Newsletter September 2013 Issue 17

Ellingham and Ringwood Show 10th August 2013

A full line of “Have a Go” archers of all ages under the watchful gaze of Field Captain Steve Pritchard. The spectators on the bank behind enjoy the warm weather whilst debating whether to join in.

This was the 21st year that Bracken has provided the Archery “Have a Go” stand at the Ellingham Show and it was undoubtedly our most successful year ever. The new arrangement of low level targets with just one layer of backstop netting meant that, apart from a brief comedy interlude provided by Keith and Kevin, initial set-up went very smoothly and we were ready to receive our !rst customer well before the crowds poured into the showground. From that point we were kept very busy throughout the day, so busy in fact that many of our volunteer coaches for the day barely had any time to visit the rest of the show. The Field Captain in particular had to be alert to ensure that those members of the public with reading difficulties who studiously ignored the many

warning signs and rope barriers, and either walked behind the shooting area or allowed their dogs to run across in front of the archers, were kept safe despite their folly! By day’s end some 370 people had taken part, which meant the Club had made sufficient funds to put a very large smile on the face of the Treasurer. Many thanks to all who helped out in whatever capacity, both on the day and on the Friday before, helping to load the trailer, but particular thanks are due to Eric and Linda Harding; for Linda’s tireless efforts in keeping us all supplied with tea throughout the day and for Eric in transporting all the equipment to and from the ground, without which none of this would have been possible.

AJB

Ellingham Pictorial:

Keith Harding surveys the new low level target and netting arrangement. With the archers shooting down the bank this proved to be ver y successful with no arrows going astray. The heavy duty straps just visible on either side of the picture also made life very much easier.

Just before Kick Off a customer’s eye view of the “Have a Go” area. Despite the presence of various catering vans just out of shot to the left, which blocked any view of our site from the main arena, the large overhead banner plus our own club " a g s e n s u r e d w e attracted a very good crowd.

On the left, Ralph coaches our #rst customer of the day. T h i s yo u n g l a d y actually returned quite a few times throughout the day so she really should consider taking up archery.

On the right, Steve provides a helping hand to a special customer; his Mum!

Bracken Company of Archers will be holding the end of season championship shoot on 22nd September 2013 at Cranborne with shooting commencing at 10:00 am. The distances on offer will be National Senior (60/50y), Junior distances (for appropriate age) and novice competition distances for our newly quali!ed archers. The latter category can include any archers that have completed the Beginners Course in the last year. Other, shorter distances will also be offered as required. There will be prizes to win on the day, so we would like as many club members as possible to attend. Following the competition we will then move down the hill to Cranborne village hall for a bring and share lunch starting at 1.00pm. It would be a good idea if you could talk amongst yourselves beforehand and decide what you intend to bring along so that we don’t end up with a lunch consisting entirely of chocolate cake, although I doubt Adam would mind that! Tea and coffee will also be available. This is a very good social occasion and a chance to meet and chat to some of our other members without the distraction of shooting. Please note that as there is limited parking available outside the village hall it might be a good idea to leave your cars in the school car park and stroll down the hill to the hall. After lunch, the Club will be holding the AGM commencing at 2:00pm. We would urge as many club members as possible to attend the AGM even if you are not intending to shoot in

the morning or we have not seen you at the club for a while. This is your opportunity to !nd out more about the running of the club, to vote for new committee members, to stand for any positions you may be interested in and to have your say and in$uence the future direction of your club so please, don’t miss it. We will also announce the championship results and award prizes at this event. More details will follow by email. This will include the agenda for the day and any voting slips. Please also re-read Ralph’s article in the last newsletter concerning the reasons for the motion to move the AGM from September to April, which will be presented to the meeting for it’s approval. Overleaf you will !nd a list of club roles and responsibilities along with a description of their duties plus the names of the current holders. At the time of writing it is believed that all current post holders, with the exception of the Chairman, are willing and able to continue in position. However this does not preclude any member from volunteering for any position or seeking nomination for any of the permanent Committee roles I.e. Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Members Representative and Coaching Co-ordinator. It should be noted however that at the present time there is only one member quali!ed to act as Coaching Co-ordinator and that is the present incumbent, Adam Brown. Nick Kenworthy/AJB

