AGM – Tuesday 23^rd June

The meeting took place at Bubbs Hill and was attended by 27 members. Revisions to the constitution were agreed, the audited accounts agreed and the current holders of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer were all re-elected unopposed. Members should note that all those re-elected have now been in post for 3 or more years and for the long term future of the Club we MUST look to find/develop replacements for election at the next AGM.

Level 1 Coaching Course

This coaching programme which will be run by Andy as Lead Tutor and Di as Course Manager will be run at Balcarras Sports Centre on the following dates (all Sundays);

2^nd, 16^th and 30^th November and the 7^th December.

To ensure candidates meet the experience entry criteria guidelines all those interested in completing the programme should endeavour to enter some GNAS competitions before the start of the programme. There are a number of local competitions running as well as the Adults National at the Gloucestershire Junior Championships in September and the GWAS Field Championships at High Cross in October.

On the above dates the Balcarras Hall will still be available for Club members to practice during ‘classroom time’ for the course members. It is important we use these times (which will be announced later) as this will help with the cost of hiring the hall.

Coberly School Beginners Course – 9^th June

Di and Roger ran the first of 6 sessions for 9 pupils (mostly aged 8 and 9) from the local primary school, the session was well received and many of those shooting demonstrated a lot of potential.

Balcarras School – 12^th June

This programme will start this week at the school and will be run by Roger and Steph, will report on the event in the next newsletter.

You may have thought that not seeing any updates in the last month meant that not a lot has been happening but in fact the opposite is true! This is a summary of just some of what has been taking place over the last few weeks.

Photo Link

Click on the following link to see some excellent photos of the recent High Cross archers Field Competition.

http://picasaweb.google.com/will.geddes/HighCrossArchery02

Competitions

On the competition front Alex, Callum and Rosie have been keeping busy with successes at Cleve, Supermarine, Cheltenham and Salisbury. Callum has already been recording good scores at his next distance up (50m) and Alex has been shooting well above his age group (70m), whilst Rosie has been excellent, breaking her pb’s by some distance.

Becky and Martin completed their first full competition at Newport, with Becky winning not just her age group but also the best junior under 18 score award winning a number of trophies and a cheque for £15. Steph complete with new bow started her first outdoor competition of the year and recorded 658 on a 720H2H which was higher than any 720 score she achieved last year and then equalled her pb on a 12 arrow pass.

Field Course Competition

Last Sunday saw our field club organise their first NFAS competition under the direction of Paul, Mike and Angus and it went superbly, from the course design, organisation to the catering it was a success. All the visiting archers complemented the event and we just need to expand our reputation around the NFAS circuit and we will have a great future in field archery. Thanks to all those members who supported the event and with over 20 High Cross and Deer Park members present on the day it was enjoyable for everyone. A number of us shot the 2 times 20 Animal 2D Round as not competitive archers and there were excellent performances from Alastair (who has now recovered from his accident), Jack and Roger.

Lots of members competing!

 It was impressive that no less than 28 of our members were involved in competitions last Sunday although disappointing that none of them were at the local Black and Gold Tournament which we have supported in the past and must try to do so in the future.

We will be organising another field course taster day so please consider giving field archery a try, it really is something special. Also try the link on the website to see some excellent photos of last weeks field competition.

 Beginners Courses - Club and Schools

An all adult beginners course (not by design) started last Wednesday led by Vanessa, and a  mixed beginners course (Juniors and adults) started this Tuesday and on June 9^th we start a beginners course for Coberly School which will be led by Di. We will also be running a programme for Balcarras School starting in June. Prior to last weeks beginners programme on the Wednesday there was an Elite junior archer workshop led by Andy and this will be continued over the coming weeks.

Record Status events run by Deer Park Archers

The dates for the Deer Park organised record status events have been finalised and have received GNAS approval, please make a note of them in your diary either to compete or help with the organising;

September 6^th (Saturday) – Gloucestershire Junior Championships

October 5^th – GWAS Fita Arrowhead 24 Combination Round at High Cross

October 19^th  -  Fita18 at Balcarras

December 14^th – Vegas at Balcarras

March 8^th – Portsmouth at Balcarras

Level 1 Coaching Course 

It is confirmed that we will be hosting a Level 1 Coaching course which will see Andy as Lead Tutor and Di as Course Manager. The likely dates will be 4 Sundays during October 2008 – January 2009 with the venue at Balcarras School. We will still be able to shoot during the classroom time when the Level 1’s will not be using the hall, more details closer to the time.

