Grand National Archery Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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."
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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, 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 9 medals at the last 3 Olympic Games.
