The story begins in 1995, when a group of archers from Birmingham got together and organised some local (and not so local!) university archery clubs into a league. The plan was to provide more tournament experience to the members of the clubs, in a fun and friendly atmosphere where archers would not feel intimidated, no matter what standard they were.
The format is exactly the same now as it was then: each university archery club hosted an individual competition open to all BUTTS league members, and the results of these competitions went to a league table. The club at the top of the table at the end of the year would then win the coveted BUTTS Challenge Trophy.
At the same time, it was agreed that novices should be rewarded for good performances too. Within each BUTTS competition, all archers compete against each other, but the results of the novice archers were also put into a separate table. The novice team with the highest score in the league table would win the BUTTS Novice Challenge Trophy, and individual novice medals were also awarded. In this way, novices could compete with those of similar ability, and the club which did the most for its beginners would received deserved recognition - it has often been the case that the winner of one trophy has not necessarily been the winner of the other!
Each competition is held over the indoor Portsmouth Round (although Cambridge does not have a sports hall and therefore holds its leg outdoors in May!). Each of the universities fields enough people (wherever possible) for a senior and novice team, and awards are made at the end of each leg as follows:
To most outsiders, watching Birmingham before the competition starts is a novel experience, one which really shouldn't be missed. As part of their pre-match routine, they make a sacrifice to the Great Toucan God, taking an arrow and thrusting it into a Mars Bar (apparently the sacrifice of young virgins hampered the club's community relations somewhat). This Mars Bar then is awarded by the Birmingham Team Captain to the member of the opposite sex who scored closest to 222 (apparently the score shot by one of Birmingham's Team Captains once upon a time..).
Without these wonderful people, this league could not continue to flourish in the way it has done for ten years. Our thanks and awe go in no particular order to:
This is the list of the winners of each trophy so far. For more complete results visit the Results page.
| Year | BUTTS Trophy | Novice Trophy |
| 1995-1996 | Birmingham | Warwick |
| 1996-1997 | Loughborough | Cambridge |
| 1997-1998 | Cambridge | Loughborough |
| 1998-1999 | Cambridge | Birmingham |
| 1999-2000 | Cambridge | Birmingham |
| 2000-2001 | Cambridge | Birmingham |
| 2001-2002 | Cambridge | Cambridge |
| 2002-2003 | Oxford | Warwick |
| 2003-2004 | Cambridge | Birmingham |
| 2004-2005 | Warwick | Cambridge |
| 2005-2006 | Cambridge | Warwick |