 County Junior Squad Development Workshops

As we did last winter we will also be hosting another 3 County Junior Squad development days at Balcarras

ClubMark Update 

More progress has been made on our application for ClubMark and subject to an update of the Club constitution and the attendance of a member at a ‘Club for All’ workshop we are ready to submit. We could have applied earlier but as a club we have always maintained that this is not just about submitting some paperwork but about fully establishing the required behaviours into our Club. We have just met with our friends from Cheltenham Archers who have decided to also apply for ClubMark and hopefully the sharing of our experience will help them to achieve their aims.

Revised date for our AGM 

A revised date and agenda has been circulated for our AGM which will now take place on Tuesday 24^th June at 6:30. It will only be a short meeting prior to shooting at Bubbs Hill so please make an effort to attend.

Club Meal

 My apologies for not getting to the club meal at Bottelinos, it clashed with a presentation I was giving to the Gloucestershire Archery Society on the UK Coaching Framework which will determine the future of archery in England up to the year 2016 and beyond. As well as committing to supporting the UK Coaching Framework the meeting decided to scrap the County Indoor Winter Postal League and recommend clubs try our Monthly H2H League. We will be running a summer version of this format in June, so watch for details. All that attended the meal enjoyed it and the food was again excellent, thanks to Steph for organising the event.

Sponsorship for Alex, Steph off to Taiwan and Nick fit again!

On an individual note, well done to Alex for gaining significant sponsorship  from Lloyds TSB. He had a day off from school this week to appear at a sponsors event in Bristol and make a radio interview! Steph’s selection for the World University Championships in Taiwan has now been confirmed and Nick confirmed that he has now passed his final kidney stone.

New and Refurbished Bosses 

We have now made over 25 new foam bosses for the field course and will now start a refurbishment programme for the bosses at Bubbs Hill, we will try to do this over the next few weeks during our normal evening practice sessions so please feel free to give a hand. Good news, our summer toilet has now arrived at Bubbs Hill, so we just need a few dry warmer evenings.

Cheltenham Easter Bunny – Monday

5 members competed in the first National of the year in very cold, blustery conditions which kept scores in all categories quite low. The annual competition was again very well hosted by Cheltenham Archers with all proceeds going to charity. Rosie and Alex did full Nationals so were categorised with the adults and acquitted themselves well, Callum won the Short Junior National, Vanessa finished with Bronze in the Ladies Longbow and Roger won Silver in the men’s Longbow.

Andy wins Triple Gold

Andy returned from the National Civil Service Championships winning 3 gold medals in the recurve events. Scoring 554 on a Portsmouth winning the RAF Non-Serving Gent and being part of the winning teams in the Regional Championships and the winning RAF Society team!

Easter Saturday Morning Field Shoot.

The weather was not so kind to us on the Saturday morning as very strong winds and at times driving snow made the course a little challenging at times (well most of the time actually). The bottom line was that we still all enjoyed the challenge and the shoot.

Easter Friday Fun Shoot and Egg Hunt.

No less than 36 members braved the conditions at Bubbs Hill enjoying the first outdoor Club shoot of the year. In fairness, with the exception of a 5 minute blizzard we could not really complain about the conditions considering the general weather we have experienced in the last few days. Unfortunately the blizzard happened as our junior members were searching for eggs around the field and were some distance from cover when the hail and snow arrived, the adults were fine in the cover of the hard shelter! Our thanks must go to all those that helped prepare the field and the food for the BBQ but especially to Janet and Lynn for keeping us well supplied with hot drinks, soup, bacon and sausage butties etc. Another enjoyable Easter shoot.

