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AndyW

Well-known member
Kernowlad, I loved your post on fb regarding AGB. Was tempted to pile in but I made a resolution to be nice on the interweb a couple of years ago so i stuck to a like.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Kernowlad, I loved your post on fb regarding AGB. Was tempted to pile in but I made a resolution to be nice on the interweb a couple of years ago so i stuck to a like.
I definitely touched a few nerves.
The borderline obsessive AGB fan club really can't see the wood from the trees; dozens of similar comments yet they won't have any of it. I know I shouldn't mention politics but it reminds me of the ultra hard right loonies who simply will not accept that maybe the current government isn't really interested in it's voter base...!
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I definitely touched a few nerves.
The borderline obsessive AGB fan club really can't see the wood from the trees; dozens of similar comments yet they won't have any of it. I know I shouldn't mention politics but it reminds me of the ultra hard right loonies who simply will not accept that maybe the current government isn't really interested in it's voter base...!
Matt, Without going into too many details, could you just give me a short summary of
The borderline obsessive AGB fan club really can't see the wood from the trees;
What is it they can't see?
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Matt, Without going into too many details, could you just give me a short summary of What is it they can't see?
That fairly major reform is needed and that an awful lot are leaving it. The rather snotty message they sent out was the final nail for many.
They support elite archers; by taking money from the majority of grass roots archers.
Stuff that’s been discussed on here many times before.
 
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D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
That fairly major reform is needed and that an awful lot are leaving it. The rather snotty message they sent out was the final nail for many.
They support elite archers; by taking money from the majority of grass roots archers.
Stuff that’s been discussed on here many times before.
Yes, and "Elite" being those in one small sector of archery as a whole.
Del
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
They support elite archers; by taking money from the majority of grass roots archers.
I thought the Elite grant paid for most of the Elite funding and the contribution from AGB membership is 42p per archer. I agree there are things AGB need to get on board with but we need to make sure our own facts are correct. But yes there has got to be big changes ahead... hopefully :)
 
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D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
I thought the Elite grant paid for most of the Elite funding and the contribution from AGB membership is 42p per archer. I agree there are things AGB need to get on board with but we need to make sure our own facts are correct. But yes there has got to be big changes ahead... hopefully :)
It may be a small sum from each member but it adds up to a large sum which goes to one specific section of archery as a whole... the money-go-round which is Olympic archery which IMO is arguably the least appealing... the public don't get exposed to the other disciplines... which is maybe why there's an influx of new members after every olympics who then get bored/disillusioned and fall by the wayside.
Del
 
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autura

New member
at the most extreme end of assumptions 208 comments, assume thats 208 AGB members thats only around 0.5% of the membership. Remember the internet is the home for the vocal minority.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
41,446 members * 42p = £17,415.72 a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.3m grant for elite program.
It is only 42p, half the amount from last year, but you could also argue that £17000 could save maybe 3 or 4 clubs from folding, or start new ones, this/next year, every year. I guess you could argue that AGB don't need to leach off 42p per member when they should work within their grant funding limit. Given it has risen from £750000 last year to £1.3m this year I don't see why they still need the 42p/archer.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
It’s such a shame really; so many of my friends have been full of enthusiasm about archery when they’ve found out we do it but several have done the Big Days, heard nothing afterwards and that’s been it.
More engagement is needed with kids (most just fling a few arrows at a fair, scout or activity centre or similar), enjoy it but then have no way to take it further.
What AGB needs to do is spend it’s not inconsiderable income on demonstrating it can be a route into archery not a vanity driven group that promotes something we’re actually not very good at. Top level archery.

My main sport is surfing; the UK is pretty hopeless on the World circuit but it’s incredibly accessible to beginners and so a huge success story. Unless archery has a way of capturing and holding the enthusiasm of new archers, it’s not going to go very far.
However for us that do it, who have overcome the barriers, at least there are lesser known bodies that actually seem to be member focussed.
 

