Newsletter


Spring '08


AGM 2008

The Annual General Meeting of the YAA will be held at Barnsley Archery Club, Shaw Lane, Barnsley on Saturday the 8th of March 2008, starting at 2:00 PM.

YAA records

A claim form has now been devised. This can be found on the County’s website. Any claim for a County Record should be made on this official claim form accompanied by the necessary results.

Andrew Neal

Dates of shoots

The dates of YAA shoots are as follows:

Both sessions of the indoor championships are now full. A waiting list is being maintained.

The 300th recorded meeting of the Scorton Silver Arrow will be held in Scorton, North Yorkshire, on Saturday the 17th of May 2008.

The Selby Open will be held at Selby RUFC on Sunday the 18th of May 2008

Andrew Neal

15 new coaches and 1 new County Coach

New YAA coaches, January 2008. Photo by Mick Fitzpatrick

left to right: Richard Jones (examiner); Tim Mason; Iain Wilson (chief examiner); Ian Foster; Gwen Smith; Chris Jones; Rob Anderson (examiner); Louise Smith; Iain Smith; Grahame Cotterill; Terry Ducker (hiding!); Colin Stopher (examiner); Marina Rose; Pete Liley; Barry Molsom (examiner); Roger Greaves; Tim Swane (observer); Ben Jones; Malcolm Burgin; Pam Hill; Steve Jones; Tommy Miller (examiner).

15 new Coaches graduated from the YAA Coach training course on Sunday the 6th of January 2008. The candidates spent seven full weekends in 2007 working on the course, plus a great deal of time working on practical coaching projects.
The successful candidates were:
Ben Jones - Merlin, Chris Jones - Merlin, Grahame Cotterill - Phoenix Bowmen, Gwen Smith - Barnsley AC, Ian Foster - Barnsley AC, Iain Smith - Barnsley AC, Louise Smith - Sheffield University, Malcolm Burgin - Dearne Valley AC, Marina Rose - Barnsley AC, Pam Hill - Dearne Valley AC, Peter Liley - Scarborough AC, Roger Greaves - Scarborough AC, Stephen Jones - Barnsley AC, Terry Ducker - Selby AC, Tim Mason - Phoenix Bowmen
The coaching staff on the course were Kath Fitzpatrick, Martin Holtby (senior coaches), Mick Fitzpatrick, Harry Drake, Jean Clarkson (County Coaches), Andy Arnold, Mary Hannan, Michael Ward and Chris Petchey (County Coach candidates). Many thanks to the staff for their hard work and enthusiasm.
The assessors were Iain Wilson (Chairman), Rob Anderson, Barry Molsom, Tommy Miller, Colin Stopher and Richard Jones. Tim Swane was also present as a trainee assessor. Many thanks to them for their hard work and sacrifice.
This was the last ever Coach-level course in the country - it's being replaced by Level 2. The success rate on this course means that YAA Coaching has had a 100% record of passes at Coach level since 1990. We hope to continue this success rate with Level 2.

On the weekend of 27/28 January Andy Arnold travelled to Peterlee in Hampshire to attend a County Coach exam from which he came away with a well-deserved County Coach qualification with comments that his coaching work record and analysis were excellent. Many congratulations to Andy and to all the newly qualified coaches.

THE YORKSHIRE AWARD


At the 2007 AGM it was agreed to establish THE YORKSHIRE AWARD. The YAA Committee considered the introduction, criteria and design of such an award during 2006 and 2007, and are now in a position to promote THE YORKSHIRE AWARD and to seek nominations for recipients from Yorkshire Clubs.

The rationale behind the development of such an award was that we have a need of an award on the same lines as the 'Award of Merit' to be aimed at club level. The 'Award of Merit' is a prestigious award for enduring dedication to the county but possibly out of reach of the majority of 'club level' archers.

It was decided to have a prestigious award where clubs can nominate individuals or couples who, in the eyes of their club, deserve recognition for services to that particular club. It was agreed that there would be no set deadline for submission of nominations, but that presentations of The Yorkshire Award should be made where possible at the Yorkshire AGM, or either the Indoor or Outdoor Championships.