Get Well Soon

Best wishes go to Nick Green who was rushed to hospital last Tuesday (following his exertions at Laser Quest on the Monday evening when he won!) with what turned out to be Kidney Stones! Nick is due to have them sorted this coming Monday. His participation in the London Marathon is 50/50.

Also best wishes go to Sharon our treasurer who was also rushed to hospital last week and needed an operation Sharon is hopefully on the mend, however she may require a further operation.

 Laser Quest

A good night was had by all that attended. The winning team was John, Rosie, Chris, Paul and Steph who were presented with winning laser quest caps.

The top 6 individuals (in order) were Nick, John, Paul, Roger, Alex and Matthew and the biggest improvers from the last time were Rosie and Jack. Thanks to Steph for organising the event which was very good value for the money.

County Junior Squad Training Session

We hosted the second of the all day training sessions at Balcarras on the 9^th March led by Andy and with 20 top juniors from around the county (including 4 of ours) and many of the coaches the event was a great success.

Wales Archery Workshops

Wales Archery are running three workshops which will be excellent for coaches, perspective coaches (those who have indicated they would like to do Level 1) and experienced archers who want to know more about equipment, current and new on the market. Some of us attended the same sessions last year and they were excellent. As it was run at the shop we also took the opportunity to buy a few items whilst we were there.

26^th March – Recurve Workshop

3^rd April – Strings and Arrows Workshop

17^th April – Compounds

All sessions run from 7-9pm and cost just £5, please let me know if you would like to attend. Numbers are limited.

Field Course Competitions

Paul is about to circulate details of a big competition we are going to host at High Cross, in the next couple of months, it is a NFAS event so if you want to compete and are not already members of the NFAS then you will need to join. The cost for NFAS annual membership is £20 for adults, £10 for juniors. Speak to Paul Yeomans if you want further information.

Sustainability in Archery

We have added a page to the Club Website outlining what the club and its members (You) can do to help make our sport more sustainable, in line with Government and Olympic initiatives, please read it and see what you can do to protect our future!

A big thank you!

Despite already having a lot of archery commitments Andy has agreed to run a Level 1 Coaching course starting when we go back indoors to Balcarras in October. We will run 4 separate Sundays from October through to February. These dates will be selected to ensure that they do not clash with the Region Level 2 training that Andy is also involved in and also not clash with the 3 indoor record status events we are organising at Balcarras. There is also likely to be 3 more County Junior Squad Training sessions to programme in! Our thanks also go to Di for agreeing to be the Level 1 Course Manager.

Welcome Back

Some of our members did not want to shoot indoors during the Winter, so with the bosses going back up on Bubbs Hill we look forward to welcoming them back. Tuesday 1^st April, Thursday 3^rd April and Saturday 6^th April will be the first official nights back at Bubbs Hill, until the light gets better members can turn up from 5:30 and shoot until dark (or cold).

Please note that if members are entered for outdoor competitions before that then there are bosses already out and they should talk to Roger about fixing times to get sight marks, get set up for outdoors etc.

Las Vegas – World Archery Festival

Just to say that Steph and myself went for the week, there were 1700 archers competing indoors over 3 days. Each round was just 30 arrows, shot at 18m, the format was great (typical American) and a round took about 2 hours to complete so for the rest of each day etc there was still time to explore the city and the grand Canyon etc! The standard was varied with world champions through to those that have been shooting for less than a year. 15 of the men compounds shot the maximum of 900 and the eventual winner (shoot off) received over 50,000 dollars. The lady compound was won by Nicola Simpson (Oxford Archers), who also won lots of money. Nicola will be shooting with our Field Club in a few weeks time at High Cross. There was also a large archery exhibition with all the top archery manufactures there and a series of workshops on a range of topics, Steph and I attended 2 of them and they were excellent. We brought back a coaching DVD and a laser training aid for the club.

We will be going again next year and can recommend the whole experience, so let us know if you would like to go for the adventure of a life time!

Get Well Soon

Your Support Please

One of our members Nick Green will be running the London Marathon on April 13^th to raise funds for the ‘Children with Leukemia Charity’. He is looking for as many people as possible to sponsor him so please be generous when approached. We will also organise some sort of fund raising event in the club before that date, ideas welcome!

