Coming at it from a different direction (Oh Matron!)

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
So ... over the years we have run class after demonstration after class with little effect. We still hear "no-one ever told us about ... xxxx" yet no-one ever turns up to classes we run to teach maintenance and string making and fletching and tuning and lions and tigers and bears oh my!

So this time I'm trying something different.

I shut down the range for 10-15 minutes on club night, do a presentation on a bite sized piece of archery knowledge and hopefully some of it will sink in.

First was last wednesday (18/9) about the recurve bow, its various bits and that they are for. Spiced it up with some archery lore plus a little history and they didnt look too bored. at least no one heckled me (more than normal) and got a round of applause at the end.

hopefully I now have a format that will improve absorption of archery knowledge by our newbie archers ... and our experienced archers will stop asking me questions they really should know the answers to.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I think that integrating your talks into something else is a good idea. I tried a string making session, which was quite well attended, but no one made their own strings as a result.
I run coaching sessions which have been running for several years now. New members to the club are invited to join the group after they have had their own sessions for a few weeks following the beginners course. At these sessions I quite often include things about equipment and setting up etc etc. With 252 scheme in place, I notice beginners shooting with beginners and very few beginners getting to shoot alongside experienced archers. When I started archery I was always next to experienced archers, and picking up advice on the way.
In the coaching sessions, I encourage archers to ask questions about anything archery related. If there are no questions( often the case) there is usually a chance to start a discussion ,triggered by a chance remark or something I have seen / heard recently.
To my way of thinking, if the club has something they feel needs improving, it is worth planning how that " something" can be turned into part of the club's routine.
For example, if the club feels it is important for beginners to learn things from the experienced archers, have occasional sessions where a fun round is shot where each boss has a mix of archers. Your talks indoors sound like a great idea to encourage others to do the same and possibly add a question time, too.
 

Big George

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AIUK Saviour
Personally I’d be a bit miffed if our club shut the range down to have a talk that I wasn’t interested in. If I’m down to shoot I want to shoot. By all means have a talk for those who want to go to it but do it where it doesn’t stop other people shooting.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
I sympathise... I repeatedly get asked the same questions even when I've posted the info n+1 times on my blog or on Youtube or even answered it personally!
There seems a reluctance to try and understand or work out stuff these days... people want to be spoon fed the answer without the trouble of having to understand the underlying principles.
I often say solving problems is easy... the hard part is working out what the problem is!
Del
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Del, I think you are right, some people do just want an answer with nothing more. But there are others who just get given the answer and no explanation to get an understanding from. I was lucky when I started shooting, all the archers explained things when answering questions. It seemed natural. I work that way, too, but not everyone wants to listen.
Perhaps there are things that everyone should know; who decides what those things are? I feel they should not be left to chance,if they are really important.
 

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
when I announced the presentation format and the length ... there was some incredulity that I would be able to keep to just the 10-15 minutes max time limit so keen am I to spread knowledge. I obviously had no issues being concise and brief.
😂
 

JamesP

New member
Personally I’d be a bit miffed if our club shut the range down to have a talk that I wasn’t interested in. If I’m down to shoot I want to shoot. By all means have a talk for those who want to go to it but do it where it doesn’t stop other people shooting.
In general, it sounds like a good idea to me... But I've got to agree with Big George on this one, I wouldn't be happy if you shut down the range during a shoot for it. Maybe it'd work well at the start or end, or as something optional happening out of the way during a shoot? Then again, I can only speak about how I'd feel, and every club is different; so if it works well for your club keep it up - if you can pull it off in the long run, it sounds like a great way to address an issue a lot of clubs suffer from.
 

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
Im pretty sure there are a couple of noses out of joint in the club but on my return to the club after several years away I realized that its going to take some harsh measures to fix some of the problems. this may get a bit ranty .... ;)

taking it "off line" has been tried till we're blue in the face ... no-one attends. we've had safety issues develop because people cant maintain their own bows BUT wont attend classes and dont read up themselves. You repeatedly hear "no-one told me ... " and "I dont know how to do that" from people who really should regarding worn and suspect equipment.

currently the club has tipped to a higher percentage of newbie archers. now there is an even lower average percentage of "archery awareness" in the club. we're limited on knowledgeable archers attending (ones who actually know stuff as opposed to ones who just turn up and shoot their bow) . It normally gets dumped on me because I'll be the one that notices and has the knowledge to fix it.

