NCAS County & Open Outdoor Championships 2026

Admin NCAS Chris Mason Celebration League, County Championships, Targetcraft Archers
NCAS County & Open Outdoor Championships 2026

Targetcraft Archers Host Successful NCAS County & Open Outdoor Championships

Despite a damp start to the morning, conditions cleared to provide a fantastic backdrop for the Northamptonshire County Archery Society (NCAS) County & Open Outdoor Championships, hosted by Targetcraft Archers.

The event welcomed competitors from across Northamptonshire, alongside visiting archers from neighboring counties, for a highly successful day of competition.

It was a landmark day for many, featuring several debutants taking on their first County Championship and full York/Hereford/Bristol rounds. Outstanding performances across the field yielded a wave of Personal Bests, Rose Awards, master bowman scores and new records.


Results

Special congratulations go to the newly crowned 2026 NCAS Outdoor Champions:

Category Name Records
Overall Junior Female Barebow Phoebe Chaplin County Record
Overall Junior Open Barebow Archie Longley EMAS & County Records
Overall Junior Female Flatbow Tara Jenkins County Record
Overall Junior Open Longbow Finley Ellis EMAS & County Records
Overall Junior Female Recurve Bella North County Record
U21 Female Compound Maisie Hailes EMAS & County Records
50+ Female Barebow Michelle George
50+ Open Barebow David Whitley
50+ Female Compound Lana Weston
50+ Open Compound Peter Radcliffe
50+ Female Longbow Frances Hobbs County Record
50+ Open Longbow Mark Allison
50+ Female Recurve Anita Lane
50+ Open Recurve Simon Stubbs
Senior Female Barebow Laura Constable
Senior Open Barebow Steven Stark
Senior Female Compound Emily Constable
Senior Open Compound Daniel Tarpey
Senior Open Recurve Archie Bromley

Sincere thanks go to Judges Ted, Mandy and Mick for ensuring the tournament ran seamlessly and on schedule.

A huge thanks to the volunteers who helped to set up, run and take down the event, without whom this competition would not happen.

This tournament is also the final stage of the 2025/26 NCAS Chris Mason Celebration League, which will be update shortly.

Photo’s courtesy of Nicole Jayne and Targetcraft Archers.

Junior Archery Session – 19th September

Admin NCAS Junior Archery Programme, Junior Coaching, Junior News
Junior Archery Session – 19th September

SEPTEMBER – Learning from the Season (3rd Session)

Saturday Session – 9:45 for a 10am start
Targetcraft Archers, West Lodge Rural Centre, Back Lane, Desborough, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN14 2SH

This is the final outdoor session of the season, and we will be moving indoors for the following sessions.

As the outdoor season begins to wind down, September is about reflection and learning. Every arrow you’ve shot this year has taught you something.

This Month’s Focus

  • Post-season reflections (this is where your diaries will become useful)
  • Identifying strengths and areas to develop
  • Technical review
  • Planning next steps

Your journey doesn’t end here — it evolves.

There are spaces available if any more Juniors would like to sign up. Remember, we have both Male and Female Coaches delivering these sessions.

Contact cco@ncasarchery.org.uk for more information.

Have a great week and hope to see you on the shooting line soon.

NCAS End of Season Junior Tournament @ Targetcraft Archers

Admin NCAS Junior News, Targetcraft Archers, Tournament

To mark the close of the outdoor season, Targetcraft will be hosting the Northamptonshire County Archery Society (NCAS) Juniors Tournament 2026 on Sunday, 27th September.

We’d really like to encourage as many junior archers as possible to take part. The event is open to all juniors under 18, whatever their level of experience, whether this would be a first competition or an opportunity to finish the outdoor season with one more shoot.

Why Join?

  • FREE Entry for Northamptonshire Juniors! NCAS is fully sponsoring the entry fee for all Northamptonshire junior archers.
  • Out-of-County Juniors Welcome: Entry is just £5 for juniors from neighbouring counties.
  • Support & Progression Guidance: Experienced competition archers and parents will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions about junior competitions, county coaching and progression opportunities.

Event Details & How to Register

If you’ve been thinking about trying a competition for the first time, this would be a great opportunity to give it a go in a friendly and supportive environment.

We’d love to see a really good turnout of Northamptonshire juniors to round off the outdoor season.

