Trying out Archery - What to expect?

Decoda

Hi,

Well I've always had an interest in Archery and this Tuesday I'm finally going to look at doing something about it. I've called my local club and arranged to attend their weekly club meet.

I have to admit that I'm extremely nervous and would appreciate any advice that some of you boardies may give me. I know that situations will vary across the various clubs but any assistance would be appreciated.

What can I expect by "walking in" to a club meet? Would you normally be allowed to try out bows, can I actually shoot or am I observing only. I know that my first walk in is free and that I pay for any evenings I attend after but can anyone give me some idea of where I go from there. D clubs accept new members straight off or is there a waiting period / training period? Do most clubs insist that their new members attend typical training courses (which I intend to do as soon as possible), is there any other things that I need to know regarding possible club membership?

I'll be asking all of these questions on Tuesday but I just wanted to get a feel of what to expect before I attend.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

DC

greysides

Decoda, I can only speak for my own club.

Were someone to walk in, arranged or not, we'd talk to them and answer any questions they'd have about archery in general, club policies and costs.

Unless we are running a designated 'Have-a-go' session they would not shoot an arrow. That's due to insurance considerations.

If someone already knows how to shoot, they would be asked to demonstrate their abilities unless we already knew them. If we were happy with them, both from a technique and safety point-of-view, they could join the club once they'd joined Archery Ireland. Again, insurance considerations.

Otherwise, their route to entry would be by doing a beginners course. At the end of which they'd have a choice to join or not. Along the way we'd have hammered safety and technique into them, demonstrated the different types of bows and the different types of archery and helped them develop a sense of humour.

Fees: Beginners course if needed. Includes Club Membership for remainder of the calendar year.
Annual Club membership.
Archery Ireland membership. This is obligatory as it provides insurance cover. It also gives access to their training facilities and the ability to enter competitions.

Club fees go towards rent, electricity, replacing butts and targets and all the other things you take for granted... loo roll, soap, tea, coffee, biscuits.

Decoda

Thanks for the reply Greysides. I appreciate the information.

I'll let you know how I get on.

DC

bijou

greysides wrote: »

Decoda, I can only speak for my own club.

Were someone to walk in, arranged or not, we'd talk to them and answer any questions they'd have about archery in general, club policies and costs.

Unless we are running a designated 'Have-a-go' session they would not shoot an arrow. That's due to insurance considerations.

If someone already knows how to shoot, they would be asked to demonstrate their abilities unless we already knew them. If we were happy with them, both from a technique and safety point-of-view, they could join the club once they'd joined Archery Ireland. Again, insurance considerations.

Otherwise, their route to entry would be by doing a beginners course. At the end of which they'd have a choice to join or not. Along the way we'd have hammered safety and technique into them, demonstrated the different types of bows and the different types of archery and helped them develop a sense of humour.

Fees: Beginners course if needed. Includes Club Membership for remainder of the calendar year.
Annual Club membership.
Archery Ireland membership. This is obligatory as it provides insurance cover. It also gives access to their training facilities and the ability to enter competitions.

Club fees go towards rent, electricity, replacing butts and targets and all the other things you take for granted... loo roll, soap, tea, coffee, biscuits.

+1 on this, very much the same as our club. The members have a great sense of humour and it's good fun too.

How did you get on?

SteveBabyface

I hope all went well for you. I have recently joined a club myself after shooting as a pay as you go for about a year.

When I first walked into the club nobody spoke to me and nobody approached me. I had to ask around and was then pointed in the direction of the club secretary. He was very helpful and organised to have me assessed to make sure I was proficient enough to join. I didn't make a decision that night as they meet on a Wednesday but joined the sister club which shoots on a Monday night. But again, arrived and nobody spoke to me until I had found the relevant people to speak to and then introduced myself to others while off the line.

It isn't only me as I have just bought some ACCs from another archer who was selling on behalf of his son who didn't stick with the sport because of the lack of friendlies. I know we can get caught up with setting up our equipment and getting into the zone etc, but a little more approachability would be nice.

Decoda

Thanks for the replies,

It turned out that the evenings are a pay as you go shoot scenario so it was a little different from what I expected. I was greeted and introduced to a club member who ran me through the basics and then I was given a starter bow to suit my size and 4 arrows. I was instructed in course safety, where to stand, to listen for all clear etc and then I was basically left to my own devices and let shoot for as long as I wanted.

The shooting range was very busy, a lot of children receiving instruction from club members. After my introduction I was essentially on my own and I will admit there was a bit of trial and error about my shooting. I agree with Stevebabyface, it was a little bit unnerving, I was a definitely a stranger among friends, some of the club shooters were shooting in the range at the same time and I did sometimes get the feeling that I was a hindrance due to being slow, unsure etc. I'm hopeful that that will change as my face becomes known.

I started on targets at 5m aiming at animal shaped targets. At first I was missing the entire animal, embarrassing I know but after a while I definitely noticed an improvement. As the night wore on I started to move across the line to targets at greater distance. By the end of the night I was grouping arrows in a foot diameter at a distance of about 20m, a great improvement on where I started.

I will admit that I'm hooked and really enjoyed the experience. I've discussed the possibility of membership with the club and I'm going to continue attending the Tuesday evening meets with an outing to the 3d outdoor course on the cards in the near future.

Thanks again for the replies and I'll be back looking for advice when I come to eventually looking at buying gear.

DC