Grand National Archery Society

Infobox Sport governing body
assocname= Grand National Archery Society
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sport= Archery
abbrev = GNAS
founded = 1861
aff = FITA
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url = www.gnas.org
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The Grand National Archery Society (abbreviated to GNAS) is the governing body for the sport of archery in the United Kingdom. Under this main body are 9 Regional Societies and then many different county societies. It is affiliated to FITA, the "Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc" and is a member of the British Olympic Association. The society's motto is: "Union, Trueheart and Courtesie."

GNAS's Role

GNAS is the governing body for all forms of archery in the United Kingdom, including target archery, field archery and even crossbow archery.

The society is currently responsible for over 1100 clubs and 30 000 registered members across the UK, all of whom receive the magazine Archery UK four times a year. It also organises its own national tournaments and is responsible for training coaches, as well as ensuring affiliated clubs are covered by their public liability insurance policy. These costs are partly covered by affiliation fees, which all club members pay, both to County and Regional Associations and GNAS itself.

The History of GNAS

The first Grand National Archery Meeting was held on the Knavesmire at York in 1843 but the society itself was not founded until 1861, ["Encyclopedia of Sport", Charles Harvey (ed.) - Purnell & Sons 1959] when it met at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.

Many old archery traditions have been preserved by GNAS, with its three oldest member clubs being "The Royal Toxophilites" (founded in 1781) , "The Woodmen of Arden" (founded in 1785) and the "Royal Company of Archers" (founded in 1676).

With archery now firmly established in the Olympics, GNAS has seen many international successes and British archers have won a total of 4 medals since the restoration of the sport in the 1972 Olympic Games.

Rebranding as Archery GB

At the Annual General Meeting held at Lilleshall on the 19th of April 2008, an official announcement was made confirming that "Archery GB" would become the trading name of the GNAS. An item in the Summer 2008 edition of Archery UK, the official GNAS magazine, states: "This seminal moment in the Society's history formalises a transition that is already in its infancy with the elite archers sporting new Archery GB branding. From this point on, the Archery GB brand will represent all facets of the organisation including the Olympic team, coaching programmes, events and membership. This change has come due to recognition that the Grand National Archery Society brand, whilst naturally close to many hearts, does not reflect the breadth and standing of the organisation representing British archery on a global scale. The logo is outdated and rather pale and the name conjures up images of an insular organisation with a penchant for horse-racing, which is an unfair reflection of a governing body of such stature." [Archery UK, Summer 2008 edition, page 9. Grand National Archery Society, May 2008.]

External links

* [http://www.gnas.org/ Official Website]

References