About Us

History

Whiteman Park Archers (WPA) originated as a club called Sorrento Archery Club back in May 1978. In those days the club shot on the grounds of the Sorrento Primary School located in Elfreda Avenue, Sorrento. In September 1981 Sorrento Archery Club incorporated and from a humble beginning of the initial 4 founding archers, the club slowly gathered members and outgrew those grounds and moved to a new & larger area at the Warwick Senior High School in 1982.

The club continued to grow as more locals became aware of its existence and were drawn to the club to try to understand, master and enjoy, the art of Toxophily. In 1988 Archery WA (then known as the Archery Society of WA) was looking for a couple of clubs interested in being resident clubs on their newly acquired lease and headquarters within the then recently completed International Shooting Complex in Whiteman.

Sorrento Archery Club was accepted as a resident club and moved to the Shooting Complex in 1988, where it still resides to this day. Having moved to an area well away from Sorrento it was eventually decided in 2010 to change the club’s name to something more in line with its location and as such, Whiteman Park Archers Inc. was born.

So much for the history lesson, so now for some current helpful information about us:

Where exactly are we?

The entrance to the Whiteman Park International Shooting Complex (WPISC), is at the end of Hennessy Road in Whiteman.

Whiteman Park Archers shoots as a club on Saturday afternoons from 12:00 noon onwards but some members arrive earlier for practice. Beginner classes are conducted on Saturday mornings starting at 10:30am and by taking out a temporary membership (insurance cover) you can have a ‘free’ go, and after (if you wish) you can enrol in a 4 week course (currently $100) which includes equipment hire and covers basic tuition in the fundaments of target archery.

To find Whiteman Park Archers, turn into the International Shooting Complex at the Northern end of Hennessy Road and follow the entrance road past the manager’s residence and then the Gun Club (both on your right) and you will come to a road on your left which leads to the car park near the main archery building.

You might see the Benara Bowmen club shooting on the grounds near the start of the car park. Whiteman Park Archers shoot on the grounds on the far side of the main building so if you park your car and walk around the verandah of the building and towards the shaded shooting area you should find some of our members who will be happy to help you.

Once you have finished the course of lessons you would need to make a decision with regards to joining the club and also purchasing your own equipment.

We have some very experienced members who can give you advice in that regard to ensure that you buy gear that is appropriate for you. Please don’t buy any equipment until you have spoken to an experienced archer, especially if you are planning to shoot a compound bow.

The club membership fees are very reasonable and a club committee member will be happy to advise what the current fees are for seniors and for members who are under 20 years of age. Club membership fees include fees for affiliation to both Archery WA and Archery Australia.

Junior members who are under 12 must be accompanied by a parent who must also a member (can be non-shooting if preferred). This is a condition that our club
imposes to ensure that there is an adult family member involved in the sport to assist with setting up and maintaining the junior member’s equipment, etc.

In order to keep the annual membership fees to a minimum Whiteman Park Archers operates on a ‘user pays’ system whereby a target fee is charged each time you attend and shoot at the grounds, using club target equipment.

Once again, a club committee member will be happy to advise you of the current target fees & structure.

With this in mind, once you have purchased your own equipment, archery is one of the cheapest individual sports around and because the club grounds are located in a facility dedicated to ballistic sports, club members can come and shoot virtually every day of the year, should they decide to do so.

If you have any more questions or need further information, please e-mail the club at info@whitemanparkarchers.com