Arrows for use on Sports fields

inthemiddle

Active member
Is there a rule for this. I need some recurve arrows for the summer season as I need light arrows to get the distance I want to shoot. I'm quiote happy with carbon one's to be honest but they are frowned upon by our club.

what do others do? The choice of AC arrows is next to zero bay any other brand other than Easton
 

Sinbad

Member
Old club i was with use a rugby field, ACC or Ali arrows only. Easier to find and if broken doesn't go into lots of shards which could injure someone from the other sport. Think it is down to the land owner on what can be used. Other threads on here based around carbon arrows
 

ArcheryFox

Active member
As in an AGB or legal ruling?
No - if the club hosts a WRS tournament they have to allow all-carbon arrows.
However, if it is a shared sports field all arrows must be found.
If this requires locking the gates/clamping a competitor's car (I jest...) then so be it.
(NB ArcheryGB do technically require all missing arrows to be reported whatever the field last time I checked).

For clubs, they are private groups with published rules/constitutions that you choose to follow when you pay your membership, so can rule what they want (within reason/UK law).
At a club level, increased numbers of less experienced archers, increased shooting meaning an increased chance of accidents, and not being able to police all your members means that the club may decide that a blanket 'no carbons' policy is the easiest way forwards.
Having had my fair share of run-ins across multiple clubs with groundskeepers complaining about unreported arrows/dropped pegs I totally get this. Spare a thought for the volunteers who have to decide, enforce, and deal with these issues! No club wants to lose their field.

It seems this is always a very divisive issue and people often end up very much on one side or another.
Discussions we have had before as a club:
- Allow certain members to shoot carbons. - How do you decide who is/isn't worthy, however? Even the best archer can have an accident.
- Impose rulings on what distances people can shoot? - Not really fair/free, and again, accidents happen to anyone and how do you decide this?
- This ruling pretty much fixes people into the Easton AC monopoly.
- Difficult if a new member arrives with all carbons and now needs to buy a new set.
- This is a common rule at many UK clubs. Clubs that do accept all carbons should make members aware of it for future.

Sadly with the demise of the A/C/C the affordable composite end of the arrow market is pretty empty now.
As discussed on the Easaton podcast, the UK was generally the main market for the ACC, so I don't anticipate anyone else looking to fill this anytime soon.
Personally I think pro comps are probably your best option at the moment... Or maybe ACE for recurve.
It's now a big step/investment to go up from aluminium, and I do wonder if perceptions on pure carbons at these clubs might change as new members start to progress.

I'd say your options are to suck it up and by some acceptable arrows, make your case/join your club committee and campaign for change, or find a different club that will allow pure carbon arrows.
 

inthemiddle

Active member
Thanks for the input :) Well it helps keep Easton going I guess :)I do respect why it's just frustrating when there are so many more options with pure carbons these days.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Things get banned or limited for what seems like sensible reasons at the time but often those limitations are based on spurious facts. Carbons are no harder to find than a wooden arrow but a broken carbon arrow does pose quite a risk to other users of a sports field and all occupiers of land have a duty of care toward other users and that includes trespassers so needless to say many rugby/football/cricket clubs have forced clubs who use their land to adopt a policy that is easy to understand even if the actuality is different. You get similar policies for compound bows as well due to their ability to overshoot the safety template by a considerable margin when any bow can replicate that and it doesnt take much to understand the basic rule of no high draws and the actuality is that it is harder to adopt a high draw with a compound than it is with other bowstyles.
A policy on lost arrows that is followed and can be enforced is better than a blanket ban on carbons. In an ideal world novices would always use the same part fo the field and it would be swept for arrows after every session and the other archers would have the patience to allow them to search for their lost arrows so they dont feel like they are a nuisance. This will pay dividends in the long run with better member retention.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
We shoot on a rugby field so it’s ACC’s or full Ali’s as the cheapest options - we MUST account for every arrow at the end of each session so full carbons are out of the question.
 
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