British Senior Championships 16/17^th Feb 2008

Well done to Andy who was representing the Airforce on both days shooting recurve and compound! Nick competed on the Sunday and broke my County Record for a FITA 18 scoring 304. Alex (age just 14) also shot to gain experience and whilst he did not get a pb he shot a credible 520. Well done.

Balcarras Practice sessions – 16^th/17^th Feb

With members on half term breaks, some at the Senior Champs and also a NFAS Field shoot at Bubbs Hill I was worried about attendance at the weekend sessions. Thank you to all those that attended on the Saturday evening 25 was more than expected! The Sunday session was also well attended thanks to Cheltenham Archers and some of our members dusting off the cobwebs ready for the outdoor season!

Gloucestershire County Junior Squad Coaching days – Session 2

All those juniors that attended the last session (Alex, Callum, Ian, Rosie, Eliza, Georgia and John) should note that there is a second session planned for Sunday 9^th March at Balcarras and they are all invited to attend!

Laser Quest – Monday March 3^rd

A few places left- Please let Steph know if you want a place!

ClubMark

We have almost assembled the evidence required to complete our submission have informed the GNAS representative that we will do so by the end of March!

Field Course

Paul organised an NFAS shoot on the 17^th, weather great and we have some new High Cross members!

Paul is looking at organising a GNAS (Deer Park Archers Shoot) on Sunday 2^nd March so watch this space.

We have now had it confirmed that we will again be hosting the 2008 GWAS Field Championships on a Sunday in October, this time it will be record status. Paul is planning to hold a big NFAS shoot on the Saturday.

Level 1 Course

We have now got permission to run a Level 1 coaching course at Balcarras as we have so many members wishing to do the course. We will still be able to accommodate a number of visitors and this will enrich the course. This will put a significant extra load on Andy so we need to ensure we give him plenty of  support. It is probable that the ‘core’ of the course will be run over 4 separate Sundays during the 2008/9 indoor season.

Club Colours

Following the announcement in the last Newsletter about what combinations of colours could be used in formal competition, a concern by some club members was expressed about the ruling given to us by the judges at the County Indoor meeting. As a consequence your committee decided to challenge the ruling by contacting the GNAS and guess what, they have now clarified the ruling and will be contacting all judges to allow any combination of Green, White and our registered colours of sky blue tops and navy blue trousers. Apologies to anyone who has already been out and bought kit as a result of the original ruling.

Highlights from the 30^th Jan Club Committee Meeting.

In recognition of the increasing size of our club and our commitment to ClubMark the following appointments were made;

Janet Taylor is appointed Registration Secretary which will include responsibility for all membership records, applications/renewals and first point of contact with the club.

Steph Crang is appointed ClubMark Secretary and will deal with development, application and quality assurance of all internal procedures defined by ClubMark to ensure best practice throughout the club.

Andy Cramb is confirmed as Head Coach, in addition to ensuring that a coaching structure is in place to support the best development of archers, he will also develop a structure for Coach development within the club.

Mark Taylor is confirmed as Equipment Officer but his role will now include the organising/delivery of equipment maintenance and tuning workshops.

Di Blackburn is appointed FITA Feather/Arrow Co-ordinator. Following the collapse of the National Association of Archery in Schools award scheme Di will develop the use of these awards within the club.

Junior Representatives – Rosie Benfield and Alex Fraser are confirmed in post but will have additional responsibilities with respect to liaison with junior members.

There were 17 items on the agenda so if you want to know more then ask to see a copy of the minutes.

2008/9 Indoor Season

We have decided to apply to run 3 record status events next winter at Balcarras, Ken Martin (Regional Judge) has inspected the facilities and we are hoping to run them in October, November and  March. Currently there is only 1 record status event in the County and that is the County Championships.

