Newsletter - National Field Archery Society

Committee Noticeboard No 2
Committee members wanted
Near Hit Report
FIELD archery is a sport run entirely by volunteers.
Without volunteers giving up their time to
run clubs, marshal open shoots and national competitions
and contribute to the running of the sport
nationally through the NFAS Committee, the sport
as we know it would not exist.
Volunteers are again sought for the NFAS
Committee. Committee members serve terms of
three years before facing re-election.
This year five Committee members will have
served their terms of office: Coach Co-ordinator,
General Secretary, Membership Secretary,
Newsletter Editor and Safety Advisor.
Candidates can propose themselves for any of
these positions and, where there is more than one
candidate for any role, then we will hold an election.
The good news is that we have candidates for
three of the five positions because the current
incumbents have said that they wish to stand for
election again. These are:
Newsletter Editor: Carol Flavell
Membership Secretary: Richard Dobson
Safety Advisor: Rob Williams
We will definitely have one vacancy because I am
not standing again as General Secretary due to
work commitments, and Pete Kendrick has resigned
as Coach Co-ordinator.
If you do want to put yourself forward for any of
these positions, please drop me a quick line or email
saying who you are, what position you are interested
in and a short summary (no more than 150
words) about why you would make a good Coach Coordinator,
General Secretary, Membership
Secretary, Newsletter Editor or Safety Advisor.
My contact details are on the first page of the
newsletter.
The details of candidates, along with their summaries,
will then be published in the newsletter so
that the voting can be carried out on any contested
positions ahead of the AGM in November. The
results will be announced at the AGM.
So if you are interested send me your details and
if you want to have a chat with any of the
Committee about what each of the roles entail,
then please speak or call any of us.
Andrew Knott
General Secretary
SOMETHING unusual has happened recently and I have
received a flurry of calls and emails regarding an incident
that took place during an open shoot.
I am very grateful for the level of communication and it
has enabled me to really get my teeth stuck in to the incident
and look at the contributing factors.
I have had contact from a range of people: the archer
who shot the arrow, some of his group, more than one
member of the group in front and some from the club who
were running the shoot.
As usual, I keep the names and places to myself – so if
you are reading this on the web board then please do the
same if you are aware of the circumstances and respect
the process.
The ‘near hit’ in this case happened when an archer (and
the rest of his group) failed to notice that the group in
front had not fully cleared the target – they had not yet
given the “all clear” signal which was required.
The arrow which was shot went over the target and slid
along the ground, ending up a few metres from the
archers who were not yet clear.
From the reports that I have received, there were several
contributing factors:
• There was a lapse of concentration from the
archer. This was also the case for the rest of
his group who also did not notice that the
group in front were not yet clear.
• The shoot had been progressing slowly and the
group with the archer who shot the arrow had
spent a good deal of time discussing the target
whilst they waited for the group in front to
shoot, score and move on. This meant that...
• ...the warning signs, which they had passed on
the way to the pegs, were not fresh in their
minds when they were waiting for their turn to
shoot.
Things to consider:
• Always be aware of the group in front and
make sure that you can see that the area behind
the target is clear before you shoot.
• If you are laying a course, consider ensuring
that any warning signs are clearly visible from
the red peg (or the first peg which might be
shot from – eg Wasp).
There was another ‘near hit’ reported within the communications,
although only indirectly reported. At one point
during the shoot an archer returned to a target to
retrieve an arrow that they had not collected before moving
off from the target. If you forget an arrow at a target
then do not return to the target until you see the following
group collecting their arrows – it is far better to
remain safe and (in the case of an arrow) collect it from
the ‘lost arrow point later. It is also possible the following
group will bring your lost property to you at the next target.
Rob Williams
Safety Advisor
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