Creating smooth transition... Schools > Intervarsity > Senior

[mr potato head]

Hey all,
I'm the Development officer for the IAAA (again) and I want to get a bit of debate from all types of archers around the country going.
For those who don't know me I've been around archery on and off for a while and have shot in Schools, Intervarsity and Senior clubs and competition. (for those who do know me... I'm SORRY!)

I'd like your input from your experiences as an archer in Ireland, information such as:

• Do you want to shoot outside of school or college? (If no maybe say why?)
  
• Do you want to return to shooting after time away from the sport?
  
• Have you been to a club outside of a school or college?
  
• What barriers/difficulties have you come across in continuing shooting (eg. no club nearby)
  
• Other relevant comments on the sport and what improvements can be made to help support archers

I hope that the main result from this debate would be to find ways to make it easier for people who start to in places like school or college to move from one group to the next if they wish.
School > Intervarsity, Intervarsity > IAAA... etc.
And for those who are not active in the sport to return to shooting.

Here are a couple of topics i've thought about already to get things rolling...

• I think a lot of good archers stop shooting once the summer comes because the information and support isn't there to help them swap from College to Club scene for the summer. (This isn't anyones fault there is just no system in place), would a buddy system between clubs and colleges work?
• I hope young archers leaving school can have access to advise on information like forming clubs in a college and getting sports scolarships from those who have "been there, done that"

Healthy Debate welcome...

• the idea of the thread is to create ideas help improve access to the sport for everyone
  
• Stick with the forum charter, Please don't insult clubs or try to name and shame individuals publicly
  

(If you don't want your views made public but still want to make a comment PM me, I won't share the information with outside groups and will not disclose names to other people or groups)


Thanks
Keith

My email is on the IAAA contacts page if you need to contact me on any development topics

[Aryzel]

For going Intervarsity->IAAA over the summer, I suppose the following would help:

- Allow students to become 'associated members' of other IAAA clubs for a standard small fee, 10-20euro.
- A compiled and detailed list of every club in the country, exact locations where they shoot, including maps,
directions by bus,train,car. Along with 2 contact names with mobile numbers for each club. Also the days/times they shoot.
- So then universities could go to each of their members and ask: Where will you be for the majority of the summer,
here are the clubs near there, here is how to get to them, this is their contact, give him/her a call tell them you will
be joining them for the summer, confirm the days/times/location and then just show up when your able.

There are no special tricks to getting things like this to work, you just have to make it very easy for people to do and
then have someone in each club that will actively go to their members and try to encourage them.

[Renegade_Archer]

The biggest barrier to student shooters is they scatter to the 4 winds for the summer. There needs to be more ties / communication between school / university shooters and their nearest IAAA clubs. In general, the more successful student archers are those who continue to shoot for the summer.

Not only does this ensure fresh members for the IAAA clubs, it gives the student clubs access to experienced archers they may not have access to otherwise, as well as getting student archers used to shooting in IAAA shoots.

One major issue university clubs face is that everyone fecks off every 4 years, and it can be difficult to stop the accumulated knowledge and best practices leaving with them. If they have ties / coaching agreements with local clubs, university teams have continued access to what's The Right Thing.

[mr potato head]

Originally Posted by Aryzel

- Allow students to become 'associated members' of other IAAA clubs for a standard small fee, 10-20euro.

It only costs €50 for the whole year to join the IAAA, i will ask about a 1/2 year membership on monday (eg, Jun - Dec). If the College is an affiliated club which does not charge any additional membership fee, it should cost the individual €25 for the summer as a full member...

Originally Posted by Aryzel

- A compiled and detailed list of every club in the country, exact locations where they shoot, including maps,
directions by bus,train,car. Along with 2 contact names with mobile numbers for each club. Also the days/times they shoot.

Google Maps is on the way...
An updated club contacts page on the IAAA should show most of these details, at present there is one contact for each club and most have an email or mobile.

Originally Posted by Renegade_Archer

There needs to be more ties / communication between school / university shooters and their nearest IAAA clubs. In general, the more successful student archers are those who continue to shoot for the summer.

Not only does this ensure fresh members for the IAAA clubs, it gives the student clubs access to experienced archers they may not have access to otherwise, as well as getting student archers used to shooting in IAAA shoots.

I will be at a couple of IVs next year to chat about this, also want to make contact with secondary students at the schools shoots... I think it's important for archers to give direct feedback that sometimes gets lost in the Chinese whispers of NGB structures.

Also agree that something needs to be done to show that all students are welcome to shoot at clubs over the summer...

I think talented schools shooters should know it may be possible to get sports scholarships in most of the colleges they might want to go to, not that it should influence there CAO applications... but they should get help in getting information on things like this as they may be too shy to go to a sports officer and ask themselves.

[ruiner]

There is a memberships committee that is reviewing the membership fees and the part year membership is being looked at.

[mr potato head]

Cheers Dot, that was on my list for monday

[Scottish Rob]

Just to let you know.. the 1st July is the date when membership fees for the IAAA are halved.... Google map goes up tonight on http://archery.ie/club.html , ( the delay was to allow all clubs time to update their details ).... the Colleges and Schools will then become free for their original purpose which is to provide year round news and updates for students.. happy shooting everyone

[Panserborn]

Thanks for the info Rob,

Just to clarify, is it the fees for students that are halving? Or the affiliation fees for the college club?

[Scottish Rob]

The membership fees for archers halves from the 1st July.. any new club applying for affiliate membership has a year's grace (technically six months) so that club funds are not diverted from the business of setting the venture up... any former club that was an established club that hasn't paid its affiliation fees yet ceased to be a member club as of the 1st January this year and would be expected to pay the full year's affiliation fees to rejoin.. Membership and affiliation fees are the subject of a review at the moment but there will be no change until such change has been passed at the next IAAA AGM.. a provisional date for which has been set as the 19th September.