Foresters Friendly Society was today announced as the official Performance Partner of Archery GB. The mutual society, founded in 1834, will bolster funding of the hugely successful team and will support training, development and participation in the competitions leading up to 2012 and beyond.
Archery GB teams contain some of the UK’s most successful athletes who have won 49 international medals in 2010 alone, including four gold and three silvers at the Commonwealth Games. With over 30,000 members and 1,100 clubs throughout the UK, archery is a rapidly growing sport in the UK, open to all ages and abilities.
Sara Symington, Performance Director at Archery GB said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Foresters Friendly Society, our first major commercial sponsorship. With austerity measures biting, financial backing for sport from the private sector will become increasingly important in allowing us to continue the success we have seen from our teams at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This additional funding will help our athletes develop, supplement our existing funding and help us reach our full potential for 2012.”
Kevin Dann, Chief Executive of Foresters Friendly Society said: “This is a landmark partnership for the sport of archery and we are delighted to be working with Archery GB’s successful teams. Foresters Friendly Society will be providing not only financial but also business support.
“This partnership will also allow Archery GB to grow their membership further at a grassroots level by encouraging our 70,000 members and their families to engage in this exciting and historic sport.”
Foresters Friendly Society’s sponsorship of Archery GB is effective immediately and will continue until 2013.