03/09/2026
MERLIN AMBASSADOR TEAM - AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS!
What. A. Month. 😍
August has been absolutely packed for the Merlin Ambassador Team, with medals, PBs, records, titles, international honours and some seriously impressive performances across the board. Made all the more impressive by the incredible heat last month!
We had juniors making their mark on the national stage, to our 50+ archers showing that experience counts, and everything in between, we couldn’t be prouder of the whole team.
So, let’s give every one of our Merlin Ambassadors the recognition they deserve! 👇 (You might want to put the kettle on, there was a lot going on last month)
🏆 CAROL SMITH - TEAM MANAGER
Carol kicked off the month with a fantastic performance at the LRCAA County Championships on 16th August, shooting a season PB and taking gold, while finishing as the second-highest scoring archer overall.
🏹 ISLA TURNER - JUNIOR LADIES RECURVE
Despite recovering from a shoulder injury, Isla continued competing in the Junior Archery Series, winning the Lancashire Championships and being shortlisted for the GBR Academy.
She then won her club championships, scoring highest in every category on the day. What a comeback! 💪
🏹 KELSEY HUNT - LADIES RECURVE
Kelsey took the West of Scotland Outdoor Championships title and set a new Personal Best AND West of Scotland record for WA 900.
🏹 SCOTT MIDDLETON - OPEN COMPOUND
A huge month for Scott!
At the British Target Championships, Scott ranked 11th on Day 1 and 10th on Day 2, shooting a Master Bowman score on Day 1 and a Grand Master Bowman score on Day 2.
At the LRCAA County Championships, he won the Gents Compound title with a Grand Master Bowman score, finishing as the highest-scoring archer overall.
Scott also achieved his final score to claim his Grand Master Bowman badge and set two new County Records. 🔥
🏹 DARREL WILSON - OPEN COMPOUND
Darrel absolutely dominated the NI Tour!
🥇 1st place - Leg 4 NI Tour Double 720
🥇 1st place - NI Tour Round Robins, winning every match
🥇 1st place - NI Tour Finals
A clean sweep! 👏
🏹 SAMUEL BOWDEN - JUNIOR OPEN BAREBOW
Sam took silver in the seniors at the Wallingford Senior WA720.
At Youth Fest, he qualified 2nd before taking gold in the H2Hs, putting him 1st heading into the JAS Finals in September.
Representing England, Sam also took bronze, along with another two bronze medals in the pairs and teams matches.
He also gained valuable experience at the British Target Championships. 👏
🏹 LILY STAITE - JUNIOR LADIES RECURVE
At Stage 5 of the JAS during Youth Fest, Lily took bronze individually and gold in the pairs. 🥉🥇
🏹 JACOB BOWERS - JUNIOR OPEN RECURVE
Jacob represented England at Youth Fest, winning silver with Jasmine in the Home Nations match, as well as silver for England overall.
He also took bronze in the Teams match and bronze in the Mixed Teams match.
At the WMAS v EMAS event, the WMAS Juniors won overall, with Jacob finishing 2nd in his category.
🏹 DEBBIE GEDDES - LADIES RECURVE
Debbie took gold and a new Scottish 50+ record at the Bannockburn Windsor.
She then won silver in both Ladies Recurve and Ladies 50+ Recurve at the Scottish Outdoor Championships.
And to finish the outdoor season in style, Debbie claimed the VFFSR title at the Scottish Outdoor Field Championships, setting a new Scottish Record for the Field round. 👏🔥
🏹 PHIL LAWRENCE - OPEN BAREBOW
Phil qualified 1st at the AGB 50+ Championship at Evesham before taking overall silver and setting a new personal best while preparing for the National Tour Finals.
🏹 HELEN BAILLIE - LADIES BAREBOW
Helen had one seriously busy August!
She competed at the 50+ Championship at Evesham before qualifying 4th at the British Target Championships - her fifth top-four qualification of the tour.
Despite an unfortunate bee sting in the bronze medal match, Helen finished 4th at BTC and 5th overall in the National Tour.
She then represented England at the Home Nations, taking bronze in both the women’s team and mixed pairs, with England winning overall.
To finish the month, Helen represented West Midlands at the EMAS v WMAS Championship and West Midlands Championships, finishing 1st and setting a new Women’s Senior record for the 900-70 round. 🏹🔥
🏹 HARI SHUKLA - JUNIOR OPEN RECURVE
Hari took silver at the Southern Counties Inter-Counties Competition representing Essex and Suffolk.
At Youth Festival, Hari won three silver medals:
🥈 Under 18 Recurve Team
🥈 Under 18 Recurve Mixed Pairs
🥈 Under 18 Individual
And away from the shooting line, Hari also achieved a fantastic set of GCSE results and is now heading into the next chapter with A Levels. Congratulations, Hari! 👏
🏹 CAITLIN SMART - JUNIOR LADIES RECURVE
Caitlin had a brilliant August!