End of Season Shoot and Annual General Meeting:

Allen Keys or Hexagonal Keys as they are also known; don’t you just love ‘em? You will almost certainly acquire a wide range of these things every time time you purchase a new piece of equipment but the problem is they have a habit of going walk-about so that when you really need a particular key you can never !nd it. If you have a variety of manufacturers equipment you will also need both Imperial and Metric keys as well. For me, the problem came to a head when the screw attaching the !nger separator to my KSL tab worked loose on the line and I could not !nd the tiny Allen key I

needed to tighten it, thus bringing the shooting session to a premature end. I looked at the sets of keys sold by Quicks etc. and the Beiter set worked out at £19 if I wanted both Imperial and Metric. A little pricey, I thought. However I found the answer in B&Q who sell a 25 piece set of both types of keys in a handy plastic storage case for £4. I removed a few of the very large keys that I will never need for archery to reduce the weight

and the remainder sit nicely to hand in my bag for a fraction of the cost of the Beiter tool. AJB

Shopping Tip - Allen Keys:

Role & Responsibility

Duties Designated Person

Chairman (Members elected role)

Chair & Organise Committee. Oversee smooth running of club.Liaise with other clubs.

Paul Naidu(Committee member)Not standing for re-election at AGM

Vice Chairman(Members elected role)

Stand in for Chairman where necessary. Andy Fisher(Committee member)

Secretary(Members elected role)

Liaise with GNAS, DWWA etc. Coordinate club responses to these bodies and receive incoming communication from these bodies.Submit membership returns.Minutes of meetings and maintain records. Approve CRB records where necessary. Main contact for website and club. Coordinate responses. Liaise with school re contract.To maintain records of club communications.

Nick Kenworthy(Committee member)

Treasurer(Members elected role)

To manage all club funds & banking arrangements.To review and coordinate all spending.To prepare and set annual budgets. To review and propose annual membership fees. To audit all expenditure.To receive all monies for competitions & membership fees.

Ralph Wood(Committee member)

Equipment Officer Maintain club equipment in working order.Coordinate purchase and replacement of all equipment on a timely basis.Manage loans and hire of club equipment. Organise indoor shooting venues and facilities.

Pete Cheeseborough(Committee member)

CRB Officer Coordinate CRB checks and requests. Maintain CRB records.

Linda Harding(Committee member)

Web Administrator Coordinate website updates and information Adam Brown(Committee member)

Coaching Coordinator & Membership Officer

Coordinate beginners courses. Coordinate and maintain new members details. Issue membership cards. Coordinate coaching meetings and progression of coaches.

Adam Brown

Level 1 & 2 Coaches To provide tuition to new members.To provide advancement training and monitoring for experienced members.To train trainers.

Adam BrownSteve PritchardPete CheeseboroughCarol BanyardPaul BurdenVicky BurdenAndy Fisher (Leader)

Bracken Company of Archers

Roles & Responsibilities

Role andResponsibility

Duties Designated Person

On Target Club Officer

To review and coordinate internal arrangements for On Target status. To conduct audits of current arrangements. To make recommendations where necessary. To report findings to Secretary.

Arthur Budd(Committee member)

Newsletter Editor To coordinate & produce club newsletter. Arthur Budd

Advertising Officer To identify potential advertising for club.To coordinate quotes, samples and options for any club advertising subject to committee approval. To coordinate submissions to local newspapers and magazines.

Arthur Budd

Members Representative

To coordinate the views and concerns of the membership and report to the committee. To liaise with the membership regarding any issues discussed on the committee.

Kevin Edge(Committee member)

Junior Coordinator To liaise with the Junior members. To provide a guiding hand and insure that the junior members maintain a voice within the club. To encourage and arrange specific Junior competitions and awards within the club.

Clare Walsh(Committee member)

Records Officer Maintain members shooting records and liaise with GNAS where necessary on awards and achievements. Manage club ribbon system, trophies and awards.

