TWO youngsters from Clayton West are being talent spotted by Archery GB.

Isabelle Carpenter (15) and her brother Adam (11) are rapidly making their mark in the sport and are already top of the UK rankings at Under 16 and Under 12 respectively.

Among all juniors in the country, Izzy is ranked fifth and Adam eighth, which speaks volumes for their achievements with the Barnsley Archery Club over the past few months.

The Carpenters compete locally and nationally in Target Archery tournaments and also shoot for Yorkshire and the Northern Counties junior teams.

It has been an exceptional year for them – they took up the sport after trying it out on a holiday to Centre Parcs – both and they both carry the Archery GB classification of Junior Master Bowmen.

Izzy, a student at Shelley College, took a bronze medal in the junior ladies section at the European Archery Festival in Telford, when 860 archers from 40 countries competed in what was part of the Archery World Indoor Cup and she was up against competitors as old as 21.

European Archery Festival podium - Isabelle Carpenter of Clayton West and Barnsley Archery Club on right
European Archery Festival podium - Isabelle Carpenter of Clayton West and Barnsley Archery Club on right

And she has been invited to Lilleshall National Sports Centre (home of Archery GB) in April for a selection shoot for the European Youth Championships taking place in Slovenia in May.

Shooting for the last four years, Izzy has been undefeated Yorkshire outdoor champion four times, the Norhtern Counties outdoor champion three times and holds one UK national record, 11 Yorkshire records and 10 Nothern Counties records.

In 2010, she was national Under 12 indoor champion and finished second in the outdoor event at that age group, while in 2011 she competed at Under 14 nationally and finished fourth in the outdoor and second in the indoor.

In 2012 she was third in the UK Under 14 indoor championships and then, last year, was third at Under 16 (outdoor) and second (indoor). She was also third in the UK Junior Masters Compound.

Adam, meanwhile, who attends Scisset Middle School, became the youngest ever archer to represent England Juniors at the age of 10 last year and is the Under 12 national champion both indoor and outdoor.

He also held those titles in 2012 after finishing second in each of the previous two years and holds 12 country records and 11 at Northern Counties level.

Last year he was second in the Junior Masters Compound and shot twice for the England Junior team.

With both of them on the Archery GB radar, they are hoping to be selected to compete around the world next year, providing they achieve the relevant scores this summer.

Archery has gained in popularity since London 2012 and the sport is being enjoyed at all experience levels from ages eight to 90 and by disabled archers as well, with a total of 42,000 members in the UK.

Yorkshire has one of the highest concentrations of clubs in the UK and details of the sport can be found at www.yorkshirearchery.co.uk

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