For the overall good of the club, these presentations are a move to increasing knowledge, awareness and safety. If someone cant give up just 10 minutes a night for the good of the club .... then I would question their commitment to the club rather than themselves.

And yes that might sound a little harsh .... but given in the few months since I returned I have refletched/repaired almost the entire stock of club arrows; replaced all the strings and rests on the club bows; run the field party on 3 major outdoor shoots staying all day, every day 7:30am-4:30pm; marked the field out for those shoots once in a fraking monsoon for 3hours; every session try to advise and mentor archers who are doing things that they really shouldnt; turned up and worked the entire day cleaning the containers/rebanding the outdoor bosses; rebanding the indoor bosses; attending every shooty session (acting as keyholder); at every session serving as line captain; .... all while trying to regain my competition form after an extremely long layoff and I'm not even a member of the committee or a coach. Just an 13 year veteran archer trying to make his club better.

If I'm willing to do the above as well as spending an hour or two writing up my 10 minute presentations .... I think giving up 10 minutes of range time by everyone for a better and safer club is the absolute MINIMUM. /rant over 😲

So thats where I'm coming from. I feel there needs to be some small sacrifices for the good of the club otherwise it will die.
 

LAC Mark

Active member
It sounds like you have an above average amount of commitment to the club and archery as a whole.
If it's got to the stage that safety is lacking, you're right to take a stance.

Big George, I can understand where you're coming from, but if your club was in the same boat would you accept that something needed to be done.
 

Timid Toad

Moderator
Staff member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
If someone is moaning about a 10 minute break for a safety/maintenance talk at my club I'd be having a not so quiet word in their shell-like.
Everyone benefits, from the most experienced old lag to the newbie straight off the beginners' course.

*10 minutes* come on!
 

Big George

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AIUK Saviour
If someone tried to have a “not so quiet” word with me preferring to shoot than listen to a talk I don’t want to listen to then they’d be told politely or not so politely to bog off. I have limited time available for archery and I prefer to decide how to use it.

My club isn’t like the OPs club so I can’t really comment on its standards and people though if people are shooting with defective equipment or technique then they need to be taken off the line and the problem sorted out.

For those that think not wanting to listen to a lecture I don’t need shows lack of commitment, I turn up early on club nights, help get kit out, will help newbie archers and others. If I need to know something I’ll go looking for information or talk to other archers/coaches as needed. I generally get stuck in with what needs done but the primary aim of being there on a club night is to shoot. That’s my rant over.
 

LAC Mark

Active member
If someone tried to have a “not so quiet” word with me preferring to shoot than listen to a talk I don’t want to listen to then they’d be told politely or not so politely to bog off. I have limited time available for archery and I prefer to decide how to use it.

My club isn’t like the OPs club so I can’t really comment on its standards and people though if people are shooting with defective equipment or technique then they need to be taken off the line and the problem sorted out.

For those that think not wanting to listen to a lecture I don’t need shows lack of commitment, I turn up early on club nights, help get kit out, will help newbie archers and others. If I need to know something I’ll go looking for information or talk to other archers/coaches as needed. I generally get stuck in with what needs done but the primary aim of being there on a club night is to shoot. That’s my rant over.
Big George, I didn't suggest you lacked commitment and apologise if it read that way.

I merely suggested that "if" there was a safety issue, you, like most, would be willing to take steps to put it right.

I too value my shooting time, and can't get down early and help setup, but do help put away.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
When new members know very little about serious aspects of club life, they usually want to know more, so they can fit in. I think RH is doing a good job and the members will thank him for his efforts. Some things can't be left to chance, and the more people who attend the "chats" the better. Those who don't need to listen can add to the sessions by supporting what is being done.
 

Emmadragon

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I think it depends what stage the newbies are at. I know when I first re-started, all I wanted to do was shoot, and I wasn't terribly interested in anything beyond knowing how to be safe and shoot. I'd have been with George at that point. Now, around 2 years in, I'm happy to learn this kind of thing.
Although I will admit to still being more interested in how to shoot better than how to do things like fletch a full set of arrows. I'm happy to learn how to make running repairs, but I'm never going to be one of these archers who delights in a few hours sticking things together. Nothing against those who do, it's just not for me. I tend to think there are professional fletchers who I can pay to do it better than I ever will...but then I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to pay someone else at this time in my life. There will come a time, I'm sure, when I can't afford to pay someone to do it for me, and then I really will have to learn, but until then...
But I totally get where the OP is coming from if their club isn't safe through a lack of knowledge.
 
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