12 May 2026
Katie MacFarlane is aiming for big targets with new funding support
For any athlete consistently performing at your maximum is a feat that takes even the very best years to master. For Katie MacFarlane her rise from novice to the podium has taken just two years.
Only taking up the sport of archery in 2024, 44-year-old Katie has quickly become comfortable in the business end of tournaments across the UK.
Katie has won Scottish Unclassified Disabled Women’s gold at the Scottish Indoor Archery Championships and Women’s Unclassified Disabled gold at Archery GB’s Disability Championships. Although, one of Katie’s most impressive performances came in Orkney last summer at the Island Games.
She said: “I did my first Island Games when I had been shooting for 18 months or so and I came away with silver in mixed pairs with Billy Finnie.
“If you had told me two years ago that I was representing the island at anything I wouldn’t have believed you, especially if you would have said you’re going to be representing them in a sport. But it’s an amazing feeling, it’s an achievement.”
Katie is among the latest cohort of athletes to receive support from sportscotland’s Athlete Travel Award Scheme (ATAS). Travel and accommodation costs can disadvantage island-based athletes and mean they may be less likely to compete in certain competitions which would help their journey as an athlete, ATAS funding helps redress that without the athletes having to relocate from their communities.
Read the full article here.