10 Apr 2025
Natasha World Cup selection, Finlay GB selection and Compound Olympics 2028
Lots happening in the performance front in archery. Firstly, former Scottish National Ladies Recurve team member and Edinburgh University Archery Club archer Natasha Homer has been selected for GB to compete in 2025 Hyundai World Cups.
Stage one of the Hyundai World Cup is underway in Florida, USA from 8-13 April, and stage two will return to Shanghai, China from 6-11 May. The compound and recurve athletes who have been selected to represent Great Britain at these two events have been confirmed. More information here. Natasha as part of the team, shared her excitement in being selected:
“I think it’s a bit surreal the archers I'm going to be competing with and against, people I’ve watched on the international stage for years,” said Homer on her newfound environment of archery’s premier international circuit.
“It’s crazy being in the same division as them. Michelle Kroppen, Lisa Barbelin, even (Penny Healey), to be fair, as my teammate.”
Read the full article here by WIAWIS article on World Archery website.
Its also been an exciting time for former Scotland U21 Pathway Academy athlete Finlay Clark who has recently been selected as a member now of the GB Senior National Compound Squad. When Fin was 9, he started archery as a father and son weekend activity/hobby, and he loves the competitive side of sport. He lives in a village called Kirk Ella in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and he's currently a student at University of Hull studying BSc in Sport and Exercise Science.
In 2024, he won a silver U21 mixed team medal at the 2024 European Youth Cup in Bulgaria, and at the European Youth Championships in Romania he won bronze in the U21 men's team.
He's most proud of his individual U18 gold medal at 2023 European Youth Cup in Sion, Switzerland. This season he hopes to earn medals at the World University Games and at the World Youth Championships.
Fantastic achievement Finn and best of luck going forward.
Finally, to round off a positive week it has just been announced that for the first time ever, compound archery will feature in the Olympic Games.
At the end of 2023, the original bid to get compound included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games as an additional discipline of an existing sport in the was rejected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Following this rejection, an appeal was submitted to the IOC for consideration, and on 9 April 2025, it was accepted.
Now twelve of the world's best compound mixed teams will have the chance to earn quota places to compete for a medal at the LA 2028 Games.
Read full Archery GB announcement here.