As this is the January Newsletter, I thought we would focus on setting goals and planning the year ahead with respect to archery. 2017 is going to be a good year for archery and, as an archer it definitely pays to plan ahead and be organised. Here is our guide to getting ready for the year ahead.
Competitions The competition calendar for competitions in Scotland is available here on our website, and Archery GB have one for the whole of the UK. There is also a field specific calendar on the GNAS Field website here and Brighton Bowmen do a good easy to follow consolidation of all competitions across the UK. For international competitions, you can see the World Archery Website here.
Goal Setting It is worth taking some time to understand what it is that makes the difference between being successful at sport and not. This film clip was developed by Sportscotland to help young athletes understand what 'talent' is and how you can get good at sport - it's more of a choice than you might think. Here is a great little video all about goal setting and why its important.Archery is a great sport with a very clear progression pathway, be that through the achievement of badges or classifications. You could consider using the attainment of these as part of your goals - as shown on our website. There are also opportunities to shoot for your Area at the County Team Champs and the Pentangle, and for the National Team at the Home Nations and Euronations competitions. See the Area pages and Performance pages for more information.
Training There are some great resources to help with your archery training and technique. Archery 360 run an online course on how to shoot different bow styles. World Archery also has a You Tube channel, with a mixture of information videos and film footage of the major competitions. There are also a number of books on archery including The Archery for Beginners Guidebook by Hannah Bussey, which is the official Archery GB book. There is a book by Scottish Archer Simon Needham: The Art of Repetition, and the book which is currently hailed as the archery Bible is by Kisik Lee. Kisik Lee is the National Head Coach of the US Olympic Archery Training Program and his book Total Archery: Inside the Archer comes at a hefty price, however his website also holds some good information.
Getting fit for archery It is important to be fit for archery and building in exercise, healthy eating and strength training will certainly help your reach your goals and just generally be happier and healthier. Again there are plenty of resources available to help. Here is a great video showing how to do a proper warm up for archery by the UK’s very own Naomi Falkirk. The Korean archery weight training programme maybe a bit full on, but their results in archery definitely shows they are doing something right!
Equipment Finally let’s look at equipment. Its important that your kit is well maintained and working as it should. Don’t forget to build in some time to fix and make adjustments to your kit to keep it in tip top condition and give you the confidence that your equipment is as tuned as possible to give you the best possible scores. Most archery manufactures offer lots of information about setting up their equipment and there are some online forums such as Archery Interchange where archers can share best practice.
So whatever 2017 brings we hope that you all have a great time shooting arrows and being the best that you can be.
Youth Judge - Curtis Hirst
Meet Scottish Archery's newest Judge;
I have been shadowing for the past 2 years as a youth candidate and I am proud to call myself an official Youth Judge now. I went down to Lilleshall to sit my exam along with the other candidates and youth candidates. I passed and I was over the moon when Douglas told me that I was an official judge. Ever since I started competing 5 years ago I had always wanted to go to the Olympic Games, however now that I have switched to Compound, I can't shoot at the Olympics so why not judge at it? My future ambition is to be able to be the Chairman of Judges at one of the future Olympic Games. I want to thank my family for transporting me everywhere and fellow judges for being so supportive. I look forward to the future and what it entails.
And another one..........
Introducing Darren Roe, another new judge in Scotland.
I served 24 years in the army where I begun archery. I competed in the army team in several competitions. I work up in Dunfermline with the reserves and am trying to start a local club. I wanted to become a judge because I was already an instructor and am doing the level 1 coach course this year and believe a good all round knowledge of all aspects of archery is essential. I started archery in the army, my first time picking up a bow was 2010. I am looking forward to being a Judge as I am used to various ways of doing things with being a soldier, it seems a simple process as long as you enjoy archery and have the passion for it. The thing I'm looking forward to most is working with the team and gaining experience from other judges. The thing I am least looking forward to is the rain, but its OK I've bought my self a good umbrella! I would advise those interested in judging to go along take a look and speak to the judges it might surprise you. I enjoy shooting when I can, but best of all my wife and six of my eight kids all have bows and shoot with me. Two of which are becoming youth judges.
Eastern Area Athlete Pathway
The Eastern Area has kicked off 2017 with a Junior and Novice showdown and the first of the Area Development Squad sessions. The Area Committee as worked hard to outline an archer pathway for its members, right through from novice level, to those hoping to make the Area teams this year. The Junior and Novice Showdown is a friendly laid back shoot which introduces the competition format in a relaxed way, with lots of prizes and chocolate. The Area Development Squad takes archers who have achieved Bowman and First Class scores in the previous year. The squad encourages the archers to set their own goals for shooting and develop their own programmes to help them achieve their goals. The Eastern Area has achieved some good successes at Area or County events in the past, and this archer path way will ensure this success continues. We hope to include details of the Northern Area and West Area pathways in future newsletters.