Ella is Britain’s number one female archer

Ella Gibson (20) from Cirencester has recently triumphed over 400 other international competitors in the Indoor Archery World Series 2021 for female compound archers using a high-powered compound bow.

The competition, which ran from November to February, was a change from the World Series’ usual format due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and was held virtually and online with entries from around the world.

Archers were able to participate by shooting their best three scores over the four events by submitting a photo of their target face(s) and a scoresheet signed by two witnesses.

Ella, who is currently number one in Great Britain and number 30 in the world, managed to achieve the highest score overall with 1779 points out of a possible 1800. Ella’s achievement is particularly remarkable as she has been unable to train at her national training centre for the last year due to Covid19-related restrictions. Here, she would normally have had access to specialist equipment, a gym, physiotherapists and national coaches, which all aid in her progression in the sport.

Olympic athletes have been granted special dispensation to train at the national training centre and compete during the coronavirus lockdowns but, as compound archery is not recognised as an Olympic sport, this means that Ella may not be entitled to receive any travel exemption to compete in national or world tournaments during lockdown. She is scheduled to take part in the World Championships in the USA in September this year and also the European Championships in Turkey in June. 

There is also the Antalya Grand Prix competition at the same venue in Turkey in April, which would be an incredibly useful preparation event for her for the European and World Championships, but Ella is concerned that she will be unable to attend without an Olympic Athletes’ Power of Dispensation.

Ella said: “It’s not only the Covid19 restrictions that are making things difficult, but also lack of funding. I am not eligible for any funding from Sports England as compound archery is not recognised as an Olympic sport. This means that, although I have won World Cup medals, broken world records and am ranked number one in the UK, I am not considered an elite athlete for funding or dispensation."

Some of Ella’s costs are covered by Archery GB, but most of her travelling costs all over the country and abroad, such as entry fees and hotel costs are paid for out of her savings and from the Bank of Mum and Dad! Ella’s mum, Janice, is a senior co-ordinator with the charity Home-Start Cotswolds and Ella’s dad is local businessman, Rob Gibson, who owns and runs Dolcetti Ice Cream Limited at Love Lane, Cirencester.

Due to lockdown restrictions, Ella has had to purchase her own specialist equipment, such as arrow cutters and a bow press, as well as creating her own home gym to ensure her training can continue and she is ready for the 2021 season. Due to her success in the last few years, she has managed to secure some sponsorship deals for equipment in exchange for branding, media and social media coverage. Ella’s Compound bows are sponsored by Hoyt Archery, her sights and release aids by Truball Axcel, arrows by Easton Archery and strings by UK manufacturer, Reign Bowstrings. She said: “I am extremely lucky to have the support of these companies. Without them, I don’t know where I would be in this sport since Compound equipment is so expensive.”

Ella would love to hear from any company or individual who would like to sponsor the 20 year old number one female compound archer in Great Britain and is happy to discuss a sponsorship package. For more information, please contact Ella: 07766 467660, [email protected].