ARCH - Archery Question

[Mauer, Eric]

Gilli writes:

>>>>I have no agenda other than trying to make Ansteorra #1 in archery.
<<<<<

The question at hand, though, is what does "#1 in archery" mean?

If you're goal is to have a handful of dedicated archers shooting for IKAC
scores, without being recognized by the rest of the kingdom, and not
distracted by any new people, then you're on the right track. You simply
continue to have a tiny community of people dedicated only to archery.

If, however, you want archery to be a vital and active part of the community
at large,
which is what generates the recognition you seem to crave for the art, then
two major
factors need to be addressed.

The first is time commitment. If there's a way to complete a shoot in a few
hours, rather then an entire day, many more people (myself among them) are
likely to take the time out from our other activities to participate. Is it
that difficult (for example)
to break your IKAC shoot into two Royal Rounds, one in the morning and one
in the afternoon, and make sure that that fact is listed on the schedule for
the event and cried to the fighting fields?

The second is accessibility. That means encouraging newbies and providing
loaner gear, true, but it also means not treating "part time" archers and
combat archers like second
class citizens.

>>>>If you want to make that trip, fine and welcome.  If not, stay home and
I
have no hard feelings.<<<<

This is a prime example of what I'm talking about.
I read this sentence as saying "Play the way I do, live only for archery, or
I don't want you around." Is that what you mean?

>>>>>For over 20 years hundreds archers around the Known World have used
these
competition to compete with their far off brethren.  So why can't you?<<<<

Because I don't care about proving that I'm the best archer in the known
world (I'm not), or proving that Ansteorra has the best archers in the known
world (it doesn't).
I'm interested in archery as a test of my personal skill and concentration,
as a recreation of what my persona did, as fun and relaxation, as an
effective tool in my arsenal of combat skills.

What you're saying is that none of these factors are important-that all that
matters is
an interkingdom ranking. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about that. I'd
rather see 20 people on the firing line having a good time then the 3 best
archers in the known world shooting for score there.

Alaric
called Tuhtahl

Eric Mauer
Customer Care and Government Team Lead
Austin Customer Operations
AT&T Wireless Services
Office: 512-436-7354   Fax: 512-436-7708
eric.mauer at attws.com

"Cast off limiting thoughts and return to true emptiness. Stand in the
midst of the Great Void. This is the secret of the Way of the
Warrior."-Morihei Ueshiba



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