Case Study Working With a CSP

Clubs: Oxford Archers, Windrush Archers & Banbury Cross Goal: Develop Junior Archery Method: Formation of County Development Group Result: Record turnout at County Championships, new indoor league planned, agreements formed with schools to access indoor facility

What the clubs and CSP did…

Work by Oxfordshire Sports Partnership initially focussed on developing a new junior archery club, but has had much wider impact. By working in partnership with volunteers from Oxfordshire’s archery clubs, they:

• Recognised that limited access to indoor shooting time for existing archers and coaches over winter was limiting the development of junior archery. This led to agreements with local schools for use of their facilities in exchange for coaching.
• Identified a need for county clubs to work together more
• The CSP coordinated a development group (inviting every club and coach in the county). The group meets every two months and is fully constituted in its own right.
• The development group shares good practice and has enabled real progress. For example, the group discussed the importance of competition for retaining archers. This has led to the formation of a new indoor archery league hosted by each club on rotation.

The result…

From an original aim of starting one new junior club, the county is now well on the way to forming four new junior clubs/sections.

The Oxfordshire County Development Coordinator, Nat Merry said “I’ve never seen this amount of enthusiasm for trying new things amongst our clubs before”.