Steve Pritchard

External Competition Coordinator

To coordinate all entries for external competitions (Dorset and Wiltshire only). To liaise with local clubs on calendar of events and coordinate as necessary.

Eric Bell

Library Officer To organise and maintain club library facilities including books, DVD and manuals.To coordinate loan of all such items.To recommend purchases and renewals of all such items.

Rosie Forward

Junior Representatives

To raise any concerns from the Junior members.To discuss and organise any concerns or issues amongst the Junior members.

Chandler & Saskia Kenworthy

Club uniform and clothing Coordinator

To collect and collate members orders, liaise directly with the manufacturer and distributeitems upon receipt.

Jo Anderson

I have been using the book Archery Anatomy by Ray Axford for several months. The book looks at archery techniques from the point of view of the inter-relationship between the anatomy of the human body and the anatomy of the bow.

The book has helped me understand and develop skills that use the natural movements of the archer and bow in coordination. For the bookworms among you I can fully recommend it. My recent development has been down to some good advice from my daughter Laura, underpinned by the theoretical understanding gleaned from this book among other sources, and some determined application. In recent weeks I have shot FITA1133, 1140 and 1163. All three well inside Bowman scores and the last 27 points under Master Bowman. The work over the indoor season and the beginning of the outdoor season, and the recent changes were all coming together. I had moved up to 41lbs on the !ngers. I had invested in a K7 riser, TX 990 limbs and ACE arrows. Getting this

equipment to work well together, alongside my continuing skill development meant that I have achieved my aim of regular Bowman scores and was well on the way towards Master Bowman.

Last Wednesday I had a ‘niggle’ in my draw arm shoulder. Foolishly I didn’t take much notice of it! At the end of Wednesday there were 3 Bosses to put away. By the time I got home I was in quite some discomfort. I had a couple of painful nights, however during the day it seemed reasonable, but I wasn’t up for any shooting. I helped move the bosses from the store to the trailer on Friday evening ready for Ellingham. While I was doing the moving I felt some twinges, however again I didn’t take enough notice. Afterwards I was left in considerable pain. It seems that my Deltoid muscle has in part become detached from being anchored on the bone.

With hindsight I realise that this issue had been getting progressively worse over several weeks. I do have another shoulder issue with some damage to a rotator cuff from a motorcycle accident. While this is a concern, archery seemed to be strengthening the rotator cuff,

From Top to Bottom (and back again)!

Sunday 1st September saw 8 members of Bracken travel to Holton Lee in response to the very kind invitation from The Bowmen of Lytchett to participate in their Closing Shoot. Although he came along, unfortunately Adam couldn’t actually shoot due to an injured wrist. Those of us who did take part, along with other visiting archers from Southampton and Bournemouth, enjoyed a great competit ion u n d e r n e a r p e r f e c t conditions for archery, a m o n g s t c o n v i v i a l c o m p a n y a n d w i t h superb hospitality from our hosts plus the added bene!t of an occasional $y past from aircraft t a k i n g p a r t i n t h e Bournemouth Air Festival. The format of the competition was an Albion round (i.e. 3 dozen at 80, 60 and 50 yards each, with shorter distances and formats available for those who did not feel they could do justice to 80 yards). This is not a particularly common round, which meant there were many personal bests set during the day! All our archers shot well and the result of the

visitors’ competition saw Andy Fisher take the Gold medal with a score of 779, Nick Kenworthy took Silver, scoring 747 and Neil Lambton took Bronze with a score of 721. Interestingly, every Bracken archer who shot the Albion beat all the

Lytchett archers over the same round, which was a pretty good performance and will set us up nicely for next season. Other Bracken members w h o a l s o w o n G o l d m e d a l s w e r e S i m o n F e r r a r i , i n h i s ! r s t competition, with a score of 711 in a Short Windsor as well as Chandler and Saskia Kenworthy who won their respective categories. I will leave it up to you to work out which Bracken archer

went home empty handed! But overall I think I can safely say that everyone went home very happy with the day’s results. Many thanks to all at Lytchett for inviting Bracken members to share their c lub competition and especially to the ladies who provided tea, and some wonderful cakes, throughout the day. As Nick said on Facebook, it really was a “Grand Day Out”.

