Monthly Archives: April 2017

It’s Good to Talk

It’s good to talk

I hope that everyone is enjoying the fresh air, and planning their outdoor season. I would guess that most of you have already started either hitting the gold or mowing the grass.
One of the difficulties of the outdoor season is the flexibility of times. Some will start shooting in the late afternoon, and be packing up just as others start to arrive. This is particularly frustrating if it leaves one archer alone on the line – meaning they cannot shoot.
The best – though not perfect – solution is to check if anyone else is going to be shooting at the time you want to. There are a number of ways of doing this:-

  • Get together in a group of “buddies” and arrange when you are going to be at the club. This may seem obvious, but it does help to prevent frustration
  • There is quite an active community on the Bowmen of Adel Facebook page. Not only do interesting pieces appear there quite frequently, but members are using it to check if anyone is going to be shooting.
  • The club actually has a mobile number 07871403867. The committee member currently holding the handset may well be able to pass on information about who is shooting.

Shooting times for the present are Sundays at 14:00, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from about 18:30. Please try to arrive in time to help set up, or stay long enough to help take down

And while I have mentioned taking down….

I was down on the field this morning (just reminding myself of where it is!) and I found one of the stakes we use to hold the safety rope lying in the grass on the slope behind the goal mouth. We cannot afford to leave articles like that out on the field. Chiefly, remember it is a multi-sport field, and there may well be people running around on it not looking out for rusty metal spikes lying around. We would be liable for any accidents. Similarly, if the groundsman ran over one with his mower, we would not only be liable for the – expensive – cost of repairs, but it would be a thick black mark against us with the association.
The items most often left behind are the spikes for fixing target stands. But, whatever it is, make sure you count them all out and count them back in, and check that the field is clear.

And on a similar vein…

This is also the reason we make such a fuss about looking for lost arrows.Just because they get buried does not mean they will not rise to the surface at the least appropriate moment.So:-

  • Be sure you know how many arrows you have in your quiver before you start shooting. How many times have we been searching for a lost arrow only for the errant archer to say “Maybe i didn’t shoot that many!”
  • If you lose an arrow search for it at the next scoring opportunity, preferably until you find it. If you are shooting, and see someone casting about for a missing arrow, go and help them. This applies even – especially – if you are shooting on “divided” lines. People tend to wander out of safety zones when they are searching, and lost arrows are, by definition, not where you expect them to be.
  • If you feel too much time has been taken, and you have a spare, call off the search, but resume it after the next end. With everyone helping then, too.
  • If the arrow has not been found by the end of shooting, there is always the club metal detector in the inner sanctum. Not overly efficient in finding wooden or carbon arrows, but it is often quite effective. Bear in mind that, by this time, the light might be fading

If after everyone has dedicated all their efforts to the search the arrow has still not been found, a “Lost Arrow” form should be completed – one copy pinned up in the clubhouse and, more importantly, a copy provided for the Groundsman. The best way to do this is to leave it behind the bar. There should be forms in the clubhouse, but, just in case, here is your own personal copy.https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bcba371ca07e95c7798538386/files/f740346d-fb45-400d-ae93-ebd3f2f03e29/Forms_Lost_Arrows.pdf

Coming up – St George’s Longbow Tournament

On April 23rd, starting at 10:30. So no shooting that day.
If you shoot a longbow, why not enter? You are encouraged to wear appropriately medieval dress.
Or, better still, why not come along and help? We need catering assistants from first thing, and people to help with lugging things about throughout.

Also coming up – Have-A-Go on May 1st

Many of you picked up your first bow at a Have-A-Go session, so you know what is needed. Lots of helpers. More details nearer the time