The YAA Constitution now states:

Clause 28 - The Yorkshire Award

The Yorkshire Award shall be presented by the General Committee to a Yorkshire Archer, or couple (that is, who are affiliated member(s) of the Association) who has done exemplary work within or on behalf of their particular club, over a number of years. Nominations for The Yorkshire Award, from Clubs, should be sent in writing to the Association's Secretary, accompanied by a citation, for consideration by the General Committee.

The nomination and citation form can be downloaded by clicking on the link below:
Yorkshire Award Nomination and Citation Form

Have you seen this trophy...?

Several YAA trophies are missing - see the item below about the Lady Recurve trophy for the YAA Field Championships. If you're aware of the present location of any YAA trophy that should have been handed back more than two years ago, please contact the county secretary. We'll publish a list of missing trophies on the website and in the newsletter in due course.
Additionally, clubs are welcome to contact Tim Mason if they are trying to trace trophies and would like the missing trophies to be identified on the website and in the newsletter. Please provide a written description of the trophy, a photo if available, and the time period in which the trophy is believed to have gone missing.

Missing! YAA Field Championships Lady Recurve trophy

We are trying to locate the Lady Recurve Trophy from our Field Championships. The general belief is that the trophy was presented in 2001 at the shoot held at Whitby, but it has not been since. Unfortunately we do not have a photograph of the trophy, but indications are that it is a silver cup.
Were you presented with the trophy in 2001?
Have you been presented with the trophy in subsequent years?
If so, or you presently have the trophy, please contact Dave Phillips, YAA Secretary.

New clubs

Barnsley YMCA Archers - Barnsley.
Bowmen of St Mary’s and Bowmen of St Mary’s Juniors - Hull.
Huddersfield University Archery Club - Huddersfield.
Wolds Archery Club - Bridlington.

YAA Clout Championships 2008

The YAA Clout Championships 2008 will be hosted by St George's Archery Club at St John Fisher School, Harrogate. They'll take place on Saturday the 20th of April. The round will be a double GNAS clout - 3 dozen arrows in the morning, 3 dozen in the afternoon.

Shooting GNAS clout

Clout archery is a kind of long-distance target shooting. A number of flags are set at certain distances from the shooting line, with each distance being specific to a combination of gender and age. For GNAS clout, the distances are:

Gentlemen180 yards Boys Under 18 years140 yards
Ladies140 yards Boys Under 16 yards120 yards
Girls Under 18120 yards Boys Under 14 years100 yards
Girls Under 16100 yards Boys Under 12 years80 yards
Girls Under 1380 yards 

The objective is to land your arrows as close to the flag as you can.
Each archer shoots 6 arrows per end, in two sets of three.
Be careful about how high you angle the bow - a 40-pound target recurve can send an arrow 300 yards or more, and a typical compound can send an arrow further still. You don't need to aim very high to reach clout distances.
When all archers have shot, all walk to the flags and look for their arrows.
Scoring is done using a rope with coloured sections. The colours of the sections are gold, red, blue, black and white, as with a target. In GNAS clout, the colours score 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively - FITA clout has 10-zone scoring. The gold end of the rope is attached to the flagpole. One person holds the other end of the rope and walks in a circle around the flagpole, keeping the rope taut. A person is assigned to each coloured section to collect arrows that have landed in the corresponding scoring zone. Arrows sticking in the flagpole itself are counted as golds. Otherwise, the score depends on where the arrow is protruding from the ground. The usual rule about line cutters applies, except you'll often hear someone shouting in hope: "Pull the rope harder!" The arrows are then sorted into sets and laid on the appropriate coloured section of the rope.
Archers are called in turn to give their scores. They point to their arrows and read the values in descending order: "4-3-3-1-miss-miss", for example.

Awards

An arrow in the gold is known as a "clout", as is the flag itself. If you get all six arrows of an end in the gold, you can claim a six-clout badge from the GNAS.
At shoots with Tassel Award status, such as the YAA Clout Champs, Tassel Awards can be claimed for achieving particular scores on a double GNAS clout. The required scores will be shown in the registration area, or can be seen on the YAA website.

Instruction

One very important point is that you must get instruction in clout archery before entering a tournament. If your club doesn't shoot clout archery, you should approach a club that does and ask them about getting instruction. Some clubs in Yorkshire that currently practice clout are Adwalton Moor Archers, Barnsley Archery Club, Bronte Archers, Dearne Valley Archery Club, Ebor Archers, Panda Bowmen and St George's Archery Club. Others may also do so.

