Competition?

[Tobytoolbag]

What competition in archery boils down to is the need to keep testing yourself;

• against your own standards (perhaps using the number of golds you normally shoot as your benchmark, or whatever).
• against others within the club/county/region/country or internationally.

Without that element of competition, archery (and many other sports) to many people can fast become a bit 'same-old-same-old', and whilst there are people who are happy to turn up at a club session and fire off a few arrows downrange to help them block out the hassles of their everyday lives, I imagine the majority of archers enjoy feeding off the endorphins produced by their in-built competitive urge to 'be better' than either 'the other guy/gal' or than the last time they shot, or than the goal they've set themself.

All GNAS (other archery national governing bodies are available!) has done is given us archers a framework and standards within which to indulge the natural human urge to compete, and so it's not wholly surprising that it appears that GNAS is solely focussed on competition. Don't forget that GNAS are also responsible for coaching the coaches, and anyone not interested in directly competing might find that they get a kick out of educating people in the subtle nuances of the sport.

That said, it's perfectly possible to enjoy for the sake of it, outside the GNAS framework, and I have a lot of respect for that (so long as they're responsible and insured), but many find that they will naturally gravitate towards competition as 'the next step' in bettering their archery.

[Trunkles]

Originally Posted by SLOWHAND

Some of the people I know enter most of the local tournaments and never finish in the top half, they are not competing against other people but against themselves-trying for pb's, or mainly just for a laugh and a good day out. I dont mean this to sound dissrespectful in any way but if you if you are bothered about classification then why not give tournaments a go.

You have just described me there. Went to Chorley yesterday - would not be surprised if I came last. Really awful shooting but I enjoyed myself for the whole day and it cost not much more than going to the cinema for only two hours.

[Marcus26]

Archery is a sport. In sport you compete.
So not, not too much emphasis. Not enough IMHO

[LIzardEye]

We have around 140 members in my club and probably only 15 of those compete regularly. The rest simply shoot because they enjoy it - they enjoy the company, the fresh air, the excercise and other things besides. There's little if any pressure within the cub to compete, but lots of encouragement if you do.

I think most people who enter a competition know they have little chance of winning. In a large tournament you might have 40 people shooting in the same class and you're always going to have 39 'losers', but I bet they all come away happy.

I think archery is an ideal sport/hobby in that it caters for those who want to win against others, those who want to better their own performance, those who are looking for gentle exercise in the outdoors and those who just enjoy the company of other like minded people. And all under the one roof.

[Murray]

Emphasis: I think it's up to the coaches (or experienced club members) to find out what the member/beginner/novice wants out of archery. If they wish to be competitive, they should be encouraged (and formal competition is a must). If they do not, then they should be supported and not coerced into a competitive environment.

Classifications: read the rule books/online resources. If you want to just compete against yourself, it's worth knowing what is, and isn't available to you. Although if you want "recognition" at MB/GMB level, then I think it's fair that you go prove that in front of your peers. There's no reason why you can't maintain your own scores/classifications and just be content with the knowledge that "if you did compete", you'd be at that level or to put it another way "I would have been GMB if I'd competed".

The point is, MB and GMB come with other benefits. To gain those benefits, you need to prove your skill to others. If you don't want the benefits, then just keep your own scores, I don't think it's more difficult than that.

Personally: I enjoy competing. I enjoy the rush of challenging the elements in the company of friends and fellow archers. I don't have to beat anyone else - just myself, but I like to do it in a social environment.

Originally Posted by robtattoo

I'm a very competetive person (in a sporting environment) & turn into someone I don't particularly like when in a 'Win or Lose' situation, hence, I stay away from it.

Sounds like you need to work with a sports psychologist to work through your issues and find out what it really is that you want from the sport, and how you can best use your inner resources to achieve your goals.

[PorlyP]

I thought you could gain classification by shooting at your club? I've not shot a single outdoor comp (ok, except for middlesex clout), yet, I've got my second class. I'm not as good as you, so I'm not 100% about the classification you'd be at, or if they have to be shot in competition or not.

Perhaps it's only GMB?

Besides, I shoot alongside other club members, not against them. I shoot against myself, no-one else's scores bother me, as I'm not them.

If I go to a comp, it's to shoot, and try for a PB, not to beat everyone else; if the two coincide, then sweet!

imho, that's the best way to be unless you want to represent the country.

