Most people want to know at the start what the steps are and what costs are involved. Archery is not expensive when compared with most sports but there is some cost. Assuming you are not an archer, lets take it in easy stages
First, you don't have to join straight away before you know if you are going to like it. You join a beginners course. In six sessions you learn basic shooting skills to give you some good habits and to make sure that you don't hurt yourself or anyone else.
No membership fee
No target fee
No insurance fee
No special clothes
No equipment to buy.
Cost of Stage 1
Basic Archery Skills Course (full course of 6 sessions).
Seniors (18 years and above): £50.00
Juniors: £25.00
The Basic Archery Skills Course lasts six sessions, normally one each week. During that time you shoot at the Club under the Club Insurance. The insurance lasts only for the six sessions, after that you will only be insured if you join the club.
You have finished your course and received a Certificate of Proficiency. You can now find another sport to try, or apply to join the Club.
If you do, you pay : Club Membership Fee. You still don't have to buy clothes or equipment.
The club automatically pays junior membership of the Grand National Archery Society, (GNAS), The East Midland Archery Society, (EMAS) and The Leicestershire and Rutland County Archery Association, (L&RCAA). The Grand National Archery Society are, effectively, our insurers as well as being the Olympic and governing body of archery in the UK. The fee covers insurance at all GNAS clubs and competitions in the United Kingdom and also entitles members to the help, support and guidance of GNAS qualified Club, County and Regional Coaching.
GNAS membership is renewable every year before the first of October but, if joining on or after 1st April in one year, the fee covers to October in the following year.
Annual Club Membership Fee (Payable on joining).
Seniors: £25.00
Retired / Juniors: £12.50
Annual Club Membership goes towards paying club costs such as rents, equipment, insurance and day-to-day running of the club
Cost of Stage 2
Annual Club Membership: £25.00 (seniors)
£12.50 (retired/juniors)
Now that you are a member of the club you pay a 'Target Fee' each time you shoot. Later, if you wish, (Adults), you can join GNAS, get free coaching from Nationally Qualified Coaches and take part in Inter-club, County, Regional and even National competitions and tournaments. If you wish, you can get a handicap and, take part in competitions, first at the club and later at other clubs and tournaments.
Cost of Stage 3
Target fees per session
Seniors: £2.00 per session
Juniors: £1.00 per session
Guests (GNAS members): £3.00
Target fees go towards rents, faces, bosses, stands etc.
Let's assume that you are now 'hooked' on archery. Where do you go from here?
We suggest that you don't buy bows or arrows for at least three months because:-
You might get fed up with archery and lose interest.
You will get stronger and increase the strength and size of equipment you need.
There are several types of archery. You might try another type later on and find you prefer something which uses different equipment.
We do encourage you to buy;
There are also optional items which some archers use, for example;
As a guide, a Beginners Bow with a wooden riser, can be bought new for about £75. A complete Starter Kit, (Bow, Eight Arrows, Sight, String, Stringer, Bracer, Tab and Quiver) will normally cost about £120 new
There is usually plenty of used archery equipment around. Talk to the coaches, Instructors and experienced members. They will give you advice and even visit the archery shops with you.
Don't forget that, when you have outgrown your beginners bow, you can sell it on to someone else in the club or trade it in for the next object of your desire.
You don't always get top value by paying top prices!
Training will take six lessons. Each lesson will last about two hours.
Because of work, family commitments, sickness, etc. it might be that you can't make six sessions in a row. - If you can't, please let your instructor know, either the previous week or by telephone during the week. - If you can make six weeks in a row, so much the better. Everyone starts and finishes together, you are all in the same boat and it makes organisation so much easier for your instructors.
In these lessons you will be taught to shoot safely.
We will not turn you into an expert archer in six weeks. - In the Archery Basic Skills Course, we will teach you to shoot safely and to master the basic shooting techniques. - Archery is potentially very dangerous. Despite this, there are very few archery shooting accidents. - This is due in no small part to the emphasis we put on Safety. Safety has to be taught as a good habit from the very start.
You will be taught about equipment, technique, etiquette and different kinds of archery. - We teach you what the equipment is called, - how it goes together, - how it comes apart - how to use it. We teach you warm up exercises so that you do not 'pull something', we tell you what you can and can't do and what is considered polite so that you will feel comfortable.
If you are nervous, - you won't be the first
Everyone feels a little nervous at the start. - They are trying something new so it is natural not to feel too confident. - We have never had anyone who didn't feel at home very quickly or who found it boring.
What to wear.
Please wear clothing which allows you to move easily and comfortably but no loose baggy sleeves or fronts which will catch the bow string. Wear comfortable foot wear (not open toed sandals), remove necklaces, pendants, dangly earrings; no rings on the right hand (right-handed people) or left hand (left-handed people).
Important: Instructors are only human! Yes it's true! - If at any time you hear something that you do not understand or you think is unclear, - Please Ask. If it is not clear to you, it is probably not clear to others. If you think you have not been told something, - Please Ask. The instructor might have forgotten. If you are unsure what to do about any aspect of archery at any time during your training (and afterwards), - Please Ask. It is far better to ask a question than to risk hurting yourself or someone else.
To give you the 'flavour' of what to expect, the list below is typical of the six lessons of the Training Course. It will also give you a memory jogger for later on when you cannot remember what that gadget was called. People are all different and your instructor has to make allowances so do not be surprised if the items are not done strictly in the order shown below:-
Training Schedule
First week: Talking about safety, what the equipment is for, what is it called, what it does, how it goes together, and comes apart, safety rules, safety signals, safety equipment, arrow length, controlling eye, tab and bracer, warm up exercises, how to aim, how to draw, how to shoot, collecting and carrying, shooting practice, questions, sight setting, more practice, more questions, what we will doing next week.
Second week: Revise safety rules, field captain, shooting line, whistle signals, FAST, arrow length, warm ups, the take down bow, setting up, taking down, shooting practice, sight setting, technique, standing position, head position, reference point, bow hand position, bow arm position, more practice, a look at the glossary, any questions, what we will be doing next week.
Third week: Revise safety, revise setting up/taking down, revise glossary, revise setting sights, warm ups, shooting practice, individual improvement, introduction to flights, ends and rounds, scoring indoors/outdoors, etiquette, clock correction, more shooting practice, talk about tackle, any questions, issue membership application forms what we will doing next week.
Fourth week: Revise safety, revise posture and head position, revise flights, ends, rounds, practice shooting, say two ends, any questions, issue score sheets, revise scoring, score all arrows shot for rest of evening, student score each over as thought at competition, what we will be doing next week.
Fifth week: Revise safety, revise posture, revise scoring, give rules for two dozen beginner round, issue score cards, shoot the round under competition rules, any questions, what we will doing next week.
Sixth week: Revise safety, any questions, reversed score shoot, chequers, darts etc., individual coaching while final night in progress but very informal. Presentation of certificates of proficiency, collect membership applications, team up with buddies.
For more information on beginners courses, please contact Sandra Elliman on email us
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