On forums such as this we sometimes see comments such as...
"What do counties and regions do for 90%* of grass roots archers?"
"So why when my club gets a new club member does the treasurer have to send 3 separate cheques off? And why are some counties/regions (Yorks for example) so significantly superior in what they do/offer?"
"the various levels think of themselves as independent, and reject any co-ordination or standards"
"I genuinely would not notice if our county and region ceased tomorrow for the (lack of) impact they have on my archery at club. I see the accounts and other associated paperwork disseminated around AGM time but genuinely cannot see their value."
"But whether your county/region is doing a fantastic job or not, I bet 90% of the members of your club get no benefit from being a member of these societies whatsoever"
"I'm not really sure what the responsibilities of the areas / counties are."
"some feel the system is not working in their favour."
"90% of my club members get no benefit whatsoever from county and region"
"Counties and regions should be an extra thing with specific purposes, not a barrier or funnel through which one has to struggle to get anywhere."
"County and region are just names to most archers, and only a few have a vague idea what their purpose is. County teams are a nice idea and so are inter county shoots. But that is a big step up in workload and organisation, compared to a local club managing its own affairs. It also means the organisers are dealing with "strangers" rather than their own club members; that is a different job I feel. Where I shoot, the County Coaching Organiser C.C.O., has been a difficult post to fill for some time now."
"I agree with the ideas that the counties/regions should be singing from the same page etc etc. There is a part of me, though that says we are asking volunteers to subscribe to a work load that for some will come easy and for others will be close to impossible. If these counties /regions feel they are independent, as has been suggested, then there will be reasons why they feel as they do. I am going to suggest that they have been left to get on by themselves for so long they don't feel like they belong to anything, other than a name and some form of insurance. Perhaps some have been in a position where they are part of the furniture and are there to stay. It requires some others with more passion to take over their roles. Feeling that things ought to be better does not replace doing something about it."
"The first thing I would do would be to reassert that Counties and Regions are a part of the AGB organisation, not independent bodies in their own right. They should all be singing from the same page. There should then be agreement on what they must provide, and when. Co-ordination not only in the tournament timetable, but in squad pathways, admin pathways, judging. Where there is a need for local variance, that is what the local organisations should be doing"
"I'm not trying to do away with counties and regions. For some they serve an important role. I just think its time we revisited the role that they play in the archery lives of our grass roots archers. Of course the county and region supporters will argue that these organisations are important and that everyone should be a member. Counties and regions need to seriously ask themselves what they are doing and who they are doing it for and adjust their reason for being accordingly"
"There is some evidence on here that there are some counties/regions doing a good job. I am in an area where I do not notice any benefits; like some of you. Or perhaps the system is fine, it just needs a boost in some areas."
"I can see now that it is possible for counties to change what they do rather than change who is doing what. My county ended up with no one offering to be chairman, and only scraped through at an EGM, otherwise it would have ceased "trading".I agree that revisiting the role/ purpose is a good idea. The world is changing and so is archery."
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So we are running two DWAA workshops on what do clubs want? followed by a SportEngland Club Matters Seminar on club structures and the legal impacts for all club members.
Devizes, Wiltshire - Saturday 10/8
Wimborne, Dorset - Saturday 17/8
As numbers are limited we have directly invited the Committee Execs from each club in the two Counties so we ask that you check with your club Exec they intend to attend and provide your view to them however if you feel particularly strongly and you are passionate about change and you wish to attend then by all means contact us for full details.
https://www.dwaa.org.uk/posts/dwaa-workshops-sportengland-seminars/
Please note:
? Some comments above edited for length.
? The EGM mentioned above to dissolve the first ever county association was for Dorset & Wiltshire (ie us) in 2018.