It is enlightening and interesting and helps to explain the differences perhaps, to read the CODE OF CONDUCT for archers competing in NAA-sanctioned events. ANY archer participating in a sanctioned shoot is required to adhere to the code of conduct - do you know what the code is?

On March 27, 2004 at the University of A at Austin’s Archery Field, instead of our usual FITA we held a 72-arrow “70m” qualifier followed by a single elimination round. You’ll notice the “70m” in quotation marks because it was not shot at 70m if you were not in the Junior or Senior division. Each archer competed at their age-appropriate distance (e.g., Bowmen – 30m, Cubs – 50m, Cadets – 60m, Juniors and Seniors – 70m). Using this 72-arrow score, all archers were ranked into one of four categories, Male Compound, Female Compound, Male Recurve or Female Recurve.

Notice, there are no age divisions – all archers within a category were grouped together. This resulted in some Cubs being ranked higher than some Seniors, some Bowmen outranking some Cadets, etc.…and the fun continued.

Remaining non-traditional throughout the tournament, the elimination round also was a little different than usual.

Generally, elimination rounds are shot at 70m meaning that only adults, or those archers who shoot adult distances, can participate. This year, in our “Not-so” tournament, we decided it would be a lot more enjoyable for the kids if we held an elimination round that allowed them to compete as well. Many kids don’t get a chance to shoot elimination rounds until they are at least Cadets and they almost never get the opportunity to beat an adult in the elimination round. We decided to change that.

Using the rankings from the 72-arrow ranking round, we created four brackets according to the categories mentioned above: Male Compound, Female Compound, Male Recurve and Female Recurve. This became very fun for the kids. We had 30m shooters competing against 70m shooters, 50m shooters competing against 60m shooters, etc. It was a bit of a challenge logistically but the payoff (seeing a youngster beaming with pride) was worth every effort that went into the planning. Since everyone was shooting their age appropriate distances, it was a real toss-up as to who was going to win each match. I highly recommend this type of tournament to anyone wishing to add some fun and a certain amount of excitement to the day.

I received a lot of positive feedback on the tournament. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. You never know when you’re going to be beaten by a 10 year old! It might be somewhat of a wake-up call for the adults (a lot of us need that once in a while!) but it is pure thrill for the younger ones!

Also, remember that camouflage clothing is not allowed. Blue jeans are allowed. Although the FITA rules state the marked round is in 5-meter increments, be prepared for a 21 or 22 meter shot. Anyone interested in enjoying a nice day out in the wild, let me know.

On a related note, this recent Arizona Cup brought a stunning emphasis on the need for always having appropriate rain gear. Even in the desert. Even when the previous day's temperatures were between 95 and 103 degrees. Even when the entire region (New Mexico/Arizona/Nevada/Utah) is in a painful episode known as a "mega-drought". Be sure that you expect the worst, plan for it, and then hope to be disappointed in not needing it.

Another rule change, this one brought to our attention by Rick Stonebraker:
Just a reminder to all concerned archers, as of April first (no foolin this time), hits are no longer used as a tie breaker per the ruling below. So, if you have scorecards to create for your upcoming event, you can take them off as they will be an unnecessary column to deal with.............thank heavens.

For those of you who want to know the history behind the hits: around the end of the 19th century (1890's) when archers were "lobbing" arrows at a hundred yards with longbows and wood arrows with feathers, hits were important. For example: an end of six arrows might produce one hit for Archer A who got a nine. Archer B had three hits, 5,1,1. It was determined that archer B was a better archer cause s/he hit the target 3 times whereas Archer A hit it once, even though it was a nine. So, on the score card, an extra point was tallied for each hit. Archer A got 9+1 that end, Archer B had 5+1+1 plus 3 hits for 10 that end. Over the years though, the number of hits meant very little in the grand scheme of things. For instance, if someone had a mechanical failure and shot one in the dirt but shot a bunch of 10's in the meantime but ended in a tie, the other person who hit the target more times won the tie, not the person who shot more tens. Six of one...half dozen of another. In any case, it was a nuisance and finally was changed. Rick :)

FITA rule book 2
7.6.5.1
For ties occurring in all rounds, except for those ties as set out below (7.6.5.2):
* Individuals and Teams
***Greatest number of 10's including inner 10's)
***Greatest number of X's (inner 10's)
***After this athletes still tying will be declared equal; but for ranking purpose, i.e. position in the match play charts of Elimination Rounds, a disk toss will decide the position of those declared equal.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2004

The more the merrier on JOAD clubs. Jim Krueger and I carry JOAD kids on our rosters so the kids can play at tournaments that insist on the participants being JOAD members. Jim encouraged me to start my own club, like I encouraged the Calhoun country group to the same. It is not a zero sum game.

What is a JOAD? For us it is the kid that likes to shoot year around. It is the kid that just can't get enough and is unwilling to put his or her bow down at the end of 4H season and go on to something else. It is the kid that is more concerned about improving, than collecting hardware or winning. It is the kid that loves the camaraderie of archery. For many, archery is their only thing they do well. They do archery for the love of the sport.

For me? I am the 4H project leader of the Goliad archery group. I also head up a JOAD group in Victoria that includes kids from Goliad, Victoria, Beeville, Halletsville and Port Lavaca and a couple from areas outside the immediate Victoria area. Only a fraction of the 4H kids play year around and that is what makes the JOAD club attractive.

Why do we do this? Because of the life skills the kids learn by doing archery, which all transfer so well to other activities these kids will do later in life. And, we make a difference.

Thought you & your readers, especially those interested in coaching whether it's Archery or any other sport, might like to check out a hidden gem at the USOC.org site.

Go to USOC.ORG., then at the bottom of the front page click on Education, then move to the middle of the page that comes up. Under Coaching download any or all of the Olympic Coach publication.

Practice:
The JOAD should be self-motivated to practice.
Parents need to support this by making practice and training available and convenient.
This goes for the fitness training also.

Tournament Day:
Make sure that you are ready to leave ahead of time and arrive early.
Know where you are driving to.
Have snack and beverages ready and make sure they eat and drink them.
Outdoors see that a hat is worn and sunscreen is applied.
The parent is there to serve the JOAD.

Communication:
There is a situation that seems inevitable at some point in most parent-child relationships concerning communication. That is when “anything your parent says must be wrong.” During a tournament is not the time to practice this scenario. A great way for a parent to avoid the appearance of giving advice (a trigger point to many teenagers) is to ask the JOAD “What does coach have you working on” or “Can you go through your steps one by one?” (It helps if the archer has written them down before hand).

Take a walk:
If you just can’t help but hang on your archer's every arrows' score, then get away from the area. Take a walk and chat with other parents, you are probably going to do a favor for both your archer and yourself. Other parents are in this thing just like you are. The common experiences can be a great relief and even fun to talk about. You are only a few steps away and can respond in an emergency but it can make a big positive difference for your archer’s attitude and success.

Lend a hand:
If you need to be even farther away, volunteer to help with the leader board. Help keep the water cooler filled with ice and water. Help with target stand moves and changing target faces. Consider becoming a judge and see what’s happening on the other side of the kids shooting line. A nice parent job is to help with turning the music on and off between ends. The ironic thing here is that a parent may actually be closer to the JOAD as a tournament helper than if the parent had stayed in the spectator area.