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The Anchor Bowmen of Scunthorpe club has been in existence since the 1950's and currently has a membership of over 70 people. Chairman Steve Watt, spokesman Steve Hall and his wife Angela visited the Late Show to talk about the club and why they're so interested in the sport of archery.

Steve Watt took up the sport many years ago and has been a follower for nearly two decades, travelling the country to take part in competitions and enjoying the social and competitive elements archery brings to his interest. Steve Hall has also been an archer for some years, taking it up after trying it on a short break and was instantly hooked.

Since those early days it's become something of a family affair. His wife Angela, who described herself as a one-time 'archery widow' picked up her bow about three years ago after helping Steve out when he needed a vital piece of equipment. Steve has been successful at many competitions across the UK although Angela has also recently scored success in a local competition and is very proud of her achievements so far.

Steve Hall was keen to stress that archery is for all members of the family and the social aspect of taking part is extremely important to its enjoyment. The age range of those taking part is wide. The sport has a large number of 'classes' enabling people whatever their age or ability to take part in some of the more competitive elements.

Archer Mike with 'splittng an arrow'

He takes a more hands on approach to his sport andΜύ hand makes some of the arrows that participants use. He tailors the arrows to an archer's individual needs and style to ensure that the correct arrow matches the different types of bow that are available. The bows themselves come in many different types. Some are heavier than others and some operate a pulley system.

The club meets regularly on Saturdays at Elsham at the JCS Leisure site which is also the location for a paintballing facility near Barnetby Top. The club is really two clubs in one, as in addition to the regular large round targets, there's the opportunity through the 100 Yard Club to shoot at replica creatures to improve skills and provide a different challenge.

It was Steve Hall and treasurer Brian Raw who set up the 100 yard club in response to an idea to provide some field archery facilities. Here, archers can shoot at replica animals (hunting of live animals with bows and arrows is banned). This can involve large animals at long range or much smaller targets at close range. Some facilities even have a faux bison made of a special compound so that the target can be used over and over again.

The main picture is of a medal winners at an competitive event at Ponds Farm at Whitby. This has become a regular haunt for members of the local archery club and Steve and Brian arrange for 'new shooters' to attend in order to get a feel for the more competitive side of sport. The two Steves and Angela say the pictures show how the sport attracts people of all ages. The club might one day spawn its own Olympic champion. One twenty-year-old local archer has her sights on the 2012 games and is hoping to be of a standard good enough to qualify.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the club can visit the club's website (links on this page) for more details.