tarkwin said:
This is where I get confused, as indicated earlier the rule states
"Members of the Society shooting and officiating at tournaments granted National or World Record Status by GNAS are required to wear the accepted dress of the society as detailed below."
To me this implies (or infers - I'm never sure which) that it is only at National or World record status shoots that we *have* to wear the GNAS approved colours.
The rule as it reads does not specifically exclude or include any tournament which is not granted National or World record status.
If the organisers of a non-National or World record status tournament stipulate that competitors must abide by this dress code that is their choice, they do not have to do so, but many/most choose to do so.
If however the rule is open to interpretation that we must wear a combination of Green/White and or registered club colours, are we not one step away from being required to practice/shoot at all times in colour schemes laid down in the rules of shooting?
I'm not trying to be awkward, I just don't understand how the rule reads one way but is meant to read another.
T.
Hi Tarkwin,
I am not meaning to get at anyone. The only way to read the rule book is that every rule applies at all tournaments unless there is an exclusion. Otherwise you get into the situation of arguments that things do not apply at various standards of tournament.
I have heard similar arguments over the removal of scopes from the line. People will grumble when they are told at a york or hereford to remove their scope, but at a non record status they can be almost apopleptic. This is yet another rule that does not say that the rule does not apply at non record status shoots but it is interpreted that it does not apply at non record status events.
In essence, the rules of shooting govern all competitive tournament shooting, dress code included. Generally, the higher the status of the competition, the more rigid we become in enforcing the rules. Are we saying that a non record status event is not important enough for the rules of shooting to be applied? Does this mean that the winner of a non record status event might as well gone to the local fairground and spent the day shooting to win teddy bears? The rules of shooting govern fairness to all competitors. If we start to apply some rules and not others at some tournaments, the rules will quickly become invalid for all tournaments, or indeed used as a tool to promote unfairness.
I must say that I do not like the dress code rules, and hate having to adjudicate someones clothing. I can also agree that the rule is rather ambiguous. But I look at it this way, greater than 80% of the tournament I officiate at are record status of some level or other. This would mean that anyone shooting comptitively must have the appropriate clothing, or will need it in the future, why is there this much fuss over whether it should be worn at non record status or not? Isn't it easier to just turn up in GNAS dress at all competitions?
Maybe for the rules revision for 2008, everyone who dislikes the current dress code should raise an item on the GNAS AGM, and turn up to vote at the AGM. The rules are written and agreed by the archers. It is said that whenever a request for comment about rule changes is sent out, there are very few responses. It is taken by those who write the rules that the lack of comment signals agreement. The rules are changeable by the archers if you ALL act together. If you want a rule change, get together and write to GNAS en masse. Better still, arrange a petition and take it to tournament, making sure your wording is clear, ie no dress code, except that modesty must be preserved? If you can get a couple of thousand people to contact GNAS in regard to the dress code, they cannot ignore you.