60k target kicks off 60th anniversary

Shoot organiser Karen Naylor

Shooting enough arrows to score 60,000 points within 24 hours. That’s the challenge facing Rochdale Company of Archers as it kicks off its 60th anniversary celebrations.

The marathon shoot will be held at RCA’s base at the Archery Range off Moorgate Avenue, Rochdale, on 21 and 22 February and the aim is to start raising enough cash to guarantee the club’s future for the next 60 years.

Shoot organiser Karen Naylor said: “The 60K challenge has been set up to mark our 60th anniversary. Members will be sponsored to shoot for one, two or three hours over the 24 hours. We already have 48 volunteers and there's still nearly a week to go! It’s going to be a lot of fun.

“The whole purpose is to start fundraising for a new range at Bowlee Playing Fields. It’s going to cost us £500,000, so this is the start of a whole series of fundraising events – and we have some surprises in store! If anyone wants to help, get involved, sponsor us or find out more about the club, please get in touch. You can contact us through our website www.rochdalecompanyofarchers.com”

Rochdale Company of Archers was voted Greater Manchester’s Club of the Year in November and has won the Rochdale Club of the Year title for the past three years as well as national awards. It was formed in Wardle in 1954 and moved to its present home in the grounds of RRUFC in 1976. Its current home is a custom-built and fully accessible range at the side of RRUFC's clubhouse which opened in 2005.

The club, which has 21 coaches and almost 200 members, is open 24/7. Members shoot at both the club’s base and at Bowlee, which has hosted the highly popular Middleton Archers Charity Shoot for the past three years.