WIREDGOV

A new Performance Archery Centre has officially opened at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, in Shropshire.

The £3.6 million facility, which we funded with support from UK Sport, will be used by Olympic and Paralympic archers as their daily elite training environment in the run up to the Paris 2024 Games. 

Community activity including grassroots sport will also take place at the centre, offering a new space for local people to be active as part of our long-term Uniting the Movement strategy.

And as the home of British performance archery, it will also serve as a base for Talent Pathway athletes aiming to get onto UK Sport’s World Class archery programme and the National Compound Squad.

Representatives from the world of sport were invited to the grand opening on Monday, along with a local archery club, which ran a taster session for schoolchildren to try archery and meet some of the athletes heading to Paris this year. 

Lisa Dodd-Mayne, our executive director of place, yesterday said:

"This dedicated Performance Archery Centre will give elite archers the greatest opportunity to prepare and compete on the world stage. 

"The centre provides talent development archers access to world-class training facilities, whilst also making archery accessible to community groups and organisations and helping more people to enjoy the benefits of living active lives.

"We’re looking forward to seeing people from all backgrounds and communities coming together in this facility to enjoy archery activities. In aiming to inspire and attract a future generation of archers, it's been fantastic to see young children from local schools giving the sport a go this morning."

Click here for the full press release