The mutual society, founded in 1834, will bolster funding of the an increasingly successful team as it targets next year's World Cup and World Championship events, and the London 2012 Olympics the following summer.

The extra finance will support training, development and participation in the competitions leading up to 2012 and beyond.

"I think this reflects how well British archers have done in recent years, and how much our profile has been raised in the media," Naomi Folkard, a team silver medallist in the recurve event at Delhi, told insidethegames.

"This is a good time for British archery."

Archery GB teams contain some of the UK's most successful athletes who won 49 international medals in 2010 alone, including four gold and three silvers at the Commonwealth Games.

With over 30,000 members and 1,100 clubs throughout the UK, archery is a rapidly growing sport in the UK, open to all ages and abilities.

And as Folkard, who is now setting her sights on making the team for London 2012, pointed out, part of the appeal of this deal is the way it is intended to help both at elite and grass roots level, with Foresters aiming to involve some of their 70,000 members in the sport.

"Foresters are keen to get their customers taking part in archery by setting up competitions through their branches and getting people to have a go," she said.

Sara Symington, performance director at Archery GB said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Foresters Friendly Society, our first major commercial sponsorship.

"With austerity measures biting, financial backing for sport from the private sector will become increasingly important in allowing us to continue the success we have seen from our teams at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

"This additional funding will help our athletes develop, supplement our existing funding and help us reach our full potential for 2012."

Kevin Dann, chief executive of Foresters Friendly Society, said: "This is a landmark partnership for the sport and we are delighted to be working with Archery GB's successful teams.

"Foresters Friendly Society will be providing not only financial but also business support."

As a recurve archer – at the purist end of the sport – Folkard has the opportunity to take part in the London 2012 Games, where she hopes to fill one of the three team places alongside two from Alison Williamson, Amy Oliver and Charlotte Burgess.

For Duncan Busby, also present and correct at the Tower, a perfectly successful Commonwealth campaign – gold in the team and individual finals – has proved a little bittersweet given the fact that his event, compound archery, is not currently included in the Olympic programme.

His achievements were mirrored in the women's competition by England team mate Nicky Hunt.

"The compound archers weren't too upset about missing out on the Olympics until they had the chance to compete in the Commonwealths," Folkard said.

"But now I think they feel it.

"It is a little bit odd for them not being involved in the Olympics - they are still hoping to get the event into the 2016 Games by changing some of the formats around."

Folkard has been a full time archer on the Lottery-funded World Class Performance programme since graduating from Birmingham University with a Music degree in 2005.

She trains at least three times a week with her team mates at the Lilleshall centre, which is an hour's drive from where she lives in Kidderminster.

"We are very busy throughout the year with training or competition," she said.

"When I do get time to myself at home I like to relax by playing the piano or the violin – usually something by Beethoven or Debussy."


Folkard's Delhi silver might have been gold, some believe, had she and her team mates, Williamson and the 21-year-old Oliver, not had to contend with the noisy and partisan atmosphere in their final against the home team.

"I've never competed in atmosphere quite that extreme before," Folkard said.

"I did once shoot in a semi-final in the Europeans against a Turkish competitor and some of the Turkish junior team were whistling and cheering.

"But when they were told to stop, they stopped - in India they didn't stop!

"But the noise just faded into the background as far as I was concerned, so it wasn't too bad.

"I don't think it really affected me – maybe just a little.

"I doubt it would have affected Alison, but Amy is not very experienced and this was her first experience in an international competition of that size, so I'm sure it did affect her."

There will be no such considerations to be made once competition gets under way at Lord's during the London Games, however.

"We have no idea which three out of four will be competing in London," said Folkard.

"The team doesn't get picked until April 2012.

"Charlotte made the last European team and she also has Olympic experience so the competition will be tough.

"But until April 2012 we are working together and training together as a team to give ourselves the best possible chance at the Games."

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