GNAS Dress Code protest is it just hot air?

[WhitehartFB]

I know many people have expressed views on this on the forum and written to GNAS but in general do we really dislike the current arrangements?

I was at a non record status Portsmouth shoot today where the dress code did NOT apply yet over the 3 sessions 103 out of 120 of the archers were dressed in either green and white or club shirts most of these were also regular tournament attendees and even the 1st timers made an effort.

This is a long standing annual shoot and always does not require GNAS dress code, so it's not a case of people not being aware.

[Chumpzilla]

To be honest i don't have a problem with green and white, just the availabilty of green and white clothes! I've yet to find somewhere that supplies green trousers for ladies and i hate having white jeans that look nice for all of 10 mins.

Cheshire Champs this year was my first ever FITA star and I wore green jeans. After the practise ends the head judge pulled me to one side to inform me that my jeans were the wrong shade of green and i was lucky not to be banned from continuing the shoot!!

Being of a nervous disposition this put a dampener on my enthusiasm slightly.

So..............although i like the traditional colours i will be supporting a change to black trousers which i shall take pride in wearing with my red club jumper!

Chumpzilla getting down off soapbox now..

[Murray]

It's not the dress code which is so much at fault - it COULD have worked, it's the way certain judges implement it in an almost hitleresque, and certainly innappropriate way which causes difficulties. However, to avoid these problems, since it's unlikely that all the judges in the UK can be trained to be sensible, it's best to change the code.

[Mufti]

How to potentially ruin an otherwise enjoyable competition.

Why can't the judges be asked to either

a) Not allow the archer(s) in question to shoot.
b) Advise the archer(s) in question AFTER the competition.

To say that someone is lucky implies that they shouldn't be allowed to shoot, but as a special concession they are, which implies that the judge(s) in question are breaking the rules - doesn't it.

It always upsets me when I hear of this sort of thing.

[WhitehartFB]

Originally Posted by Murray

It's not the dress code which is so much at fault - it COULD have worked, it's the way certain judges implement it in an almost hitleresque, and certainly innappropriate way which causes difficulties. However, to avoid these problems, since it's unlikely that all the judges in the UK can be trained to be sensible, it's best to change the code.

Makes good sense to me, I forgot about that situation however in Essex there seems to be a much more relaxed attitude to differing shades of green (providing it is a darkish green not kharki). As you say it's not consistant.

[emdrum]

You make the point that despite the fact that the dress code was not enforced at this event many people went dressed in green and white, even though they didn't need to. You conclude from this that perhaps the dress code is not an issue. Indeed, taking that to a logical extension, you could say that given a free choice people preferred to wear green and white. After all, they had a choice, didn't they?

Actually, I think you will find that most people wear the same gear regardless of the kind of shoot. It keeps things consistent and makes sure that you have something to wear that you know will not get in the way. Serious archers wear green and white because most of the time it is mandatory and at times that it isn't mandatory they wear what they always wear, which is green and white.

This should not be taken as any kind of assent or agreement. If they had a free choice then they would probably wear the same gear all the time too. If you changed the rule tomorrow you wouldn't find archers streaming out to the shops to replace perfectly good gear. It would be a gradual process.

And some people would continue to wear green and white because they like it. There's nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't seem reasonable to impose their arbitrary choice of coulours on the rest of us.

Green and white should be an option, not a rule.

[chryd]

As Murray said, I don't think the problem is the dress code per se, but the fact that there is not (to my limited knowledge) a defined standard colour, just a wishy-washy vague description "dark bottle green" or whatever they print in the rule book. The judging of this colour could be made much more consitent if the GNAS were to distribute a colour swatch (Pantone have been doing this for designers for years....). At least that way if a Hitleresque judge says "your green is not the right green" you have a chance of defence. At the moment its a purely subjective decision.

[emdrum]

Originally Posted by chryd

The judging of this colour could be made much more consitent if the GNAS were to distribute a colour swatch (Pantone have been doing this for designers for years....).

There used to be a colour band on the top of the Archery UK magazine that was the "correct" green. However, as any designer will tell you there is a huge difference between a printed colour and a cloth colour. There are changes of texture, available light, weave and napp, and that's before it's washed for the first time. Do you really want to spend your time going around the shops with a colour swatch looking for greens that match?

The problem IS the dress code. We don't need one, there's no justification for one, it's a pain in the ****. It adds nothing to archery other than inconvenience and it is a source of ridicule for an otherwise noble and honourable sport. The fact that you can get a perfectly good record score dissallowed because you are not wearing the right colours is preposterous.

You talk about "hitleresque" judges, but they are just trying to ensure that archers follow the rules. Its the rule that's impractical and inappropraite.

Time for the dress code to go.

[Furface]

This may sound frivolous but isn't. The dress code crops up again and again, and always produces more heat than light in the dialogue. My views have been added to just about every thread on the subject.
However, the ARGUMENTS about the dress code might be serving a useful purpose for some. I have heard or read all of the following, and my initial reactions are added:-
"I don't go to record status shoots because I'm making a stand against the dress code" (I am nervous, and have found a reason to duck out)
"The judges are inconsistent in their interpretation" (I want to criticise the judges about a matter of laws, but am unsure of my grounds)
"Green and white have always been archery colours" (and I am in my comfort zone)
"We don't need a dress code" (Everyone naked then)
And lots of other statements, masquerading as fact-based opinions, but really just personal feelings one way or the other. To which we are all entitled. But, if the relatively trivial matter of dress were removed as a cause of argument, what would we replace it with (because by golly we would). A return to the Compound wars of the 70s? Why should that discipline get better facilities/more funding/more publicity?
I suppose what I'm saying is that the dress code allows us to disagree furiously while remaining a happy family.

[MrM]

Well said Furface!