A Buxton & Leek College sports student will be taking aim for Great Britain this summer when she flies out to the Romanian capital of Bucharest to represent her country in a European Youth Archery competition.
Seventeen-year-old Eva Henderson-Hirst, from Flagg, who is studying Outdoor Sports at the College’s Buxton Campus, first took up a bow and arrow at the tender age of 6. And, with both parents – dad Dean Hirst – a Level 1 coach and mum Jane Henderson-Hirst – working as a GB coach in the sport, Eva has trained hard to get selected for the national team.
A member of the Derwent Bowman, one of the biggest clubs in Derbyshire, she has put in hours of practice on her shooting. Now, helped by sponsorship from the Derbyshire Institute of Sport and Matlock Lions, she will be taking part in five days of competitions running from July 18 to July 23 in Bucharest and is pinning her hopes on bringing home a medal for team GB.
Eva said: “My whole family, including my two sisters, have got involved in archery. When I tell people that I enjoy archery they are always quite surprised as it’s not a sport they know much about but I have enjoyed it from the age of 6 and now have my own personal trainer and have qualified as a Level 1 archery coach so that I can start to train others.
“I was selected for the GB Youth Team at the National Sports Centre in Telford and I’m very excited about my trip away. I have met some great friends through archery and am looking forward to a career in sport to get me outdoors when I leave college.”
Eva’s tutor at Buxton & Leek College, Allan Shaw, said: “We are very proud of Eva and it would be a great to see her bring back a medal to Derbyshire.”
