archery Society and Cheshire Archery Association, the club runs a number of Beginners Courses throughout the year and is always happy to welcome new members or returners to the club. Details of beginner’s courses can be found here.
About Archery
A (very) brief history
Flint arrowheads from approximately 20,000 years ago indicate that humans were using archery for hunting long before wooden flat bows were found in the Somerset Levels which dated back to circa 2690 BC.
By the Anglo-Saxon/Norman period, archery had become crucial in warfare, especially with the introduction of the yew longbow after the Normal Conquest and dominated battlefields for centuries until gunpowder became the weapon of choice from the 15th Century onwards.
Despite this, our relationship with the bow continued and archery as a sport grew in popularity. Fast forward to 1844 and Grand National Archery Meetings began, with the Grand National Archery Society (now Archery GB) forming just over the water in Liverpool in 1861.
Target Archery
There are a number of disciplines in archery: target, field, 3D, flight, run, ski, para, and indoor. Bebington Archers is a target archery club. Target archery involves shooting arrows at stationary circular targets placed at set distances. The targets are divided into coloured rings — yellow, red, blue, black, and white — each representing different scores, with the highest points awarded for hitting the gold centre
Competition distances vary depending on the type of bow:
• Recurve archers typically shoot up to 70 metres.
• Compound archers generally compete at 50 metres.
• Barebow and longbow archers often shoot between 50 and 70 metres, though in some events longbow archers may shoot as far as 90 metres.
Types of Bow
There are four main types of bow:
- Recurve (also known as Olympic Recurve)
- Barebow (also known as Barebow Recurve)
- Compound
- Longbow
Presently, the Recurve bow is the only bow used in Olympic archery. Compound bows will be introduced at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Longbows are the most historically accurate and traditional kind of bow in the UK and are still, generally, made of wood.
The Recurve bow is the modern equivalent of the traditional bows. Fitted with sights and stabilisers they shoot arrows at speeds of more than 200 kph. Modern bows are built using materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre in the riser (handle) and laminated carbon fibre and carbon foam in the limbs.
The Barebow is essentially a Recurve bow but without the shooting aids of stabilisers and sights
Compound bows are designed for maximum efficiency and power and use a system of pulleys and cables. They can be made of aluminium or carbon fibre, whilst the limbs are usually made from fibreglass. Archers can use magnifying sights and mechanical release aids.
Contact us:
If you would like more information or have any questions you’d like to ask please use the form below to contact us.
If you wish to enquire about taking up archery please read the Beginners page for information on how to apply
