Pauline Burfitt -

I took up archery at the age of 41, having been taught to shoot by my Partner and Coach, Dave Jones. I was a fairly successful Recurve Archer until a shoulder injury in 2005 forced a change to a Compound Bow. I started to enjoy a degree of success as a Compound Archer and in 2011 made the top 10 National Rankings for the first time. I was then offered the opportunity to represent Great Britain in the 2012 European Grand Prix in Cyprus where I won both Individual and Mixed Team Gold. In 2013 (at the age of 60, particularly proud of that!) I represented Great Britain in World Cup Competitions in Shanghai and Antalya and in an Invitational Event in Mexico. Other highlights have been, GWAS Outdoor Champion three times, GWAS Indoor Champion eleven times, multiple DWAA County and GWAS Regional Records, representing England seven times, competing in two National Series Finals, setting seven National Records and one World and European Masters Record in 2019 for the Double 50m Round, and in 2021 became the Inaugural National Masters Champion.

Wales Archery have supported me both practically and with expert advice for many years and when I was first selected to represent Great Britain they were incredible in ensuring I was able to compete Internationally with two identical sets of equipment and I am proud to say that I was probably the first ‘from over the Bridge’ to wear the original sponsorship Shooting Shirt.

Despite continuing issues with my shoulder 2022 has been fairly successful, becoming GWAS Regional Indoor Champion: GWAS Regional Outdoor Champion along with a National Record for the National Round: a Gold and a Silver at the National Age Championships, and the Indoor Season has started well with a +50 National Record for the WA18. So, as long as the Kinesiology tape dosn't run out, I will hopefully still be shooting in 2023.