Bowmen of Melville
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Bowmen of Melville is an archery club located in Perth, Western Australia. It was founded in 1965 by Keith Gaisford and celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2005. It is registered with both the Archery Society of Western Australia (ASWA) and Archery Australia (AA). The club's current location is behind the Melville Glades Golf Club, on Beasley Road in Leeming. The club maintains a membership of seventy to eighty members.
Bowmen of Melville is one of four archery clubs located south of the swan river in Perth, the others are Baldivis Archery Club (in Rockingham), Gosnells Archery Club (in Orange Grove) Kalamunda Governor Stirling Archery Club (in Maida Vale).Sunset Coast Archers (in Jolimont next to the Mathews Netball Centre) are West of the River.
When the club was originally founded in 1965 it was known as Fremantle Y Bowmen. At the time it was located in Fremantle.
The club's facilities are well above average compared to other archery clubs in WA and Australia. Its best feature is a 45 meter awning, providing protection from the elements including rain, wind and sun, which can be dangerous in Perth. This provides enough space for sixteen targets and over 60 archers to shoot undercover concurrently. However this cover is a source of debate amongst other archers in the state who believe it gives archers an unfair advantage and therefore records shot at Melville should not be recognised. The club also features lighting for nighttime archery and is always accessible to members to practice at no extra fee. The ground is not very level, a result of it being a former waste site. Consequently targets on angles due to bumps in the ground is not an uncommon sight. There can also be frequent crosswinds.
In recent years Bowmen of Melville has been the biggest archery club in Western Australia, Kalamunda is not far behind. Its membership has at times exceeded 80 members. Although its membership fees are on par with other clubs in WA, it is still higher than other clubs in the eastern states. Annual adult membership is $165, and junior (under 18 years) membership $105. This includes affiliation to the state and nation bodies, as well as insurance. In addition to this member must pay target fees of either $6 per week, or $180 for a full year.
Members have regular club shoots at the grounds at 1.30pm every Saturday afternoon. The club shoots are regularly target events, however the disciplines of field and clout are also shot. Typically archers are able to shoot any combination of distances they choose from a comprehensive variety of options presented every week, to cater for all abilities.
Beginners are also able to shoot at the club. There are beginner lessons held every Saturday morning from 10am-12pm. These cost $10 for the session, which includes all equipment hire, tuition and target fees, which is comparable to other clubs in the area. Three coaches are employed by the club these mornings and many members are encouraged to help out too. As of 2005 only one of the employed coaches is qualified with Archery Australia, however this allows the program to be fully insured. Beginner archers must be over ten years of age to be allowed to shoot, and after twelve weeks must join the club.
Bowmen of Melville is the home club to many talented Australian archers. Two Australian Olympians, Scott Hunter-Russel (Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000) and Joanne Galbraith (Athens 2004), both shot at Bowmen of Melville. Many other Australian and State representatives have also come from Bowmen of Melville.
The club has a strong Junior membership. Frequently the club makes up a large portion of the Junior State Team, which is traditionally one of the stronger teams in the country for recurve archery.
