Going from beginner course and on toward competition ...

[Normsky]

Hi all,

Just been accepted by Bronte Archers as a fully paid up member and I am, to say the least, a novice.

I own my own equipment and I am now in the position of trying to get many hours practise under my belt. I should imagine that the majority of my time will be spent on a 20 meter indoor shoot in an effort to try to attain a consistent technique.

I was wondering though, since one day I would like to compete, what kind of goals (if any) I should be setting myself at such an early stage.

I'd be interested to hear how other beginners have progressed and what milestones seem to have been important to them.

Should I be setting myself milestones - regardless of the timescale? If so what should I be aiming to achieve and in what order? No doubt fellow members at the club will help me out on this one but I'm not going again until Tuesday evening and I'm just curious.

Think I'll go and grab a glass of wine whilst I wait for all the replies. (well I am on holiday)


Cheers,

Normsky

[CALOR]

Hi I completed my beginners course in December, so am also relatively new. I have been advised to shoot at 20yds, and keep shooting at this distance until all my arrows are going into blue upwards....then 30yds, same thing..then 40 yds..50....60...80....same thing until I am happy.

I have also applied to compete in some local national shoots (60yds, then 50yds), to get into some practice of changing distances in the middle of a shoot.

Once I am getting quite good scores from these, I will apply for longer distance shoots.

Hope this helps.

[nfinite]

When i started I was given some basic goals

first I was to start at 20yrds and when i could keep most of my arrows in the red and gold..........move the boss back 10yrds.

keep on this untill i reached my ideal pratice distance

( the one which pushes you a bit )

not much point jumping to a too far away distance and miss all the time.

I used that method untill I reach 100 yrds

[nfinite]

lol, looks like some else was given simlar goal.

have to work on my typing speed

[nfinite]

when i started to compete at comps,,, started with westerns 60yrds and 50 yrds and aimed for classification scores.

got second class in first year
first class in second

hoping for bowman this year.

some people as myself like goals to aim for , some just enjoy shooting.

I set goals which are pushing myself but there is a chance to acheive.

[Max]

I know this will sound corny, but concentrate on the good shots. There won't be many early on and it is important to be honest with yourself, and DON'T beat yourself up. Your scores will improve quite rapidly at first, but do try to avoid being score driven (easy for me to say because like most archers, I went the same way). You aim as a novice is to learn good form and a consistent shot. So, did the shot feel as good as it performed? - capture those moments and measure your performance by how many of those shots you get each time you shoot. 1 in 24, 1 in 12, then 1 in 9, then 1 in 6.

If you do that, your score will improve all by itself and you will be building on a firm foundation, while (and this is important) getting a lot of satisfacton from your efforts. I so wanted to shoot good scores when I started and set myself impossible goals. what happened was that as the shoot progressed, I became more unsatisfied by my performance, when I should have been enjoying the sunshine and a great day out - I made some good shots, but only remembered the bad scores.

[jammed05]

ive just recently completed a course last month and today was the first proper oppourtpunity to go outside. i thought 20 or 30 will be fyne, but i got persuaded to go for 50yds which i dont know whether that was a good decision or not, i seemed to struggle but my last dozen was better than any of the ones i shot, so am glad i did it, but now i have to yet again go spend some money cause my arrows are too short at 30 inch, and ive only had them a month or so. but seen as its dangerous pulling the arrow off the rest.

[Bald Eagle]

After our "beginners" finish the course and join the club we say "now your training starts!" On a 6 week course there is only so much we can teach, safety being the priority. After the course you should be competent in shooting safely, know the safety rules, able to string and shoot a bow,know what the bow and arrows are made of, a bit on spine of arrows, scoring, etiquette, etc,etc. When you join the club (ours) we assist you in purchase of equipment to make sure you get the right gear suitable for you, then start you at 20 yds and slowly introduce you to longer distances as you progress. All the time you shoot with the club, members will answer any questions you ask, hopefully instilling confidence along the way. As for competitions, we encourage new archers to enter local short range shoots "to see how they feel" and usually they look forward to the next one! Personally, until you have developed your technique and got a few local comps under your belt, leave goal setting until the following season. You'll hear so many different points of view, you'll be pulling your hair out(and end up looking like me!!) Just enjoy,your shooting and develop your style and the scores will come!

[Little Miss Purple]

I started shooting last year at the end of April, our first competition was at St. George's in JUne (I recommend this to you - very friendly relaxed shoot!!).

I've said before about distance / competitions - if you are happy and confident with your shooting, then do what you are comfortable with. If you shoot at a longer distance and don't like it, then simply drop back.

I was shooting at 80 yards within two months and competing at that distance. Everyone is different and will progress different - this will be affected by your own skill / judgement and also the support of others at your club!!

Move at your own pace and enjoy yourself!!

[Purple Hugs]

great question! storing info for 'later'!