About Us
The "About Us" pages contain various types of information about the club, that might be useful to members and prospective members of the club.
Rules and Etiquette
Archery is a sport utilising sophisticated modern weapons, and as such has a good system of rules to ensure the safety of everyone including the archers and spectators. The sport is practices by a huge number of people around the world and one of the reasons is because it is a very friendly sport, and to help maintain this friendly and inviting atmosphere, the rules are backed up by rules of etiquette. The official GNAS and FITA web sites have detailed rules available for anyone organising events and need to know and understand all the rules, or also for anyone with a general interest to know more. Below are some basic guidelines which may be helpful for newcomers to the sport.
Shooting Rules
Most rules in archery are primarily for safety reasons. These are backed up with rules for competitions and general shooting rules. The following are a guide only, and you should seek fuller advice from FITA or GNAS for up to date, complete and officially recognised rules to archery.
- Ensure the shooting area is very secure and clearly marked for archery use, so that passers-by or even animals cannot accidentally enter the shooting area. Ensure adequate safety areas area correctly marked out. Where required, use adequate netting of sufficient size to catch any stray arrows. See official guidance for setting up and marking out a shooting area.
- Never shoot when you see anyone within the safety areas.
- An experience person should act as field captain with an overall responsibility for safety. Always obey this person's instructions. When just two people are shooting, one must watch out for any safety issues whilst the other is shooting.
- Obey any instructions such as shouts of "FAST", "STOP" or multiple whistles, no matter who the command comes from. If you hear such a command, you may repeat it so that people further away than you also get notified. If at draw, carefully bring down your bow and do NOT shoot your arrow. Wait for the Field Captain's instruction before commencing to shoot again.
- Always check all your equipment before shooting. Never use anything that is damaged in any way or where you are uncertain if it is safe.
- Wear clothing that cannot get caught in the bow string. Secure loose hair. Wear protective items as appropriate, such as arm guards.
- Always use a bow-stringer to attach your string. Never use the step-through method or anything similar, as even a slight slip may cause injury or damage the equipment.
- Always stay behind the equipment line, until given the signal to move to the shooting line, and only when it is your turn. If you are not shooting yourself, then you must always stay behind the tent line.
- Never draw your bow or knock an arrow, except when on the shooting line.
- Only ever point your bow down-range, never in the air or where you cannot see where the arrow might land.
- Never draw an arrow if there is a risk of pulling it beyond the arrow rest. Get correctly sized arrows!
- Don't start to shoot until given the appropriate instruction. If you don't know the local methods of giving commands (verbal, whistles etc) then ASK!
- Do not move forward of the shooting line for any reason (not even to collect a dropped arrow), until the appropriate command is given by the field captain.
- Never run on the shooting course, or at any time when you have a bow and/or arrows on your person.
- When walking to a target (especially outdoors) watch out for arrows sticking out of the ground.
- If you have to go behind a target to retrieve arrows, always ensure someone stays in front of the target (that knows you are behind) until everyone has returned to the front again. If there is no-one around who can stay in front, leave your bow leaning on the target face to indicate you have gone behind.
- When pulling arrows from the target, ensure there is no-one behind you that might get injured by your action and stand to one side yourself so as not to injure yourself. Always pull arrows in a straight line directly out from the target to avoid any chance of bending or breaking. Only ever pull one arrow at a time. Use an arrow puller if required to safely pull a deeply embedded arrow from a target (or anything else it may be stuck in) to avoid hurting yourself when pulling.
- If resting your equipment, ensure it is placed safely where it will not obstruct other people nor in such a way where it may get damaged. Use appropriate stands where possible and ensure all equipment is never left where it may injure someone passing by.
- Never touch anyone else's equipment without their express consent first. Should you damage another person's equipment, you should make immediate arrangements to pay for repair or replacement as appropriate.
Etiquette
Archery rules must be obeyed of course, mostly because of the obvious safety issues around the sport. After all, it started out as a form of killing for food and modern equipment is many times more effective at that than those early bows. However there are many other rules on etiquette around the sport, which are mostly designed to show respect to everyone involved and ensure there is an enjoyable atmosphere for everyone so that we can all enjoy the sport we participate in to the fullest. Basic rules on etiquette are as follows:
- 2011 saw changes to the dress code to bring it more in line with modern times. The club welcomes all new rulings such as these. We still require dress code to be appropriate for the sport as described in the new rulings. Torsoes and shoulders should be covered. Loose clothing should be avoided and jewellery should be removed or protected where it might be caught in the equipment. Ideally white/light coloured tops with dark lower clothing should be worn. Our club colours are registered with GNAS and have a white tops with a yellow stripe up each side with blue arms and dark green lower garments. This is still perfectly acceptable and recommended where possible, especially when representing the club at competitions, or at other events when mixing with other clubs or the public.
- Archers should not be selfish, and should try to arrive early to assist with setting up and putting away and clearing up after an event. Don't just leave this sort of thing to other people.
- When shooting, do not disturb other people on the line and when watching, keep back behind the equipment line and don't disturb archers already on the shooting line. If talking to other spectators whilst shooting is ongoing, be respectful and talk quietly. Don't use flash photography whilst shooting is taking place. Always turn off mobile phones (or set to silent mode) and any other devices that could make disruptive noises.
- Do not join or leave the shooting line when your neighbouring archer is preparing to shoot.
- Leave appropriate space on the shooting line for your fellow archers.
- Is is traditional not to leave the shooting line if only one other person is still shooting. Remain quietly in position until they have also finished shooting and then retire together.
- When scoring is going on, don't walk along the targets comparing results. This is considered bad form.
- Don't touch the target or any arrow (yours or anyone else's) during scoring, until all scores have been agreed and recorded. You don't want to be accused of cheating.
- We know most people don't like scoring, but everyone should take their turns to do so.
- Never touch anyone else's equipment without their express consent first. Should you damage another person's equipment, you should make immediate arrangements to pay for repair or replacement as appropriate.
- Only offer advise if it is asked for (or if you are coaching, anyway). You might be quite correct in your judgement but some people find it offensive to be corrected, so wait until your advice is sought.
- At the end of shooting, join in the appreciation for the diligent work of the field captain.