Talented archer Edward Milner has achieved gold in the Under 12 category of the Northern Counties Archery Society Metric Clout Championships and Inter County Team Championships.

Edward, a First Year pupil, has been shooting at the York Archers Society (YAS) since he was 10 and was representing the club as its indoor and outdoor Junior Champion. He recently completed a Masterclass by Yorkshire Clout Champion Mark Hayes, where he received tuition on shooting barebow, that is, without using sights.

Clout is a form of archery in which aim is taken at long-distance flags in the ground rather than at a target on a boss; the arrows are scored depending on their proximity to the flag. Competitions can involve shooting up to 12 dozen arrows, sometimes over a range of distances and will take all day. 

Edward, who started shooting with his mum, who is also an archer, said: “At first I often felt like giving up, as I really wasn't very good. I realised though that I had to keep practising and that the person to beat was myself, and my last PB.”

He added: “I got my highest ever score in this competition and I was really lucky to be able to go to Mark’s masterclass. I’ve now got the confidence to enter the National Clout Competition in October half term, which until now, I never thought I would.”

Edward practises several times every week, either at the YAS archery field or its indoor range in bad weather. He also has a 20m target set up at home to practise technique. His next clout competition is the October Clout Shoot, hosted by YAS on October 12th.