Jennifer Mankin (right) and Eliza Miller bring back gold and silver medals from the BUCS Outdoor Archery Championships
A talented archer and Sports Scholar is celebrating winning gold at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Outdoor Archery Tournament this weekend (11-12 June).
Jennifer Mankin, a doctoral researcher and Associate Tutor in the School of Psychology, represented Sussex at the tournament at Lilleshall Hall National Sports Centre in Shropshire.
She was joined by fellow archers from the Students’ Union archery club: Matt Owen, a student at Brighton and Sussex Medical School; Eliza Miller, a first year Zoology student and Business Management student James Jackson.
The team made the trek to Lilleshall for a grueling day of archery, which began early on the Saturday (11 June). Unlike indoor tournaments that take around three hours to complete, the outdoor round is World Archery international-standard, requiring archers to shoot 144 arrows over a series of four distances, the furthest being 90 metres for experienced male archers and 70 metres for experienced female athletes.
The round can take as little as six to seven hours to shoot, although BUCS Outdoors often lasts ten hours or longer and is a difficult and exhausting test of concentration and endurance for all archers, regardless of the shooting distance or experience level.
The unpredictable weather and bouts of heavy rain made shooting even more of a challenge for the team on the day. But camaraderie and generosity prevailed on the field, with archers from competing teams sharing shelter, food, and encouragement throughout the competition.
After a difficult start, Jennifer rallied at the halfway point for a personal best at the notoriously difficult 50-metre distance. Overtaking the frontrunner, she maintained a solid lead through to the end of the competition to secure her first BUCS gold medal for Sussex.
And there were other victories for Sussex on the day. Matt Owen achieved a personal best score for the round, finishing an impressive seventh place in the experienced gents compound category. Against tough competition, novices James and Eliza accomplished notable scores, shooting their respective rounds for the first time. James placed seventeenth and Eliza, who only began shooting in September last year, brought back a silver medal from the tournament.
Jennifer’s gold medal win is the latest victory in an already impressive BUCS career that includes 11 outdoor and two indoor Scottish records. She adds the gold to a silver medal win for Sussex at the BUCS indoor tournament in February, an achievement for which she won ‘Sports Moment of the Year’ at the Students’ Union Student Awards in April.
In preparation for the Outdoor Championships, Sussex Fund-supported Sports Scholar Jennifer trained regularly at university facilities, including using grounds at Sussexsport’s Falmer Sports Complex for long distance outdoor practice.
Jennifer said: “The funding and training from the Sport Scholar scheme has been particularly helpful in not only training for myself but also helping me to pass on what I've learned to the other archers. The support of the university has definitely made the difference and the use of the field for morning weekday practices was a huge factor in this weekend's success.
“I couldn't be more proud of my teammates for their hard work leading up to the competition and their brilliant performances on the day. I am absolutely delighted to finally bring home a gold medal for Sussex. With such a strong performance, I can't wait to see what our team can do in the years to come!”