Ethnic diversity on the shooting line

[Greenman]

After watching a programme on the origins of the English nation last night, it left me wondering about the ethnic diversity in English Archery. Bearing in mind that most cultures have used the bow you would expect a more varied shooting line from our multicultural society, however it does seem to be predominately white( for lack of a better term).Is this perception right, or do I need to get out more. Initially I thought this thread would suit a poll, but decided against it as I hate having to put people into superficial categories. The last time our illustrious Government sent me a form to fill in, the last question was on Racial Origins, already spent an hour on it and was feeling a fed up so I ticked 2 boxes one for "of African Origin" and "Chinese", with the thought that they had wasted my time and they would have to put another little box in one of their tables. The Wife saw what I had done and was not amused and is now expecting/hoping? the Immigration Dept. will turn up and deport me as an Illegal Immigrant!

[TJ Mason]

The lack of racial diversity is a matter of concern. Out of 52 beginners at our club this year, only one was non-white. That's strange, because when I mention archery in conversations, asians are particularly interested and say it's something they've always fancied trying.

So are we not projecting ourselves right? Does our sport have a golf-like image?

[napolienne]

Originally Posted by TJ Mason

So are we not projecting ourselves right? Does our sport have a golf-like image?

I think you've hit the nail on the head right there. Interesting that university clubs tend to be more diverse - perhaps because they don't have this image problem?

Also you've got to factor in the cost of kit (non-white people *tend* to make up higher proportions of the lower socio-economic classes) and the availability of archery in places with high concentrations of non-white population (minimal at best). Get into the schools, run have a goes in these areas, and you may end up with a more diverse shooting line. Make sure you have club kit for people to borrow/rent at minimal cost, then you WILL get more diversity. Oh, and ditching the green and white might help, but only once you've got people interested

[Archers-Rest]

Such a valid point, I have never given it a thought, but out of 320 odd members at my club I have never seen a 'non white' member, admitidly I probably havnt seen half of the members of the club but none the less it is concerning.

[Dooky]

Okay, I can only speak from a South African context...
Being a country with which is only 9.58% white, I have not seen a single African archer... We do have a few India beginners and one Asian member (Asians plus Indians only make up 2.49% of the population!)
When I look at the other sports surrounding our club I a similar trend (to a greater or lesser extent) from bowls to tennis, squash, cricket and rugby... all except soccer, which is pretty representative of the population.
So here comes some conjecture...(these are not hard facts, and only what I believe could be some of the causes of the cultural biases)
1) Most cultures have archery as part of there history, however most “archery cultures” have there roots in using a bow in warfare. The African cultures have traditionally only used bows for hunting, and then to a very limited degree as they are traditionally herders.
2) Archery is not a group sport.
3) Exposure of the sport in general is very low.
4) Accessibility of clubs i.e. where they are located.
5) Cost, beginner archery gear can cost as much as beginner golf clubs.
There is a drive to expand archery into Africa through "FEDERATION OF AFRICAN ARCHERY", however the impact is still quite small...
Re: Golf...
Golf is a business tool… I see many African Manager’s, MD’s and CEO’s on the golf course.

[napolienne]

I'm not sure that having archery as a part of your cultural/military history is a significant factor in your choosing to take it up - if it was the case we'd see a much higher proportion of the UK population shooting than we currently do. The position of the sport in the current cultural context is much more important - i.e. what counts isn't that your ancestors were archers, but that people around you are.

[munchkin]

speaking from a minority PoV, i think that those from black/indian-asian backgrounds are less likely to continue with a sport such as archery (in this country). this is probably due to the amounts that people shell out for kit, tournaments and club fees.

i know that because it's a sport which you can't really make a living out of in this country, parents of the ethnic variety are less likely to invest. this is the same for learning a musical instrument to some extent. many parents won't invest a decent amount in a musical instrument because they KNOW their offspring won't make a career out of it. therefore, what's the point?!

i'm lucky with my parents, as they've helped me a lot in the last 20 odd years - an infinite number of violins and violas for me and my siblings, pianos, our first bows etc (thanks M&D!)

[simon m]

We had an asian family join our club over the summer mother two daughters a son and there dad.

They thouroughly enjoyed sundays shooting and midweek night practise but couldn;t make winter friday nnight shooting etc, and the dad (as with many archers whatever ethnic background) said to me he wouldn't come out when it was cold....lol

No doubt we'll see them in the summer again. The mum was a cracking shot from the word go too....shame they couldn't do fridays

[cliveanne]

I have had (Asian background) a husband & wife team join our club through one of my courses. They stayed for about 12 or so months, but have since left us. Lovely couple more British than some of us perhaps, both "Yorkies" (York & Leeds). I am under the impression they did not rejoin due to work pressures. He is a Doctor & she is a Barrister, & both very busy. There is /was no bad feeling in our club towards these good people, in fact they were very popular. I hasten to add that their religion did not even come into it.
I do not feel that we should be "Scouting/touting" for "Ethnic" groups to join our club(s). If they want it, they do what we did...Look for it.

[elastoplastscavenger]

uni teams are generally quite diverse, in age(although heavily biased to 18 to 25 year olds, also includes some 30+ as mature students), race and to some extent sex.

we have had, and do have: many white people, 2 or 3 mature students, an indian guy, a brittish guy of chinese origins, a half japanese/half french canadian girl, two half polish/half scottish folk, an american, a norweigan and a couple of Tai guys. Those are the folks that are coming to mind at the moment as being non-UK white.