Even nearer nearly time!

Of course, this Saturday is Frostbite time again. The forecast is for cool rain, so perfect for huddling together and putting in poor scores. What not to enjoy?

Were you challenged?

I was delighted with the number of entrants from the club I received for the January Challenge (which, for my sins, I run on behalf of Archery GB). The competition is aimed at all archers, but especially those who do not enter tournaments, or have any means of assessing themselves except within their club. I think we can say that our club does not have the highest scorers, but by no means does it have the lowest either. Pride of place in our results must go to Nicky Oakley, who cane third (out of 109) in “Beginners ladies Recurve” from across the country. In fact, she was in the lead until I entered the scores for the last two clubs – I was getting quite excited.
The full results – some 49 pages of them – should be on the AGB website shortly, or you can access them via a link that Vish has kindly put up on the club Facebook page. As a bedtime read it lacks plot or characterisation, but is interesting if you want to get a feel for where you stand in teh great scheme of archery.

Talking of websites…

…there is actually some movement on getting the club website up and running again. There is always a lot of discussion about what the site needs. The aim is to keep it simple and easy to use, but with the information you (and members of the public) need. Everyone has their own ideas about this. If there is anything you feel a site needs, then drop Darren a line and he can see if it is feasible – or desirable.

And why not try…..

A tournament?
One of the most friendly tournaments on the circuit is held at Selby on May 21st. Each year a handful of our members go along to shoot and have a great time. There is usually good catering as well. This year we would like to go utterly mob-handed! There is great comfort in numbers.
The rounds are:-Seniors – Long Western Round (Compound Bow)
4 Dozen at 80 Yards
4 Dozen at 60 Yards
Western Round (Non-compound Bow)
4 Dozen at 60 yards
4 Dozen at 50 Yards
Juniors – Long Western Round (Compound Bow)
Western Round (Under 18)
Short Western Round (Under 16)
4 Dozen at 50 Yards
4 Dozen at 40 Yards
Junior Western Round (Under 14)
4 Dozen at 40 Yards
4 Dozen at 30 Yards
Short Junior Western Round (Under 12)
4 Dozen at 30 Yards
4 Dozen at 20 Yards
The entrance fee for adults is £7.50 and £5.50 for juniors.
Darren is co-ordinating things and hopes to put in a block entry, so either tell him you’re going or drop me a line.
Go on – let’s get half the club there and give everyone a shock!

Etiquette

That is a lovely, old fashioned word. But it is highly regarded in Archery – the motto of Archery GB is “Union, Truehart, Courtesie”. We were discussing this at a recent committee meeting, not with regard to any specific failures, but a feeling that members needed slightly reminding. There is a code of conduct issued by Archery GB, and these are a few of its salient points:-
 Respect the spirit of fair play in archery

• o Adhere to the Rules of Shooting and the spirit of archery
• o Display and promote high standards of behaviour
• o Promote Fair Play – I won’t cheat, complain or waste time
• o Endeavour to ensure the sport is enjoyable for everyone
• o Accept success and failure, victory or defeat with dignity
• o Be on time for training, competitions and events
• o Never engage in or tolerate public criticism of fellow archers, coaches or officials

 Respect the rights, dignity and worth of my fellow archers

• o Speak to my fellow archers, coaches, judges and officials with respect
• o Remember we all make mistakes
• o Always respect the confidentiality of other archers
• o Treat other people’s data as I would wish them to treat mine
• o Always have the best interests of my fellow archers at heart

 I will endeavour to ensure my own safety and the safety of others

• o Never participate when under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• o Place the well-being, safety and enjoyment of each archer above everything including standards of performance

 Protect others involved in archery from verbal or physical abuse and threatening or intimidating behaviour

• o Never engage in or tolerate offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour
• o Never engage in or tolerate bullying, intimidation or harassment
• o Never use or tolerate the use of social media (e.g. Facebook/Archery Interchange) to engage in bullying, intimidation or harassment

Does this seem like overkill? Of course all of us act just as these say. But, for instance, do we always arrive in time to help set up the range, or is it always the same members who are there before us? Do we follow the Rules of Shooting on sighters, or do we only start scoring when we feel happy? Have we never heard a bit of “banter” that some might find offensive and ignored it?.