A brief history of our Association – so far
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. However, in August 2019, 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, to oversee 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 now 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 (AGB) or the English Field Archery Association (EFAA) or the National Field Archery Society (NFAS) or indeed any other independent archery club, covered under its own insurance. In any case once an individual takes part in a BPAA event as a BPAA member,then that individual is automatically covered under BPAA insurance.
Membership of the Association 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 Association, 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 against each other within their own regions if they wish to, and also against other outside organisations. These are managed by each regions Regional Representative following the rules and Constitution of the Association. However the “Center” also runs Tournaments, but as one can appreciate getting members of the Association together from all over the UK is extremely difficult, so most of these shoots generally take the form of Postal events. However the Association does run an Annual National Championship requiring physical attendance at different locations each year around the UK, that members are invited to participate in. Members of the Association also participate in the World Police and Fire Games, and receive invites to the Guernsey National Championships each year
The future is again very promising for the BPAA, and now it has been secured certainly for a few more years to come, but it will only always be as successful as its membership’s participation and involvement provides.
So if you would like to join us, and you meet the criteria, then please contact us, using the contacts page on this website.