Junior archer targeting treble

Jessie Slater, 16, became Yorkshire Indoor Junior Girl Recurve Champion in March after shooting a score of 504 out of 600.

Then on Sunday, June 2, she clinched the Outdoor Junior Girl Recurve title at the Yorkshire Archery Association Annual County Championship and Open with a final score of 980 out of 1296.

She now heads into the Junior National Outdoor Championship, which takes place on July 6 and 7 at Lilleshall, hoping to maintain her good form.

Jessie competes for Nova Bowmen along with her brother Lewis, who has also enjoyed great success over the last year.

Lewis, 12, became Northern Counties Archery Society Junior Boys champion in October last year with a fantastic total of 1139 out of 1296, despite competing against junior archers aged up to 18.

He then won the team trophy with other members of the Yorkshire Archery Junior Squad, and at the Yorkshire County Championship he took the Junior Recurve Team title with Jessie.

Lewis was awarded Junior Master Bowman classification in 2012, the highest accolade for a junior archer, and was subsequently invited to Archery GB’s Junior Masters tournament in August.

Lewis is 19th in the national rankings, the highest for an under 12 recurve archer, while Jessie is 24th.

Recurve archery uses bows with points that curve away from the archer when drawn.

This means the string touches a section of the bow limb and generates more power and speed in the arrow.

Nova Bowmen were established in 2008 and are affiliated to the national governing body Archery GB.

They currently meet in Cleckheaton and hold regular events, as well as taking part in county competitions.

For more information or to join the club, please email [email protected].