YAA Field Championships 2008

Field archery challenges you with varying terrain, different light conditions and whatever the elements are throwing at you. Sometimes the distances are not marked, so you must estimate them. Even when the distances are marked, you must compensate for the uphill or downhill slope.
The YAA Field Championships 2008 will be held at Dearne Valley Archery Club's High Melton ground, in the Doncaster/Mexborough area, on Sunday the 30th of March. This is a lovely venue - good terrain for field archery but with no need for mountaineering skills.

Shooting FITA field

Usually four archers are assigned to each target. This is the target that you'll start from. Your group walks to the designated target and waits for the signal to start. When the marshals blow their whistles, you can start shooting.
The round is a Marked FITA 24. This consists of 24 targets in different locations. At each target, you stand at the appropriate peg in the ground for your category and shoot three arrows. The peg nearest to the target is painted white and is for some junior classes. The next nearest is painted blue and is for senior barebow shooters and some junior classes. The furthest peg is painted red and is for senior archers using sights. Distances range from 5 metres to 60 metres.
On a marked round, each peg is marked with the distance in metres from that peg to the target. Sounds easy? But that distance is the distance along the slope, and not necessarily what you need to set your sight to! You usually need to set your sight for the horizontal distance from your eye to a point directly above or below the target. This is a shorter distance than the marked one.
The target faces are black with a gold centre spot. The black part is divided into four rings separated by fine white lines. The centre spot is divided into an inner gold and an outer gold. Most faces are singles that you shoot all three arrows at, but some are triples - you shoot one arrow at each face.
If shooting at a single face and your first arrow is away from the gold, try aiming off rather than moving your sight. If the first arrow's gone high and left, try aiming the second arrow low and right.
After everyone in the group has shot, walk up to the target face and score the arrows. Five-zone scoring - 5 for the gold, 4, 3, 2, 1 for the black rings - will be used at the YAA champs, with the inner gold also being recorded as an X. This will actually be the last time that five-zone scoring is used, since FITA is changing the rules - from April 1st, the inner gold will score 6 points, not 5.
Since this shoot has Arrowhead status, you must mark the holes in the target.
If you need to look for missing arrows, prop your bows in front of the target so the following group know you're behind the target. They'll be able to see you clearly anyway, but this is a worthwhile additional precaution. Never shoot at a target when there are people near it, of course.
When ready, follow the signs to the next target.
And so you go on until you've shot all 24 targets, taking breaks for lunch and when you reach the tea tent. When you've finished, follow the course round to where you entered it and go back to the assembly area to hand in your score cards. Check and sign your score cards.
You can claim FITA Arrowhead badges for various scores achieved. The required scores will be posted on the registration tent.

Preparation

Get your sight marks in metres at 5 metre increments.
Bear in mind that you'll be carrying your bow through woodland, so you might want to consider the weight of it and the size of the stabilisation setup.
Dress appropriately - make yourself visible, absolutely no camouflage clothing. Wear waterproof boots, and gaiters if you've got them. There is no rule on colours, apart from the 'no camo' rule.
If you're worried about losing arrows, you can make them more visible by adding a bright coloured wrap to the shaft. If you're shooting barebow, especially longbow, it would be a good idea to bring something you can use as an arrow rake. High Melton is a good ground for finding arrows easily though, especially at that time of year.
Get an angler's haversack to carry your lunch, waterproofs, spares and other essentials. This is a small rucksack with a built-in stool.
Pack for the day - you don't want to be trailing all the way back to your car for something you've forgotten. Carry spare arrow rests, nocks and other bits you may need.
Leave the tent and scope at home - you won't need them or be able to use them. You might want to bring a chair to park yourself on during presentations, but don't carry it round the course!

Further reading

Have a read of the field archery rules in the GNAS Rules of Shooting.
FITA publishes some guidelines for field shooting. They're far more comprehensive than is needed for the YAA champs, but they're worth a read:
http://www.archeryworldcup.org/UserFiles/Document/FITA%20website/07%20Publications/02_Downloads/Field_Guidelines-e.pdf

YAA Committee Meeting, 19 January 2008 at Barnsley AC

There were 22 members present with 3 apologies.

