Antony Aplin:

I took up archery in 2013 as a way to focus my mind as I suffer from mental health issues, I started with a recurve and showed I wasn't too bad and managed to win a few of the local shoots and gaining my bowman classification, I was also having a dabble with a longbow just for a bit of light relief and found I really enjoyed it and then just before covid I had the opportunity to have a go with a Gary Evans longbow.

After lockdown my scores grew and I did a couple of postal shoots. In 2021 I decided to try a couple of the bigger shoots and did quite well achieving Master Bowman and making it onto the county team.

In 2022 I decided to ditch the recurve and go all in with the longbow and do a full season with it.

I managed to get my Grand Master Bowman classification, I also finished 3rd at the UK Masters, 2nd at the British Target Champs and I won GNAM, I kept my place on the county team and finished the year 2nd in the national rankings.

I could not have done any of this without the help and encouragement of my fellow longbowers to whom I owe a great deal.

My goals for this year are: I would like to keep my GMB classification, keep my county position, and would like to finish at least in the top ten rankings.