ANST - Archers & Archery, etc.

[Rayburn, Timothy]

Greetings all,

I am a combat archer, I fought at Gulf Wars this year.  I've shot archery at
my Barony's Passage of Arms as well.  I state this up front since apparently
some people think this matters in this discussion.

First, archery will not be forwarded by shunning conversation about our
practices among the populace as a whole.  I encourage everyone to voice
their opinion and to ignore those who feel that only archer's can speak on
'archer issues'.

Second, archery as it stands, especially target archery, is forwarded by
such a small group of people that I can name the most likely people to see
at a range at any event.  That is not a community sufficient to support an
award at this time.

So, how do we make more people interested.  I offer the following
suggestions :
	* Make a major push to get B&B's and the Crown to attend shoots at
some events.  For instance, I'd wager that TRM intend to watch the
competition to choose their Royal Huntsman.
	* Have more 'show', 'pomp' and 'display' in an archery competition.
Don't just have a bunch of archer's go to the line all at once and shoot.
Have pairs of archers shoot against each other.  Employ heralds, and have
great display of heraldry.  Make the dream, most people in the SCA are just
/drawn/ to activities that embody the dream.
	* Act like a community that is a part of this kingdom.  Don't just
reward the winners at the range, get some court time, and show it off.  Take
students to teach your art.  Develop a recognizable notation of said
students.  Squires and Cadets carry no rank or precedence, but they are
highly sought after stepping stones to the achievement of the actual awards,
etc.

I'm sure that much of this has been tried, and thought of.  But new ideas
will have to continue to be brought forward to help make archery more
visible and more of a mainstay of the SCA in Ansteorra.


Timothy of Glastonbury
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.