Bandit

Active member
It may be a small sum from each member but it adds up to a large sum which goes to one specific section of archery as a whole... the money-go-round which is Olympic archery which IMO is arguably the least appealing... the public don's get exposed to the other disciplines... which is maybe why there's an influx of new members after every olympics who then get bored/disillusioned and fall by the wayside.
Del
Lots of TV shows spark an interest too. The Hunger Games, Lord of the rings, Brave to name but a few. All bare bow.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
41,446 members * 42p = £17,415.72 a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.3m grant for elite program.
Yes... So, in that case why don't they spend it to promote other disciplines?
Del
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
Lots of TV shows spark an interest too. The Hunger Games, Lord of the rings, Brave to name but a few. All bare bow.
Indeed... and sadly they all get herded towards the perceived norm of target archery!
It's like taking aspiring chefs and teaching them how to make cheese sandwiches again and again and again... "that cheese is cut too thick, raise your elbow when you hold the knife" keep practising... and again...and again
Del
and again...
Enough already with the cheese sandwiches!
 

Bandit

Active member
Indeed... and sadly they all get herded towards the perceived norm of target archery!
It's like taking aspiring chefs and teaching them how to make cheese sandwiches again and again and again... "that cheese is cut too thick, raise your elbow when you hold the knife" keep practising... and again...and again
Del
and again...
Enough already with the cheese sandwiches!
Lol that sounds about right. 🤪
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
For most people, archery is something they do in their spare time. Not very different from people who play darts or ride bikes, or kick a football around. Sometimes, a small group of individuals like to share their enjoyment with others who like the same pastime.
Football teams get organised; darts teams take on other darts teams.Cycling clubs can allow a group to cycle the same route at the same time and make it less lonely than riding alone. They may even race; but that is not for everyone.
Archery can be no different from a cycling club. Not all archers will want to compete; they just want to shoot and go home afterwards.
I would guess that those archers could manage with no outside help. I would guess there are far more archers who fit into that group than any other.
Some will want to compete for the fun of it. They can do that at their own and other local clubs.
Some will want to compete and get to the top. They will need to leave their clubs and have special training.
Club archers make their own decisions; they follow the rules of safety; and take their archery as far as they want to in their spare time. Anything more than shooting at their club requires more volunteers to organise events. No one can get archers to volunteer if they don't want to. Locally, county and region are both struggling to get volunteers. Our county organisation was in danger of having to cease to exist.
From what I see around me, more and more archers are less inclined to volunteer and more and more are spending less time shooting than a typical archer did when I first started shooting. Grass roots archery is getting closer to the ground; while the equipment goes the other way.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
My main sport is surfing; the UK is pretty hopeless on the World circuit but it’s incredibly accessible to beginners and so a huge success story.
I used to wind surf. Cost me the price of a board and wet suit. But the coast, all 7000 miles of it, was free. Even the coast guard and RLNI service that drags all those lost souls from impending doom is free. Same as cycling. Loads of free roads that require no insurance as car drivers are always in the wrong. Football, go to any open space, park etc. Compare that to archery grounds that are hard to find and expensive. I'm not sure even free AGB membership would make a huge difference to popularity.
Schools seem to have an aversion to archery if the trend we found when looking for new grounds is typical. Too dangerous I suspect. Our club had to close. I think if Elite funding was available to schools promotion, archery would be massively more popular, but I don't think you can divert grants like that.
 
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Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
The most annoying thing for me is the name. As if it's an all encompassing body which represents the whole of the UK archery community.
I can barely make myself type it and tend to just refer to it as "the misnamed society".
I have to agree there.
Many examples of similar; there’s a VW vile club run by absolute weasels called the VW California Club; it sounds like it’s official but it isn’t at all yet many are fooled into thinking it is. They are sadly doing quite well out of it. Those in the know give it a very wide berth.
 
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