Newsletter - National Field Archery Society

Committee Noticeboard No 2
Primitive fibreglass
ON THE second day of the Nationals I received a
complaint about a fibreglass bow being shot by an
archer competing in the primitive class.
I was expecting the dispute to be about whether a
horsebow contained fibreglass underneath its leather
covering. Instead, I was shown a modern fibreglass
bow with ‘Samick’ in big letters down the limbs. It
didn’t look very primitive to me!
The archer shooting it had a copy of the definition
of the primitive class already printed out, ready for
any challenge he received. The primitive rules state
that “a primitive bow is a bow made using natural
materials only, although synthetic glues, finishes and
string may be used in its construction”. The archer’s
argument was that the fibreglass used to make the
limbs was an “artificial finish” and so allowed by the
rules and the wooden limb cores fulfilled the requirement
for natural material only.
After some argument and being told that he could
not shoot the bow in primitive class, he agreed to
shoot in hunting tackle. It was claimed that the rules
needed to be ‘clarified’ to remove this uncertainty. I
entirely disagree, but it does illustrate that people
can attempt to interpret rules in ways that were
never intended.
It is crystal clear to me that a ‘finish’ means something
like a varnish or a leather covering, not one of
the essential materials that gives a bow its power.
What amazed me was that the archer told me that
he had regularly been shooting similar fibreglass
bows in primitive style. This should not be happening.
And in case you are wondering, horsebows with
leather covered fibreglass limbs are not genuine
primitive bows either. There are genuine composite
horsebows which can be legitimately shot as a primitive
bow but these are normally very expensive to
buy and very time consuming to make (or so I am
told).
Andrew Knott
General Secretary
Signing Off Beginners
FOLLOWING a number of complaints, I would like to
remind Coaches/Club Officials the importance of their
actions when signing off beginners.
Before being signed off a beginner should be assessed
to ensure they fully understand the rules and are safe
and competent to attend an open shoot without putting
themselves or others at risk.
If your club does not have a qualified coach or an official
who is willing to sign off beginners at your club,
then you should seek the assistance of a coach at a
nearby club. Should there be any doubt that a beginner
does not meet all the criteria required, they should not
be signed off.
Remember, when you sign an archer off you have a
responsibility and duty of care to the archer you are
signing off and your fellow archers.
When signing off new archers please ensure that the
correct membership form is used ie 12/13 for this year,
and that the form is completed correctly.
Forms with incorrect and missing details cause extra
work for the Membership Secretary and will delay the
receipt of the full membership card for the archer.
We are also being advised of newly signed off members
attempting to book into shoots before receiving
their full membership card. Members are NOT eligible
to shoot until they can produce a full membership card
and clubs should not accept any entrants without a full
membership card. Failure to follow this procedure correctly
may render the NFAS insurance for your shoot
null and void.
Bernie Britton
Coach Training Co-ordinator
Online Membership Renewals
WE ARE intending to provide an Online Membership
Renewal facility from January 2013. This will be for
existing members only.
Further announcements will be made via the website.
Jo Cane
NFAS ‘Webby’
Team entries for the National Championships
FOR AN archer to qualify as a member of a team at the
National Championships they must be registered with
the NFAS Membership Secretary as a member of the
club they are to shoot for.
This must be no less than 90 days prior to the first
day of the National Championships taking place.
If the criteria above has not been met the team will
be disqualified from the team competition.
NFAS Committee
National Championships options
AN OPTION for future National Champs (for discussion at
the AGM) will be to give NFAS clubs the opportunity to
host the Champs event.
Any clubs who are interested will first of all have to meet
the following criteria:-
n A minimum of 75 acres of walkable and accessible woodland;
n Parking for up to 400 vehicles;
n An area of hard standing for the admin portacabins and
marquee;
n Adjacent water supply;
n Camping facilities for around 50 tents, 20 caravans and
10 mobile homes would also be preferable.
A decision has yet to be made about whether to adopt
this approach, but if any clubs are interested, please contact
Dave Fuller, the Field Officer.
Dave Fuller
NFAS Field Officer
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