A 10-year-old archery whizz has Team GB in her sights after securing several national and regional titles – and it was a Bolsover District Council sports coach who set her on her amazing sporting journey.
Grace Parsons was approaching her eighth birthday when she took up the sport during one of the after-school clubs run by the council, at Scarcliffe Primary School.
Just two years later, the record-breaking schoolgirl has clinched a range of top-flight accolades – demonstrating how the authority’s school-based activities can inspire young people and support them on a pathway into sport and beyond.
Grace recently became national under-12 recurve champion (metric category).
She has also competed in various competitions at national, regional and county level, both indoor and outdoor, has set numerous county and club records and has already achieved Master Bowman classification.
Grace, a member of Derbyshire County Archery Team, has recently been selected for the East Midlands Archery Society (EMAS) junior squad and is East Midlands region under-12s Women’s Recurve Champion and Derbyshire County under-12 Women’s Recurve Champion.
Grace – who is also competing for Derbyshire in the EMAS inter-county tournament this month – was inspired to try archery by Bobby Green, a school sports coach on Bolsover District Council’s Physical Activity and Sports Development Team.
He introduced the kit to get the children to try something new.
Bobby said: “After a little bit of encouragement, Grace had a go, and was soon hitting the target board successfully.
“The following week, Grace was the first one to ask for the archery kit and by week three, she’d really taken to it and had managed to hit three bullseyes. By now she was really loving it - so much so, she asked for an archery kit for her birthday!”
A few weeks and several bullseyes later, Bobby linked Grace up with Bolsover-based St Sebastian Archers, which her mum, dad and younger brother also now attend – and she has gone from strength to strength.
Bobby added: “It really is an astonishing success story and I’m thrilled by all her archery achievements as she continues to raise her own bar of excellence and inspire more youngsters to simply ‘Have a go’!”
Grace’s mum, Laura, said: “Without the council’s after-school club, archery is not something we would have thought to perhaps try.
“Having access to a variety of sports in school is so important to allow the children to try different things.
“Ultimately, Grace would like to be part of Team GB and go to the Olympics. She has a long way to go but we will support her ambitions.”
Councillor Mary Dooley, the local authority’s Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, said: “The council works closely with the district’s schools and the Bolsover District Active Schools Network to help students get active and to promote healthy lifestyles.
“It’s so inspiring to hear what our after-school clubs can lead to – we wish Grace all the very best for her future in archery.”
The councils’ sports coaches regularly achieve around 30,000 attendances at their school sessions each year.
For more information, please call 01246 242363 or email shane.turner@bolsover.gov.uk