Changes to FITA field scoring system

FITA has decided that from 1st April 2008, the X ring (inner 5) on a FITA field face will score 6 points instead of 5. The YAA Field Championships will be one of the last shoots anywhere to use 5-zone scoring.
Obviously, this will mean that the existing county field records will be superseded quickly, sometimes by inferior performances.
When six-zone scoring is introduced, the YAA website will keep a page of records achieved under five-zone scoring. Records achieved under six-zone scoring will become the recognised county records, of course, but records achieved under five-zone scoring will remain available for reference.

Caption competition



Congratulations to Chris Furminger of the Bowmen of Adel, who won last issue’s caption competition. He had Louise saying: "That’s the smallest pirate changing room I’ve ever seen!" An unbelievable prize will be winging its way to Chip as soon as I can get to the pound shop.

The YAA Single FITA

It has been agreed that the YAA Single FITA will host a Regional Junior match between NCAS, EMAS and WMAS. Due to this the event is likely to fill up quickly, which might also have an impact on the Championships on the following day. In view of this Yorkshire Archers are encouraged to get their entries in early to avoid disappointment. The Championships day last year saw a full field prior to the day of the event.

Andrew Neal

Les Kent clout

Due to Ebor Archers losing their ground there was not going to be a Les Kent Clout this year, but Pete Gregory has offered to help Ebor out and is going to hold the Les Kent Clout at St. Georges ground in Harrogate on Sunday 13th April 2008.
The YAA Clout Championships will also be held at St. Georges in Harrogate on April 20th 2008.
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone at St. Georges Archery Club for allowing their ground to be used for so many clout shoots. I think without their generous hospitality clout would be in a bit of a mess at the moment.
Entry forms for the Les Kent Clout and the YAA Clout Championships are available from the YAA website.
I look forward to seeing you all on the clout field this year.

Mick Fitzpatrick

Selection for county teams

There have been several cases where an archer has been selected to shoot for Yorkshire and has had to pull out. This is not a problem where the YAA has been informed of the archer's absence in time for a replacement to be arranged, but is a serious problem where the YAA is not informed and only finds out when the archer fails to turn up for the tournament.
The YAA has decided that any archer who lets us down in this way will not be considered for selection for the next 12 months. This will not apply where the archer has given advance notice of absence, nor where there's a genuine reason why notice couldn't be given.

The GNAS JAWS Scheme

The JAWS scheme was established to encourage junior archers to record - and appreciate - their achievements through the year. Archers taking part use a booklet, in which they record what they have done, with JAWS points assigned to each activity or achievement. At the end of the year, the booklet is completed, and returned to GNAS, and a list of all participants in overall points order is produced. All the archers receive a certificate showing their position in the table, and the top 100 receive a badge as well. Results are published on the GNAS website and in Archery UK.

Points are awarded in three sections. The first rewards scores in the major rounds in Target, Clout, and Field. For instance, in Clout, there is a table to convert scores in Double Clouts into JAWS points, with, for instance, a score of 125 in an Imperial round gaining 20 JAWS points. Points are also added if the score was shot with a longbow, or in competition, or at a distance for a higher age group. There are similar tables for Target and Field. Points for up to ten rounds in each discipline are available.

The second section of the booklet gives points for shooting in tournaments and competitions: more points for national events down through regional and county to fewest points for club organised tournaments; additional points for coming 1st 2nd or 3rd; more again for those entering adult competitions. The July Nationals and November Challenge also bring points in this section, and there is no limit on the number of competitions the archers can record.

Section 3 brings points for all the other achievements over the year: Roses; Stars; Arrows; Arrowheads; Tassels; setting National records; Six gold ends; six clout ends; even FITA Beginners’ awards. There are also points to be had for being in a representative team at County level or above. Finally, points are also given for handicap improvement - each year there are several participants who only register a handful of points as this is where their achievements have been. .

The aim of the scheme is to help archers realise what their achievements are - and reinforce the benefits of keeping records! Over the years in which they take part, archers can measure their progress year on year, comparing themselves with others at their stage. It also encourages them to take part in all the various competitions and different forms of archery available. For many who take part, the scheme is a major part of their motivation, as they can gain points in so many ways, not necessarily by "winning".

The booklet for 2008 is to be put on the GNAS website. So, look it up, and start totting up just what points are available!


Nick Beeson


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