AJB

but because I normally have a level of discomfort I had not taken enough notice of the compounding issue. The theory is that the Deltoid is not a signi!cant archery muscle. After 3 days rest, and some improvement in the condition, I attempted to draw my bow. The initial drawing was okay but clearly my shoulder could not take the strain of my current poundage, I couldn’t get past two thirds of my draw length, the deltoid does seem to have a part to play in my current draw technique. It seems I will be back to light limbs for a while as I manage the issues, working up the poundage over time to be able to shoot the longer distances at some time in the future. Through reading Archery Anatomy I have a reasonable understanding of the way the

various muscle groups inter-relate when shooting. Painful as my current condition is, fortunately, I don’t think my current injury will put an end to my archery, it will just take time to work through. I think this is quite a set back at a time when I was feeling at the ‘top of my archery’. I am reminded of the words of the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho:

“Don’t give in to your fears, if you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart”.

My heart is de!nitely still into archery, enjoy your shooting. Eric Bell

The Bowmen of Lytchett Closing Shoot:

The Bracken contingent posing for a group photo during the lunch interval.

ALL members are warmly invited to submit contributions for inclusion in the Newsletter. Items can be either e-mailed to arthur.budd@talktalk.net or handed directly to me.

With this season’s beginners courses now but a distant memory and having given the graduates time to decide whether to continue their archery journey with Bracken, the Committee would like to warmly welcome the following new members who have joined the club this year: John Boyle, Mat Cheeseborough, Sharon & Simon Ferrari, Mike Grigsby, Matt Hobb, Neil Morgan, Andrew Mountain, David Plowman, Sally Sandford, John, Kirsty and Sam Watton and Christopher Whybrow. We sincerely hope that in the years ahead both your archery experience and your membership of Bracken prove to be enjoyable, successful and ful!lling. Overall this year’s courses went fairly smoothly despite a few minor problems due to non-availability of coaches, so many thanks to Carol Banyard for stepping into the breach following the departure of Ray & Jacquie and also thanks to two other new members of the

club, Paul Burdon and his daughter Vicky who, despite only having joined earlier in the year as associate members, provided valuable coaching assistance on a number of occasions throughout the courses. AJB

Welcome to the Club:

The 2013/2014 Indoor Season: This is the point where I had hoped to provide full details of this year’s indoor season, however, there are still some issues to be resolved with the School before we can !nalise the program. The situation at the time of writing is that last year’s venue, The Ringwood Waldorf School, has said that we can hire the hall at the same cost as last year BUT, for reasons as yet unknown, they have withdrawn the storage facility for our equipment at the back of the hall, without offering any alternative within the main building, just the vague suggestion that we might store our gear elsewhere on the site. This would mean transporting all our stands, butts, back-stop netting etc. into and out of the

building every night from elsewhere on the site, in the dark and in all weathers. Obviously, this is completely out of the question and so further negotiations with the School committee are required. Unfortunately, due to the summer break and various other reasons, these negotiations are still pending. At this time, all I can say is that if you intend to take part in the indoor season, you should keep a close eye on the Facebook page and/or the club website for further information as it becomes available. Andy will also give any further details that he may have at tea break notices on Sunday mornings. AJB

As many of you will know, since 1990 MacMillan Cancer Support have been running “The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” to raise funds for their invaluable work. It is an unfortunate fact that most of us will be touched by cancer in some way, at some time in our lives and it is for this reason that the Committee has decided that our normal Captain’s Day on Sunday 29th September (the

week after our AGM) will be designated “The World’s Biggest Archery Coffee Morning” during which tea, coffee and cakes will be sold with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support. All donations of cake on the day will be gratefully accepted, so please, put this date in your diaries and help Bracken to support this very worthy cause. AJB

And Finally - The World’s Biggest Archery Coffee Morning:

Members of this year’s 3rd & #nal Beginners Course proudly displaying their certi#cates.