Coaching on the line - allowed or not?

[ben tarrow]

"telling the judge"
"write letters to the club secretary"
"standing in the way"

geez, how old are you guys?? 5, 6?

Leave it in the play ground!

Did anyone think to actually mention to the "offending spotter" in person that what they were doing might be against the rules and was not acceptable?
No one here has said so!

Perhaps the "guilty party" was unaware of the rules. No wonder the guy who "stood in the way" was told "to move".

Its the judges job to deal with potential or alleged infractions of the rules. Once the judge has been made aware of a situation, it is up to him/her to deal with it in what ever way he/she sees fit. It is not up to you guys to take matters into your own hands and attempt to enflame an already volatile situation.

I thought this was supposed to be a friendly sport. If you are so insecure that you need to agressively enforce these kind of rules then get a green blazer and a judges badge. Until then, keep it friendly and be pleased that parents take enough interest in their childrens participation in our great sport that they get them to the comps and stay and support them throughout the day. Dont try to alienate the parents to the point where they (and their children) stay away.

[ASW1973]

good answer bentarrow

[cornish george]

Originally Posted by ben tarrow

"telling the judge"
"write letters to the club secretary"
"standing in the way"

geez, how old are you guys?? 5, 6?

Leave it in the play ground!

Did anyone think to actually mention to the "offending spotter" in person that what they were doing might be against the rules and was not acceptable?
No one here has said so!

Perhaps the "guilty party" was unaware of the rules. No wonder the guy who "stood in the way" was told "to move".

Its the judges job to deal with potential or alleged infractions of the rules. Once the judge has been made aware of a situation, it is up to him/her to deal with it in what ever way he/she sees fit. It is not up to you guys to take matters into your own hands and attempt to enflame an already volatile situation.

I thought this was supposed to be a friendly sport. If you are so insecure that you need to agressively enforce these kind of rules then get a green blazer and a judges badge. Until then, keep it friendly and be pleased that parents take enough interest in their childrens participation in our great sport that they get them to the comps and stay and support them throughout the day. Dont try to alienate the parents to the point where they (and their children) stay away.

good point, well made.

[Murray]

Originally Posted by ben tarrow

Did anyone think to actually mention to the "offending spotter" in person that what they were doing might be against the rules and was not acceptable?

As you said yourself, that's a judge's responsibility, not the archer. But I'd wholeheartedly agree, taking the rules into ones own hands is not the way.

[MrM]

The one point that hasn't been mentioned is whether this was an experienced or a novice junior. Before anyone says yes it is still against the rules, and also taking into account Furfaces comments much earlier in this thread, all I would venture to say is if it was a relatively new archer, it might be giving him/her much needed encouragement, and therefore confidence. If though it was an experienced junior who should know better, then as FF says, it is actually hindering the junior. It is the same as parents changing sights for their kids (and yes I have been there, done that!). But the parents have to let them take respopnsibility for themselves eventually - they aren't going to be there at things like Euronations or GB comps. Mind you when they get to a certain age, they just don't want the parents watching or helping....

[Mad Archer]

Whilst I believe that all that has been said about getting no information on the shooting line (when shooting under GNAS rules), except from a judge, you have to use a little common sense at times, even to the point of infringing the rules.

I have seen novice or junior archers looking round for help when something has gone wrong, for example getting a bouncer or breaking a string and not knowing what to do. On those occaisions I have waved or whispered to them, and I would do so again, but the kind of persistent information passing described in the original post is not acceptable and needs to be tackled.

If a friendly word can't be used (an archer might feel intimidated), then the judge must be advised. Whether you agree with them or not, all the rules apply.

[Ffish]

Originally Posted by MrM

The one point that hasn't been mentioned is whether this was an experienced or a novice junior.

To clarify Mr M's point, the kid in question is about 15 years old, definitely not a novice, and seems to come in the top 2-3 in every set of results I've seen him shooting in. IIRC he also shoots for his county.

He uses a Helix and G3's, and while he's clearly already quite good, he is definitely getting an advantage from his spotters.

It's sooo tempting to publish his name, but I know that would be bad!

[Trunkles]

Originally Posted by MrM

Mind you when they get to a certain age, they just don't want the parents watching or helping....

Apparently I put Tiny off when I watch him or to be exact when I was observing the novice archer next to him.

[MrM]

Originally Posted by Ffish

To clarify Mr M's point, the kid in question is about 15 years old, definitely not a novice, and seems to come in the top 2-3 in every set of results I've seen him shooting in. IIRC he also shoots for his county.

He uses a Helix and G3's, and while he's clearly already quite good, he is definitely getting an advantage from his spotters.

It's sooo tempting to publish his name, but I know that would be bad!

Then he definitely should NOT be being helped - at the very least he/his parents are not helping his progression (sic Furface's comments); at the worst it is an unfair advantage to the others. If he is county level, then his coach should sstop this practise - it wont help him if he gets to GB level!