WITH life starting to return to the 'new' normal, an Overton archery club is aiming to raise funds for its chosen charity with a special event this weekend.

Overton Black Arrows will be hosting a charity event on Saturday in line with government and Archery GB guidelines.

The club will be raising funds for its chosen charity Stepping Stones Downs Syndrome Support Group, which is based in Basingstoke and supports children and young people with downs syndrome and their families.

The original plan had been to host an all-day ‘race the sun’ event and BBQ for members, but due to the pandemic this has not been possible.

Instead the club is staging a 252 Challenge event at its Laverstoke range, and due to the current circumstances, it will be a little bit different and a little less social than previous years’ events.

Chairman Steve Allam said: “I am hopeful for a good turn out in support of this worthwhile charity. We are fortunate to have a large outdoor range where we can arrange scheduled shooting at an appropriate social distance.”

The competition itself will be a 252 Challenge, in which archers will shoot 36 arrows on a 122cm face at imperial distances of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 yards, with the hope of scoring at least 252 points.

The club’s challenge for the day is to have at least three archers achieve a 252 'pass' at each of the seven imperial distances.

The reason for this is that the number 21 is significant in Downs Syndrome, as it is a duplication of the 21st Chromosome that causes DS. So by having three different archers successfully complete a 252 round at each of the seven distances, we will have 21 new 252 records.

Whilst people are unable to come down to the range to enjoy the day, they can show their support through sponsorship at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/OvBA