Learning Archery

So you are interested in learning Archery at the best little Archery Club in Upper Hutt? Brilliant! Well, you've come to the right place then.

For those of you who have never participated in the sport we offer beginner's courses and for former archers returning to the sport we can brush off that rustiness that will have crept in.
Trentham Archery Club has several Archery New Zealand accredited coaches, most are Level 1 (Development) but we also have three Level 2 coaches. Beginner's courses are run from early Spring to late Autumn. We try avoid mid winter as there are too many lost days due to bad weather which prolongs the course and causes people to lose interest. For further information on beginner's courses, including costs, or you wish to be put on the waiting list for the next course, please contact the Club Secretary (see the Contact Us page of this site).

Trentham Camp Archery Club is operates from the Sommerville Range in Trentham, Upper Hutt (see Visit Us for directions to the range). Beginner's courses are held on Sundays. Session times depend on the demand, if there are too many people for one session then we may run two sessions, the first from 10am till noon, and the second from midday to 1.30pm. The normal single session time is from 10am till noon. There are some Sundays when courses will not be held due to the range being required for NZ Defence Force activities, a major competition, or the coaches are away at a tournament elsewhere in the country. You can keep track of the range programme via the Trentham Camp Archery Club group on Facebook.

A beginner's course consists of eight 1.5 hour lessons. During the course we will teach basic safety, etiquette, care of equipment, exercise and get you shooting in a confident manner. Initially you will be trained to a shoot recurve bow without sights in order to learn the absolute basics of archery, then from there you will progress to learn the principles of shooting with a basic sight.
We will provide you with all the equipment required for the beginner's courses. Please do not run and buy equipment prior to starting the course as we have found that in many cases people have purchased unsuitable items.

At the conclusion of the beginner's course you will make the decision whether to leave it at that, or to progress further in the sport. If you decide to continue you will be asked to join the Club. You can carry on shooting with club-supplied equipment for a reasonable period of time during which you should be starting to look towards obtaining your own gear. The coaches will be available to advise you as to what will be the most suitable equipment for you personally. We will continue to keep an eye on you over this time and give you advanced coaching.

When you gain the confidence and strength to be able to shoot longer distances you will be encouraged to join in the club shoots held on the range, and major tournaments that are held throughout the country from time to time. We look forward to seeing you.