I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to The Worshipful Company of Fletchers for the grant I received that enabled me to purchase a Klaxon, an electric propulsion unit which essentially turns my manual wheelchair into an electric one. 

As any archer can attest, archery fields are often uneven and facilities may not be close to the shooting line, so for a wheelchair user, they can be tricky places to be independent. Without a power assistive device, my agent, coach, or volunteer often had to push me across the field. This put us both at risk of being injured - my wheelchair is low and does not have push handles so anyone assisting me had to stoop, and I would also be unable to avoid falling out if we hit a rabbit hole or mole hill (frequent features of archery fields).

Unfortunately, a suitable power assist like the Klaxon does not come cheap, and with other funding opportunities for such equipment being limited, the cost would have been prohibitive without the generous support of The Worshipful Company of Fletchers.

 My new Klaxon now gives me complete freedom to get across almost any terrain which not only increases my independence and reduces the risk of injury to myself and others, but also allows me to conserve my much-needed energy throughout competition. Knowing that I can focus 100% on my archery and not worry about how I am going to get around without exhausting myself is a huge performance boost, so once again, thank you so much for supporting me in this way.

Photograph by permission of World Archery of Vicky shooting at the World Para Archery Championships in Dubai in February 2022