With the closure and sale of Craigholme School and all its facilities at the end of 2020, Glasgow Archers were without a home. Had this been the end, this is how I would have remembered the field… taken as the sun sets on the last club day as the last archer left the field for the last time. However, this doesn’t seem to be the end. We now have new landlords – Hutchison’s Grammar School – and they don’t seem phased by their heavily armed tenants at all. Its still early stages, schedules and payments are yet to be confirmed but we’re feeling a lot happier about what the future will bring.
Had 2020 been our swan song, our legacy wasn’t too shabby. During our time at Craigholme we hosted … 30ish Scottish Archery Outdoor Championships (starting 1985/86); 3 x Scottish FITA Stars; 2 x Internationals – Scotland v Wales 1994 & Scotland v Netherlands 1996(?); the only Grand FITA held in Scotland (1990); 45 Glasgow Open Championships; almost 20 (4th of July) American competitions with BBQ and fancy dress; 15 Glasgow Indoor Competitions ~ and we only ever had about 3 cancellations and 3 abandonments due to weather which for Glasgow is damn near as good as it gets.
Even though the future is looking brighter for the club continuing at what we consider our home, we would still like to thank EVERYONE from nearly 5 decades of archery at Craigholme who … ran the club, shot with us, coached us, worked on field parties, competed in our competitions, made the field party’s breakfasts and adjudicated for us at competitions. To those who squelched through the mud, endured the rain, waded (and in one case ‘swam’) in the lakes around the 70m mark, shivered in the freezing cold, got their neck burned in the sun and over-ate at the annual American BBQ … we hope you think of archery at Craigholme fondly and will be back on our hallowed, if soggy, turf soon. We’re looking forward to seeing you at our ‘new’ home … H@PP – Hutchison’s @ Pollock Park.