[pHz]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

Archery is a sport.

only if you treat it as one - but theres nothing to say you HAVE to do that

Originally Posted by Marcus26

In sport you compete.
So not, not too much emphasis. Not enough IMHO

i totally understand where youre coming from with that opinion but its perhaps too narrow a view of archery for a lot of us

im happy to chase classifications (and actually think the 'up to bowman is ratified by your peers but higher than that its going to be official competitions' is probably pretty reasonable) and have done my first GNAS record status competition (and will no doubt do more since i had a good time) but other than judging my progress against clubmates of a similar level i currently have no desire to 'seriously' compete against anyone or anything other than my own ability

and i would guess that those of us involved in archery who think this way maybe outnumber those that think the way you do by a fair margin

(not saying either group is ENTIRELY right BTW)

slainte rob

[MrM]

Originally Posted by PorlyP

I thought you could gain classification by shooting at your club? I've not shot a single outdoor comp (ok, except for middlesex clout), yet, I've got my second class. I'm not as good as you, so I'm not 100% about the classification you'd be at, or if they have to be shot in competition or not.

Yes you can, up to 1st Class I beleive. Thats the job of the records Officer at our club (me) to work these out from score sheets from club days, and we publish them monthly.

Out of our members a few of the adults go to comps (usually the local ones), and a handfull of our Juniors including two that are involved at National Level (target and field). We usually get a good turnout for things like the county champs though. Our tournament secretary lets everyone know what comps are about and organises the forms for those who want to go to them, but there is no pressure - it's up to them if they want to or not. Works well for us!

[Raphe]

Originally Posted by robtattoo

Do you think that there is far, far too much emphasis placed on formal archery competition?
[...]
to achieve a recognised GNAS classification
[...]
I am now regularly shooting 570 Portsmouths
[... but won't compete ...]
why should that stop me from acheiving a GNAS qualification?
[...]
I would LOVE to be able to say, many years from now, that I was a Grand Master Bowman

I'd have to say that you are already competing. You shoot standardised rounds, in order to record your scores and gauge them against other archers; you've sought out info on acheivement qualifications, and you want the top one (that is defined, I beleive, as a percentage of OTHER ARCHERS that you are better than).

You talked initially about setting a personal target of getting arrows in the 10. If you were non competitive, each arrow would be a seperate sporting challenge, and you wouldnt even need to add up your ends, let alone rounds. I think some of the Japanese archery disciplines might be more suited to that approach.

I think you are actually talking about competition events not the nature of competition per se. I'd rephrase your concern as:

"How can I compete without having to attend competitions?"

As others have said, you can to an extent through club shoot scores and postals, but the added tension of the event day is part of the skill of archery, at the top level. The quality shot under pressure was historically important to the hunter or the military bowman (a French heavy cavalry charge probably qualifies as 'pressure'), and finds its place in modern competion - especially the head to head.

It's just a thought, but you could try and work on the way you act and feel at competitions, rather than trying to avoid ever going and then feeling excluded, by that choice you've made.

By analogy: "I get bored by practicing. Why should I be excluded from getting a GMB by the fact I only shoot once or twice a year? Why should it be based on scores?". OK, so thats reductio ad absurdam, but if your choice precludes an outcome, you can't really yearn for that outcome without addressing the choice unless it comes from compelling ethical grounds.


How about attending and deliberately missing with your first dozen arrows and then "competing" knowing you are never going to be in the running? See if the rest of the comp turns out to be a fun thing to do instead of a leaving you on the brink of decking your target partner...

[off to my first competition next month: no hope of placing, likely to be last in fact. But it'll be a laugh, I might learn something, and the venue will certainly be a change - not bad for a few quid. ]

[ThePinkOne]

Originally Posted by MrM

Yes you can, up to 1st Class I beleive. Thats the job of the records Officer at our club (me) to work these out from score sheets from club days, and we publish them monthly.

Out of our members a few of the adults go to comps (usually the local ones), and a handfull of our Juniors including two that are involved at National Level (target and field). We usually get a good turnout for things like the county champs though. Our tournament secretary lets everyone know what comps are about and organises the forms for those who want to go to them, but there is no pressure - it's up to them if they want to or not. Works well for us!

Up to Bowman actually. Provided you shoot a round where you can get a Bowman classification- you have to shoot your full distance, i.e. gents will have to shoot 100-yd rounds and ladies 80yd rounds to get Bowman. It is then the club Records Officer who collates scores and ratifies the claims- some clubs also award the classification badges up to and including Bowman at the end of the relevant outdoor season.

It's MB and GMB that are ratified by GNAS, and the scores for those have to be shot at Record status tournaments, and only the relevant championship rounds- York/Hereford and Gents/Ladies FITA- qualify.

P.