To visit the British Police Archery Association Web address, click on the link below
About
The British Police Archery Association (BPAA) is an organisation who’s mission is to bring together archers from within the Police family throughout the UK to shoot against each other in regional matches, and when and where possible for a BPAA team to compete against other organisations such as the Military and Civil Service, and wider events such as the International Police and Fire Games, and Guernsey Nationals by attendance at specifically identified venues. Membership is open to Official Police Archery Clubs, and to individual Police family archers shooting in their local community clubs where no official police archery club exists. Archers will be serving or retired Police Officers, serving or retired members of Police staff, members of the Special Constabulary, PCSO’s, Police Cadets, the spouse / partner of such a member, direct dependent children of same (over the age of 10 years) and specific BPAA Centre invited / approved individuals.
Members will already be existing archers as the Association has no facility to conduct training of individuals new to archery, however this would no doubt be carried out within the individuals own club. Members will therefore be affiliated and signed up to one of the following organisations – Archery GB (AGB), National Field Archery Society (NFAS), or the English Field Archery Association (EFAA) – Membership of the Association is £5.00 per member per annum. The membership period runs from October to the end of September the following year. Members in their first year subject to when they join may not get a full year for their subscription. Providing the above criteria is met, membership will be considered by the Association. Please find membership application form below. Please return form electronically as an email attachment to :- britishpolicearcheryassociation@gmail.com
The Association website has an electronic membership application form on the front end of the site and is accessible to all without the need to register or log in.
History
For a number of years, prior to 1989, there was an organisation called the Police Archery Association (PAA), that catered for members of the Police throughout the UK, to participate in the sport of Archery. However its history before that point is shrouded in mystery, and we do not currently know anything about it, perhaps one day we may know more! It is not known how long it had been going, or when it ceased to exist, however in October 1989, a gentleman who served in Nottinghamshire Police, became the Secretary, a gentleman who served in the West Midlands Police, became the Tournament Organiser, and another who also served in Nottinghamshire Police, became the Treasurer. All three men then set about the task of getting the organisation up and running once again. At this time it was decided that they would change the name to British Police Archers (BPA) mainly in order to try and eliminate any confusion, as the Police Archery Association (PAA) could be mistaken as the Police Athletics Association. So by November 1989 at a meeting in Coventry, it became the new, British Police Archers (BPA) and was reborn.
These three guys ran the BPA until June 1994, when it was decided that other Police Forces would take over the reins, at which time members from Surrey took on the task. We again know little of this period, and so far have been unable to find anyone within Surrey Police who can shed light on their incumbency. This period was apparently short lived, after which members from Scotland then agreed to take over the running of the BPA. Once again nothing currently is known of their time in office either , and so even now this period too, also remains a mystery to us. Their management lasted until 1997, when it was decided to return the running of the BPA back to Nottingham, where it stayed until July 2019.
Over the following years from 2017, the membership of the Association also seemed to fluctuate, in tandem with the decrease of Official Police Archery Clubs. In August 2019, however, Steve Ridley a retired Kent Police Officer and Chairman of the Kent Police Archery Club, became the new Administrator and took over the helm of the Association. His primary brief to turn the fortunes of the organisation around, and to provide advice, and guidance, to UK Police Forces should they wish it, in order to help them set up their own official archery club, where one did not exist.
He immediately set to, and contacted all of the Sports and Social Associations of UK Police Forces, advising them that he was re-building the organisation, advising them of the help on offer. Following the pulling together of a new management team to take on the challenges of running an Association in the 21st century, a number of actions were determined. The BPA, then once again, elected for another name change, and from August 2019 became known as the – British Police Archery Association (BPAA). The Association has also been divided up into a number of Police regions throughout the UK, to make management by the “Centre” in Kent easier by having Regional Representatives, responsible for their region as “boots on the ground”. A number of Regional Representatives have also now been chosen, and this process continues as the Association goes forward.
Membership of the BPAA from 2019 has also been divided into two groups. The first being an official Police Archery Club, with a block membership to our Association. However the BPAA membership also caters for individually joining Police family members, who are also members of their local civilian archery club. Further important criteria for either type of membership, being an affiliation to Archery GB, the UK’s overarching and governing organisation of our sport.
Membership of the club is further based on individuals who are existing archers, who have provided proof of such, and their ability to shoot in a particular bow discipline. As such, our Association has a mixture of members from beginners, right up to National and International standard archers, but the fundamental ethos of the club, is that all members offer assistance to each other when asked to, in order to improve skill levels and ability, and in so doing raise the standard and standing of the Association in the Archery world. It also aims to further engender an atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie with like-minded individuals, sharing our common interests.
As the Association continues to grow, it offers members the opportunity to shoot within their own regions between each other, and against other outside organisations. These will be managed by each regions own Regional Representatives as they see fit. However the “Centre” also runs regular shoots that take the form of Postal events, as well as physically attending shoots in different parts of the UK, that members are invited to participate in. The BPAA also continues to take part in the annual 5-way championship shoots between the BPAA, the Civil Service Archery Association (CSAA) and the RAF, Navy, and Army, held at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire that occur twice a year. The Association also intends in future to have its members participate in the Police and Fire Games.
So if you would like to join us, and you meet the criteria, then please contact us.