Deer Park Archers

Deer Park strives to be inclusive for all ages, physical abilities, neurodiversities and financial situations, as well as promoting environmental sustainability:

• People of all ages and abilities participate and shoot together. 
• The outdoor grass shooting surface was reinforced with a plastic grid to allow for all-weather, all-ability use.  
• Specific have-a-go days are hosted for people with diverse neuro or physical abilities to provide a safe introduction to the sport.  
• Deer Park minimises annual membership fees and provides a pay-as-you-go service, so members only pay for what they use.   
• The facility is built on an old, inert landfill site. The team have reduced invasive species and re-introduced native species and woodland.  
• The clubhouse building is a recycled ex-NHS modular operating theatre.  
• The neighbouring recycling plant is a major sponsor, supplying many of the materials that the club requires.  
• Additional accessible toilet blocks are hired as and when needed.

The club delivers a high-quality, inclusive and enjoyable experience that people want to come back for.

"We’ve turned an inert materials landfill swamp into something that the whole community can enjoy," says Roger Crang from Deer Park.  

Deer Park started as an archery club and realised the value of being a social and recreation club.

The Deer Park team have developed an inclusive culture where everyone identifies with the club and its values. This involved engaging with parents, carers and the wider community, as well as the local councils, to provide a more fulfilling experience for all.  

Appreciating that children’s sport tends to be a family activity, the club provides coaching and field captain training to parents and carers free of charge, enabling them to better engage with and participate in the sport.

The Deer Park team believe that ‘positive attitude leads to positive performance’, and emphasise the importance of creating a supportive, positive environment for young and developing archers.  

Deer Park has a strong focus on the health and wellbeing of their archers. The club provides mental health first aid training, and regularly hosts inclusion training workshops to upskill and refresh the coaches and field captains. The Deer Park team are now turning their focus to learning how to best support archers with non-visible disabilities.  

The club host regular social events for all members and all ages to further build a sense of community, saying: "If everyone is a stranger, they won’t share lifts or volunteer – but if everyone knows each other, it’s a social activity."

Community links

The club is a buzzing community hub, where: 

• The local astronomy club use the facilities at night.
• The prison service use the grounds for exercising their dogs.  
• The county police force use the facility for drone flying training.
• The club facility is hired out for team building events.  
• Letterbox drops are used to invite the local community to have-a-go sessions. 
• After-school clubs are hosted to engage children in the sport. 
• On weekday mornings, the club’s own ‘Men in Sheds’ group meet to help with club maintenance, volunteer for community projects, and generally enjoy the social interaction and fulfilment it brings.  

The Deer Park team see all of this as their community duty.  

Men in Sheds

Inspired by the national Age UK’s ‘Men in Sheds’ service, the Deer Park team set up their own Men in Sheds. The group of older men meet most weekday mornings and work together on maintenance jobs around the club, including general repairs, tournament preparation, building bird boxes etc.

The neighbouring recycling centre provides many of the materials required for the works. As the group has grown, they support broader charitable activities in the local community; for example, building a shed for a local pensioner following an NHS referral, and supervising social support work projects.  

Local councils

After moving onto their own land and facility, the Deer Park team realised the importance of engaging with their local councils. Both Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucestershire County Council have been incredibly supportive of the work the club has been doing.

The councils’ funding has helped the club purchase solar panels, a tractor and seeds for a flower meadow, as well as plant an orchard.

As a result of providing an accessible, inclusive, and safe space for people of all ages and abilities to participate, the club has seen a significant increase in membership, as well as achieving the highest levels of competitive performance.