Club Coaching Group

The latest meeting took place on Monday 4^th February. We currently have 7 qualified coaches in the club and 4/5 more members have asked to do the Level 1 course later this year. The meeting focused on reviewing the current coaching and archer development activities operating within the club and decided that whilst our policy of having coaches available to help all members for at least 8 hours (4 separate days) at every practice session that we needed to provide extra focus for our members currently demonstrating the highest potential. We already have an Elite Group of archers identified and they attended additional workshops etc but we have now decided to replace that group with two groups, one of which will provide an intermediate step to the more advanced group. Eligibility criteria, objectives etc for these groups will be published on the club website in the next week on an additional page titled ‘Archer Development Pathways.’ Members of the coaching group need to agree on the details of the plan before we publish it. This can be an emotive topic but as our policy and practice provides coaching support for all our members and we recognise that we do need to provide more focused and structured support for those that demonstrate potential and want even more support, then we need to offer a more defined programme. The coaches have used the criteria to identify an initial list of members who fulfil them, we will talk to those individuals in the next couple of weeks, if when you see the information and you want to be considered then please talk to any of the coaches.

Brixham Archers Clipper Competition Report

9 club members spent the weekend in Paighton for the record status Portsmouth. We had an excellent meal/drink on the Saturday evening at the Talk of the Town and still managed to be ready to sstart shooting at 9:15 on the Sunday morning (although it was only just in Bernies and John’s case). Top performance of the day was Jack who on the morning had to stop after just 6 arrows with big equipment issues but thanks to the support of a local Brixham coach who worked with Jack during the morning, he was ready to shoot in the afternoon. Jack had to shoot on a 3 spot face as there were no other spaces available. He recorded 497 which was a personal best and finished second. Since the event we have also received and equipment evaluation and a development plan for Jack from that coach! Rosie again shot over 500 and won a lovely trophy for winning her category.

Both John and Bernie got personal bests and whilst it was not a pb for me I did complete the round with nothing outside the gold.

Sunday March 9^th – Balcarras

We will again be hosting a County Junior Squad development day at Balcarras and many of our coaches will be supporting the event as well as 6 of our juniors attending.

2008/9 Indoor Season

We have decided to apply to run 3 record status events next winter at Balcarras, Ken Martin (Regional Judge) has inspected the facilities and we are hoping to run them in October, November and  March. Currently there is only 1 record status event in the County and that is the County Championships.

Coaching

Congratulations to Vanessa and Di who successfully completed their second external assessments last Monday, they are now Level 1 Coaches!

There will be another Level 1 programme starting in Sept/October, anyone wanting to complete the course should let me know asap. We already have 4 names!

Beginners Courses

Welcome to all those that are starting Beginners Programmes in the next few weeks.

Good luck to Di and Vanessa who are running the Monday evening 6:30 sessions as they will be using these sessions for external assessment  as part of the Level 1 coaching qualification.

We will still take Beginners at anytime as we prefer to stagger the start dates to ensure that they get the best support possible. Cost is just £18 per 6 week course for one individual which reduces to £15 total per person if there is more than one family member!

Level 1 Coaching Course

The Region will be running another Level 1 course starting in September / October. ANYONE interested in finding out more about the requirements should talk to one of our coaches for further details. Doing the programme will not only put you a position to help others but will also help your own shooting.

We already have 2 members that have confirmed their interest!

Practice Session Details

Saturday 19^th January – Balcarras – As usual

Sunday 20^th January – Balcarras – No session due to County Championships.

Monday 21^st January – Birdlip  6:30 and 7:45 sessions as usual.

Tuesday 22^nd January – Birdlip 6:30 and 7:45 sessions as usual.

Saturday 26^th January – Balcarras – As usual

Sunday 27^th January – Balcarras – No  session as we are hosting a County Junior Squad Training Day (Note 7 of our juniors have been invited to attend as have our coaches).

Monday 28^th January – 6:30 session reserved for coach assessment / Beginners only.

                                    7:45 session as usual.

Tuesday 29^th January – As usual.

Saturday 2^nd and Sunday 3^rd at Balcarras as usual.

Monday 4^th Feb – Birdlip – No session (1^st Monday of month – Film Club)

Tuesday 5^th Feb – Birdlip – As usual however we will be holding a 3 dozen handicap competition. Trophies for first 3 positions!

Saturday 9^th Feb- Balcarras- As usual but we will 2 bosses for coaching using video and other techniques for those that would like to try. The rest of the hall will shoot as usual.