Archers have Killruddery in their sights
TWO members of the South East Archers, who have both just claimed their third consecutive Irish championship titles, will represent Ireland at the World Archery Field Championships in Killruddery House next week.
Garrett Byrne from Arklow and Jane Langrell from Gorey both won titles at the national finals in Enniscorthy and are well into their preparations for the upcoming international event.
This year’s world event is set to be the biggest to date and run from next Monday, September 26, culminating in the final days – Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, which will be open to the public. A total of 32 countries will be represented with 312 archers taking part, with at least three Olympians among them.
For Jane and Garrett, it is the opportunity of a lifetime and given that Garrett missed out on last year’s final due to work commitments, he is very much looking forward to competing at Killruddery House.
The Arklow man took up archery six years ago and now holds three Irish National Field Champion titles in the senior men’s category.
Jane has been shooting for eight years was Archery 3D champion in 2014 and 2015 and has also holds two UK field archery titles.
The South East Archers was only formed in the past few years so it is a major coup for the fledgling club to have two archers shooting for Ireland next month.
Garrett favours the Recurve bow while Jane usually opts to shoot Barebow.
While the competition will run from September 26, the event will only be open to the public on October 1 and 2 when the finals are brought into the grounds of Killruddery House. In the earlier stages, archers will compete in the wider grounds and woodland areas within the estate, the terrain typically favoured for field archery.
A sold out banquet and closing ceremony will take place in the Royal Hotel in Bray on Sunday, October 2, while there will be an opening ceremony on Bray Seafront at 6 p.m. on September 29.
For further information on the World Archery Field Championships visit visit www.wafc2016.com and for further details about the South East Archers see southeastarchers.com.