Hello! And welcome to my fundraising page! I'm raising money for Archery GB's Access Archery Fund which is in partnership with The Fletchers Trust. This fund is there to help make archery more accessible for my fellow disabled people, helping both clubs and people do something frankly just plain cool along the way. That and it's bloomin' good fun so, let's have at it.

I'd like to give you a little preamble as to who I am and why I'm doing this. You don't have to read it, but if I can add a little of the human touch to this, I'd certainly like to. Feel free to skip on if you wish though.

I'm a disabled person, with each decade of my life presenting a new challenge to overcome. From childhood epilepsy, to teenage arthritis, Crohns Disease as a young adult, or god awful back pain, blood disorders and a generous mix of anxiety and depression to add to the bitter cocktail that life keeps making for you - and more still unsaid - I can comfortably say that I've had a few curve balls thrown my way. But we're not going to let that stop us from living now are we?

I'm not special in that way though. There are so many people who have it much worse than I do, who continue to battle finding the right treatment. Maybe you know someone who's facing their own trials and tribulations. Maybe you're facing them yourself. Don't give up, and remember, you've got this. And if you need help along the way, speak up. You're not alone, we're stronger together. And while we're on that subject, don't shy away from Counselling. It's a phenomenal tool that can help people more than many people recognise. But in the meantime, give archery a shot. Think of it as important as one of your five a day 😄

Disability isn't always visible and it's important for us to remember that we never know what another person is truly going through. Even stress, while not itself a disability, can cause conditions which become recognised as disabilities. And God knows the world is stressful enough, so let's do something to look out for eachother, right?

For me, that's where archery comes in. My world was flipped upside down recently and it would have been very easy to shut the door on everyone and everything. I'm fortunate enough to have a fantastic archery range near me called King In The North. They have fantastic facilities and the staff there are so welcoming. Whether you're shooting alone or attending one of their coaching sessions, you'll no doubt find the space to be amazingly relaxing, and the tuition fantastically constructive. I could honestly go there just for the zen-like ambiance but there are so many reasons to check in. There's something about shooting dozens of arrows while accompanied by music from Lord of The Rings alongside like minded people!

Archery has been one of the things to help bring me back out of myself. It's helping me to be more physically active, at my own pace without having a queue forming for equipment as you see in the gym, through a sport that is frankly just plain awesome. It's reducing my stress and increasing my social circles. And if the pain gets to be too much, I can just ease off. And every week I can see myself improving in some way. It's been a great help to me and I'd like to help others share that same joy.

So, what am I going to do? My last fundraiser was playing drums at the 1000 Lights gig for the UPRAWR Mental Health Foundation, in which I was one of a thousand musicians playing Linkin Park songs at Birmingham's Utilita Arena. A friend suggested that I keep the 1000 theme going, which is both a great idea and a bloomin' daunting task. But it is first and foremost a great idea so that's the goal!

I'm going to shoot 1000 arrows in a day, on the 23rd of March at King In The North's indoor range, shooting at 20 yards distance. It'll take some serious time to do and I'll have to really pace myself to both get it done while respecting my own physical challenges, but we miss every shot we don't take and this is one of those cases where not trying is worse than not achieving, so let's rock!

Now remember, I am still a beginner at this! I started on the 15th December and have been going once a week since then. If you want some numbers, I usually shoot and score 72 arrows (usually more after that which I don't count towards my score) when shooting at this range. With 720 points up for grabs, my scores have been 538, 546, 559, 578 and 605. Yes that means I've only had 5 sessions shooting at this range so far, in the roughly 8 or 9 weeks that I've been doing this. You WILL see better people than me doing this - remember I'm doing it for fun, for charity, and for personal development, not for showing off or pretending that I'm the best 😅

I'm very grateful to you for stopping by, be that to share the JustGiving page or to provide some sponsorship. Please remember to only give what you can afford to give. This is about helping others, but it's not a competition to see who can give the most, so please - take that stress off your plate and just do what's right for you.

Peace and love to all of you

Si 🎯

And now for a word from Archery GB, in partnership with The Fletchers Trust.

Archery is one of the most inclusive sports. Success depends on focus, control and confidence, not strength or speed. People of different ages and abilities can train and compete together.

For many disabled people, the barrier is not talent or determination.

It is access. The Access Archery Fund removes those barriers. Delivered by Archery GB in partnership with the Fletchers’ Trust, it provides practical, long-term support to help disabled people take part in archery across the UK.

Your donation funds adaptive equipment, accessible facilities, inclusive coaching and local opportunities to try archery for the first time. It helps clubs welcome disabled archers safely, confidently and sustainably.

The impact goes far beyond sport. Archery builds confidence, and independence. . It creates community and belonging. Quite simply, your support ensures that disabled people are not excluded from archery.

https://archerygb.org/get-involved/disabled-archery/access-archery-fund