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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have been sitting back and watching these
'discussions' about<BR>awards and titles with great dismay. When His Majesty
approached<BR>me about a new royal champion I was ecstatic. We, as an
archery<BR>community, were rewarded with a great recognition that would put
us<BR>on the same playing field as the rest of the Martial activities that
are<BR>practiced in Ansteorra. Here was an opportunity not only to
recognize<BR>an archer, but an opportunity to bring to the spotlight archers as
a whole.<BR>His Majesty chose an IKAC shoot as the method of choosing
Their<BR>Champion in order that we, as a Kingdom, could also submit
these<BR>scores to be used in the Inter Kingdom Archery Competition.<BR><BR>I
want very much for the community that I serve to be recognized and<BR>rewarded
for its efforts and contributions to our great Kingdom. But<BR>as has been
stated, we are what we make ourselves to be. No, we<BR>don't have an armigious
award specifically for Archery, but we do have<BR>an award that recognizes
archers that make sigificant contributions to<BR>our art. The Kings Archer that
I wear on my belt means a great deal to<BR>me. I don't look at it as something
to say, "Look at what I did". I look at<BR>it as something that someone else
looked at me and said, "I appreciate<BR>what you do."<BR><BR>I have been playing
this game now for almost five years. I became our<BR>Barional Archery Marshal
after only playing for about 8 months. I became<BR>a regional marshal after only
a year. I look at what I do as a means to<BR>further my love for one the most
'period' things that we do.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face=Arial size=2>This new championship, the
"Royal Huntsman", represents another<BR>step in the direction of increased
recognition for archery in Ansteorra.<BR>As archers, and as Ansteorrans, we must
stay on the path, keep on<BR>going down this road. Just when the Crown
says, "hey, you need more<BR>recognition", is no time to complain about lack of
recognition. I think<BR>we've earned this, and I have no doubt we'll earn
more recognition in<BR>the future. But we have to keep going down this
road. We've taken<BR>an important step; this is no time to ask to be
carried the rest of the<BR>way.<BR><BR></FONT>All I can say about this is if you
want our activity to be recognized then,<BR>teach, shoot, and be visible. One of
my greatest joys with this sport is<BR>teaching someone, who has never picked up
a bow, how to shoot or<BR>teaching our children how to shoot. (Remember they are
our future.)<BR><BR>Lord Fearghus MacKenna<BR>Kingdom Archery
Marshal<BR><BR><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>