Beginners’ Course
We are looking forward to welcoming new beginners in Michaelmas 2026!
OUCofA's Beginners' Course is a great way to learn archery, and have fun while doing it. The course runs from the second week of Michaelmas each year. Please note there are only 25 spots per session.
What's Next?
If you have never done archery before, you will need to join our beginner’s course to join the club. This will open at 7pm on the Friday of 1st Week (16/10/2026).
To get notified when membership opens and for information on future courses, follow us on social media or come see us at the Freshers' Fair.
Taster Sessions
The club will be running FREE taster sessions in Week 1 of Michaelmas in the Old Sports Hall at the Iffley Road Sports Centre. These are open to Oxford University and Oxford Brookes students and staff.
The taster session times for 2026 are:
TBD TBD pm - TBD pm
TBD TBD am - TBD am
Course Session Times
The Beginners' Course will start in 2nd Week of Michaelmas term. You will have to choose between our two beginner’s courses and commit to attending every session of the one you choose. Please note that we have a maximum capacity of 50 beginners.
The session times for 2026 are:
TBD TBD am-TBD am
TBD TBD am-TBD am
Cost
In order to take part in the beginners' course you have to become a member of the club (from 2nd week), this is to make sure you are affiliated with ArcheryGB, the sport's national governing body. With this affiliation you will also have liability insurance, which is a requirement to be allowed to shoot at all! Our current membership fee is £70 a year. If you are a novice you will also be charged £30 to offset some of the cost of the (highly subsidized) course. This includes use of all equipment, coaching over the seven weeks of the course as well as a free resistance band and finger sling which is yours to keep.
For reference, any other non university club would charge you around £120 for less than we can offer you (and you would have to pay extra for any course!). You'll never be able to learn archery so cheaply after you leave Oxford. If you have any other questions, feel free to email a member of the Committee (see the Committee page) or come to a session and see us in action.
Goals
The basic aim is to get you proficiently shooting, able to set up and take down equipment unsupervised, do all of it safely and most importantly to have fun whilst doing it. By the end of the course (the end of term) you'll be competent enough to shoot completely unassisted and will be able to shoot at our 3 additional "experienced" sessions each week.
We'll also aim to have you ready to face the exciting world of archery tournaments, with our first one of the year (with strong emphasis on novice participation, no matter how good you are) usually part of the TOUCAN League, where we shoot against Cambridge, Loughborough, Derby, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Warwick, and Birmingham.
Structure
Each week we'll be teaching something new, building on everything you have learned so far. Our experienced archers will be at sessions to guide you through the learning process.
The content of each of the sessions in a given week will be the same. You only need to attend one session each week. Try to make it to one of the sessions every week, otherwise you might miss out on the training goals of that week!
Requirements
No prior knowledge is assumed or required. Our only requirement is membership of the club. Enthusiasm always helps :)
Clothing
Avoid baggy clothing (e.g. hoodies/jumpers) and necklaces/dangly earrings to avoid anything getting caught on the string! The sports hall can get a bit chilly so we would recommend dressing warm. Long sleeve t-shirts and fitted/slim fit fleeces work well for staying warm while avoiding baggy clothes! Please also wear close toed shoes.