🥇 1st place + Club Record - LRCAA Championships
🥇 1st place - Chris Jones Memorial at Merlin Field Course, with an asset-adjusted course and club record for all sighted females
🥇 1st place in her division + part of the winning WMAS team - WMAS v EMAS
The final event also brought a Club and County Record. 🔥
🏹 BRONWEN COLEGATE - LADIES BAREBOW
Bronwen secured gold at Wallingford Castle Archers 730 with match play, represented Surrey at the SCAS Inter-Counties, and took silver at Andover AC’s 720 with H2Hs, setting another season PB.
She then improved that season PB again at the Kent County Championships, taking bronze.
August also saw a trip to Merlin HQ to be fitted with her brand-new Mybo Revolution, receiving some first-class care from Tom, with Morgan organising the bow order and appointment.
And on home ground at Guildford Archery Club’s Acorn Tournament, Bronwen finished with gold AND the Barebow Team Trophy alongside her teammate and coach Tony Fry. 🥇🏆
🏹 KIRSTY ROBB - LADIES COMPOUND
Kirsty won the Cheshire Championship for Lady Compound, before returning the following day to judge.
She then claimed her Grand Field Master (GFM) for the first time in EFFA competition at Wrekin Foresters. 👏
🏹 ALASTAIR SHIELDS - OPEN COMPOUND
Alastair put together some solid performances throughout August, including top-10 finishes at the 50+ competition at Evesham and the Wigan & Orwell WA720 H2H.
He also spent time supporting one of our juniors during competition and got some valuable learning done at a Compound Training Day at PAC Lilleshall.
🏹 ALISON & JAMIE HUNTER - LADIES & OPEN COMPOUND
Mum & Son had a fantastic month!
Alison took bronze at the 50+ National Championships in Evesham.
August also marked the completion of all six National Tour stages for Alison and Jamie. Jamie finished 9th in the rankings, narrowly missing out on the National Tour Final.
They finished the month competing at the Clwyd Archers WA720 H2H, with Jamie taking 1st in Gents Compound and Alison taking 2nd in Ladies Compound. 👏
🏹 LAURA PATERSON - LADIES RECURVE
Laura finished 1st in the Under-21 category and 5th in the women’s at a 720 and H2H competition in Wigan.
She then travelled to Telford for a valuable coaching session with Nicky Hunt, identifying an equipment issue with her tab that had been causing problems.
Problem solved. Back on track! 💪
🏹 ZACK BRUCKSHAW - JUNIOR OPEN RECURVE
What a summer for Zack!
At Youth Festival, he qualified 1st in the JAS series and won his final 6–0.
He also took silver in the Teams event and bronze in the Mixed Pairs - three medal opportunities and three medals. 🥈🥉
After plenty of coaching at Lilleshall with Nicky Hunt, Zack then shot his first official WA60m above his current age category, qualifying 1st before taking silver in the Gold match.
The following day he was part of the winning WMAS junior team and qualified 1st in his age category.
And all of this comes after becoming National U15 Champion earlier in the summer. What a year! 🔥
🏹 JASMINE HARRIS - JUNIOR LADIES RECURVE
Another huge Youth Festival for Jasmine:
🥈 Individual
🥈 Home Nations
🥈 England Team
🥈 Teams
🥉 Mixed Teams
She also finished 24th of 65 women at the British Target Championships, then finished 11th in National Tour Stage 6 qualification, setting a new 70m PB.
At the Meriden Late Summer 720 & H2H, Jasmine qualified 8th and finished 5th in the Recurve Women’s competition.
🏹 DAN MUDD - OPEN COMPOUND
Dan finished 7th overall across the two days of the British Target Championships.
He then represented England at the Home Nations Cup in Stirling, shooting a PB of 692 in qualification, followed by:
🥈 Individual Silver
🥈 Mixed Silver
🥈 Men’s Team Silver
🥇 Overall Gold for England
After more compound coaching with Nat Merry at Lilleshall, Dan finished the month with a monster Double WA720 - 688 in the morning and a new PB of 694 in the afternoon, giving him a Double WA720 PB of 1382.
A seriously strong month. 🔥
🏹 DANIELLE PALMER - LADIES COMPOUND
Danielle took 2nd at the British Target Championships, qualifying 3rd for the National Tour Final.
She then went on to win the Meriden 720 H2H and the Clwyd 720 H2H.
🥈🥇🥇 - Not a bad August!
🏹 MATTHEW SHARPE OPEN RECURVE
Matthew rounded out the month at the British Target Championships and National Tour Stage 6.
With equipment issues that had plagued much of the season finally fixed, Matthew placed 25th on Day 1, qualified 17th, and finished 16th after the H2Hs on Day 2.
That gave him 19th overall across the two days and 27th overall in the National Tour for the year.
And that, folks, is August. 😮💨🏹
From national champions and international medals, to PBs, county records, Scottish records, club records, Grand Master Bowman badges, National Tour success and juniors making huge strides, there is so much here to celebrate.
Every result tells a story, and every one of our ambassadors has put in the work behind it.
To the whole Merlin Ambassador Team, congratulations. We’re incredibly proud to have you representing Merlin. ❤️🏹
Now… September, what have you got? 👀
