25 May 2026
The 2026 Scottish Archery Tour officially commenced with Stage 1 at the Xcite Sports Centre in Bathgate, hosted by Balbardie Archers from 23–24 May 2026.Â
The highly anticipated outdoor tournament brought together over 120 archers from across the country to compete in elite World Record Status ranking rounds and fierce head-to-head knockout matches. Serving as the opening event of the multi-stage domestic circuit, this weekend laid the groundwork for athletes vying for a coveted spot in the Scottish Tour Finals.
You can review the comprehensive qualification and results breakdown directly via the official Ianseo Tour Tournament Page.
Tournament Format and Logistics
The weekend was strategically split by discipline to accommodate the massive turnout:
Saturday, 23rd May: Dedicated entirely to Recurve and Longbow categories. Archers shot a standard WA 70m qualification round (72 arrows), which immediately transitioned into head-to-head elimination brackets.
Sunday, 24th May: Featured Compound and Barebow specialists tackling the WA 50m qualification target faces, followed by their respective knockout matchplay formats.
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Setting the Standard for the Season
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The tournament served as a vital testing ground for national team selection scores and early-season adjustments. Notable club turnouts included a massive 8-archer contingent from both the host club Balbardie Archers and Lothian neighbours Lasswade Archery Club, showcasing a rising demographic of female competitors in fields historically dominated by open divisions.
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The technical challenge at the Xcite Sports Centre demanded absolute focus, forcing elite archers to balance tuning new equipment with the high-pressure demands of head-to-head matchplay rules. Adding to this, there were further challenges to contend with the mixed weather environments across the weekend. Saturday contained swirling winds and Sunday archers had to deal with blistering, warm afternoon with the sun beating down.
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Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Recurve Open | Todd Burlington (Lasswade AC) | Ross Macleod (Balbardie Archers) | Misha Pavlov (Links Archers) |
Recurve Female | Linda Dallas (Links Archers) | Elizabeth Bell (Edinburgh Uni AC) | Rebecca Leigh (Aberdeen City Archers) |
Longbow Open | Ben Ledwick (Eagle Bowmen) | Colin Hargreaves (Lasswade AC) | Steven Coull (Lethen Archers) |
Longbow Female | Sandie Graham (Monklands AC) | Nikki Ledwick (Eagle Bowmen) | N/A |
Compound Open | James Ross (East Kilbride AC) | Kyle Scott (Balbardie Archers) | Hamish Galpin (Lethen Archers) |
Compound Female | Robyn Geddes (Balbardie Archers) | Faye McInnes (Moray Archers) | Alex Chun (St Andrews University Archery) |
Barebow Open | James Embleton (Giffnock Archers) | Andy Colbourne (Riverside Archery Club) | William Anderson (Dundee University AC) |
Barebow Female | Carol-Anne Seez (Lasswade AC) | Leah McGloin (Linwood Archers) | Imogen Bannister (Moray Archery) |
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Scottish Archery’s Results Manager Curtis Hirst shared his reflections from the day:
‘‘It was a pleasure to return to Balbardie and host the opening stage of the Scottish Tour there. The team at Balbardie Archers did an outstanding job in helping ensure the event ran smoothly from start to finish.
The standard of shooting throughout the competition was exceptionally high, setting the benchmark for the second stage at Ayr. This year’s Scottish Tour is shaping up to be the most competitive yet.’’
Fiona Hirst, Events Coordinator added:
''What a great start to the Scottish Tour 2026. Saturday was the Recurve and Longbow day followed by Compound and Barebow on the Sunday .
The atmosphere was absolutely electric with archers from all over competing for the podium places. It was nice to see archers again from South of the Border. A warm welcome back to Lizzie Bell after a decade's break from the sport.
On the Saturday the wind was 'tricky' but on Sunday the suntan lotion was out and athletes had to contend with the added heat pressure , with some using their umbrellas for shade . Not a sight you often see but hope I see it again !
As always , HUGE thanks go to Gilbert and his team from Balbardie for help with set up and take down on both days . On Sunday the field was set up in record time allowing archers to relax and rest before shooting . It just goes to show you what can be achieved when we all pull together - there are jobs for all !!
Our judges and candidates did another grand job throughout the weekend and as always, thanks go to Malcolm (FOP) and Curtis and Kennedy (Results) . Without them these events would not happen .
There are still spaces for Stage 2 and 3 so get your entries in !''
Roadmap to the Finals
Stage 1 sets a foundational benchmark for the cumulative leaderboard. Under Scottish Archery guidelines, an individual’s top two performances across the three major tour stages are tallied together to determine the top four archers in each division. Those elite few will earn an exclusive invitation to the Scottish Tour Finals later this autumn to determine the definitive national champions.
Once again a big thank you the volunteers, judges and team at Balbardie Archers for all their hard work behind the scenes and over the weekend to ensure everything ran smoothly and the event was a success!
Roll on Stage 2!