Entry Form – LBAC Halloween Field Shoot 2026

Admin NCAS Fun Events, LBAC Halloween Field Shoot, Long Buckby AC
Entry Form – LBAC Halloween Field Shoot 2026

🎃 Halloween Field Shoot at Long Buckby Archery Club 👻

Enter if you dare… or at least if you can manage to hit a foam target instead of a tree trunk. 🏹🌲

Long Buckby Archery Club invites you to dust off your cobwebs and stumble through our haunted woods for a Halloween field shoot on 31st October. Navigate a course crawling with witches, warlocks, and whatever else managed to crawl out of the Daventry undergrowth. 🧙‍♀️🧙‍♂️🕸️

Fancy dress is heavily encouraged, provided it doesn’t turn you into a human hazard. Leave the trailing, flowing sleeves at home unless you fancy launching your entire costume downrange with your arrow. Sensible shoes are mandatory, because tripping over a root while holding a drawn bow adds a whole new level of excitement we’d prefer to avoid. Try not to scream too loudly; the local goblins can smell fear, and frankly, they judge poor grouping. 😈

🌲 A warning from the woodland spirits…

The woodland spirits have ruled there are to be no carbon arrows. Any pure carbons lost in the undergrowth, the owner will be cursed to haunt the woods forever, so leave them tucked safely in your homes. 👻🏹

🕷️ Event Details

  • 📅 Date: October 31st (All Hallows’ Eve)
  • 📍 Location: Long Buckby Archery Club, Western Ave, Daventry, NN11 4ED
  • 💷 Cost: £7 per archer
  • 🏹 Equipment: All bow types welcome

🦇 Schedule

  • ☀️ Afternoon Haunt (Shoot 1): 2:30 PM
  • 🌙 Twilight Terror (Shoot 2): 5:30 PM

🍲 The Twilight Terror will be followed by hot soup and rolls to warm up the chill in your bones.

🏆 Prizes will be awarded for each session, assuming anyone survives the scoring.

Please sign up for a single entry to give everyone a fair shot at the targets. If extra spaces magically materialise from the ether, you will be contacted in case you want to tempt fate twice. ✨

Grab your favourite setup, tighten up your grouping, leave your fears at the gate, and come see if your aim is as sharp as a vampire’s tooth. 🧛‍♂️🏹


🎃 Enter the Haunted Shoot Here 👻

Also – this shoot is part of the 2025/26 Chris Mason Celebration League.

NCAS Winter Coaching Programme 2026/27 (Seniors)

Admin NCAS Coaching, County Coaching Organiser, Neil Anthony, Winter Coaching Programme
NCAS Winter Coaching Programme 2026/27 (Seniors)

NCAS Winter Coaching Programme 2026/27

NCAS is launching a performance focused winter coaching programme for all senior archers from all bow disciplines and all experience levels affiliated through Northamptonshire County Archery Society.

This programme is designed to elevate technical consistency, strengthen competitive readiness, and provide structured development opportunities across the winter season.

Archers will be coached by both male and female coaches ranging from Level 1/Session Coaches, Level 2/Development Coaches to Programme Coach (Performance), as well as Coach Candidates.

Alongside supporting archers, the programme also offers County Coaches the chance to collaborate, refine their coaching practice, learn from our invited Guests (TBA), and gain valuable CPD points toward Coaching Licence renewal.

5 Stage Programme Description

This year’s programme is built around a 5 stage performance framework, targeting the core pillars required for sustained progression:

  • Technical Framework — refining shot process, stability, alignment, and repeatability
  • Bow Tuning & Kit Maintenance — ensuring equipment is optimised for consistent arrow delivery, including arrows, strings, and spare kit
  • Mindset Development — building focus, resilience, and shot to shot mental discipline
  • Physical Preparation — strength, mobility, and archery specific conditioning to support technical execution
  • Development & Organisational Readiness — structured planning, session preparation, and general shooting readiness (non elite competition focus)

Session Structure

Each session includes a set of core activities designed to help archers progress and give coaches a consistent framework to work from:

  • RAMP warm ups — progressive activation, skills & drills, and bow drills to prepare archers for technical work
  • Video analysis — side on and overhead footage used to provide clear, constructive feedback
  • Mirror based technique work — form isolation using mirrors, Thera/stretch bands, light bows, or no bow
  • Equipment support — bow setup, maintenance checks, tuning basics, and nocking point verification
  • End of session masterclasses — short modules covering topics such as arrow care, tuning principles, and bow maintenance

These elements ensure that every session offers structured development for archers while giving coaches a clear, consistent delivery approach.

The cost is £75 per person for all 5 sessions/course.

Programme Dates

All sessions will take place at Montsaye Academy, Rothwell, on the following dates:

  • Sunday 29th November 2026
  • Sunday 3rd January 2027
  • Sunday 24th January 2027
  • Sunday 21st February 2027
  • Sunday 21st March 2027

How to Join

If you would like to take part in the NCAS Winter Coaching Programme — either as a Coach or an Archer — please email:

cco@ncasarchery.org.uk

with the subject line: “NCAS Winter County Coaching Programme”

We look forward to working with you throughout the winter season.