Today archery is firmly anchored in the territory, even if at the beginning it was not written!
On June 11, the Archers of Boé celebrate their 40th anniversary. Although it is not the oldest archery club in Lot-et-Garonne, the Boétie club born in 1982 is today in the national top 5. “Practicing archery at the very beginning of the 80s in Agen was a bit complicated. The Archers of the Agenais were a club organized on the fairly closed model of the Compagnies d’arc. At that time, I met Guy Saint-Martin, then mayor of Boé, and I told him about my plan to create an archery club. The idea of doing archery in rugby territory surprised him a little, I do not hide it from you. However, he was open to this proposal and in September 1982 the foundations of an open archery club operating with qualified educators supervising the licensees were laid. At that time, the archers were shooting in the Chaussard multisports hall”, tells us Jean-Marie Tovo, founder of the Archers de Boé and president.
Target reached
The objective from the creation of the Archers was to professionalize the management, to provide the means to finance the development of the club and to perpetuate it. In 1984, a first permanent job was created.
In 1987, the Archers organized their first international competition on the ground of Cancelles. “It was at this time that the project to build an archery hall in Boé was born. To see the project come to fruition, it took 11 years of work. 11 years to convince the various interlocutors. The elected officials de Boé have always listened to us and had the political courage to support the Archers”. And yes, same causes, same effects: in the land of rugby, archery is not necessarily seen as a priority by everyone. Yet in Boé, we believed it!
“The current room was inaugurated in 1998. For the record, it was Michèle Alliot-Marie who signed the state subsidy. At that time, it was the second room dedicated to archery in France !”
Since that date, the room has been running at full capacity and the club welcomes all audiences: competitors, leisure archery, adapted sport, disabled sports, schoolchildren. “From the moment the State and the communities finance, it is up to us to show that this property is used to its proper extent. The club is a place of learning and has a social role to play”.
The association is always working on new projects for the future of the club by combining rigorous management and a vision for the future. By also finding a point of balance between professionalization and recourse to voluntary work.
A birthday and projects
This great 40th anniversary celebration organized in the wake of the French archery championship: rounds of divisions D1 and D2 take place in Boé on June 10, 11 and 12, which is a first. This will be an opportunity to bring together all those who have accompanied the club and contributed to its sporting and associative success over the years.
But the story does not end there. At the end of the month, a delegation will go to Paris to enhance the reception center for archery teams in Boé during the Paris Olympics in 2024. And the project to extend a covered shooting range will soon complete the structure, thus offering more training slots and better service to all licensees.
Alain, volunteer and dean at the disposal of the club
Alain has been fired since 1994
“At first, I accompanied my son to competitions and then I wanted to shoot archery too!”, says Alain Dasse, oldest archer, administrator and volunteer. Licensed since 1994, he is still a member of a senior team – S3. “In the 90s, parents accompanied their children to competitions. Today, this is no longer the case, it is one of the things that has changed”.
Alain is one of the volunteers who put their know-how and time, a lot of time, at the disposal of the club.
Maintenance of equipment (a big job provided in pairs with Serge!), organization and logistics during activities and events, support from professional trainers for supervising groups of young archers, volunteers contribute to the life and good operation of the club.
He lived the key moments in the evolution of the club and is a daily witness “to the great dynamics of this club where there are always people: teams of all ages and levels who train, school, archery the hobby bow, etc.”.
On June 10, 11 and 12 in Boé, Alain and many volunteers will participate in the organization of the last round of the national division 1 recurve and compound bow.
Everyone will contribute to making this sporting event a success.
