[Ansteorra-archery] Archery/Equestrian field setup

Tue Sep 30 10:17:15 PDT 2003

I was at the archery tourney but not marshalling this last weekend.  To clarify:  the equestrians were setup behind and to the right of the firing line and out of the safety zone although they did come close to the marked 45 degree zone on the right during some of their competition and the archers did set up caution tape around some of their area where they were doing live steel (in order to insure that noone approaching the archery line wandered into the equestrian field).  About the only thing that might have been better done would have been the marking of the longrange archery backfield  with poles or stakes to alert anyone from going downfield and around the marked side archery area.

At no time did the equestrians routinely have to cross through the archery safe zones.   In fact the field initially moved further away from the main activities in order to give marshalls a clear field of view of the back zone and greater depth for the back zone.  In each of the 3 or 4 occurrences when a hold was called the riders were in the long distance back zone perhaps 150-200 yds from the firing line.   The marshalls did an excellent job of calling holds in each case that an equestrian came over into the backfield of the archery zone although the risk of injury was relatively small.    

Of course I also note that one does not expect to be hurt when having lunch under a tree on a clear day, yet this did happen to one of the competing archers during a break in competition- when a limb fell on him.  It therefore behooves us to never consider a risk too small to occurr and I commend the archery marshalls for a job well done.

Jacque the Spink

-----Original Message-----
From: Eadric Anstapa <eadric at scabrewer.com>
Sent: Sep 30, 2003 10:49 AM
To: Archery within the Kingdom of Ansteorra <ansteorra-archery at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra-archery] Archery/Equestrian field setup

I wasn't there  so I cant comment of the situation at Elfsea Defender.

I can comment on what I like to see.

First, the rules are intentionally vague to allow the marshals to use common
sense and experience.  The rules should be referenced at
http://www.sca.org/officers/marshal/combat/archery/target_archery_rules_plus_supplement.pdf

OK,  I can't at this point talk about ALL types of shoots but in general for
most standard target archery tournaments here is what we should strive for.

1.  The perimeter of the range and overshoot safety arrow should be clearly
marked.

2   The safety zone behind the farthest target should extend at least 40
yards back, or for 1/2 the distance from the line to the farthest target,
whichever is greater.  In Ansteorra we seldom shoot anything out to 80 yards
or beyond (we seldom shoot beyond 40) so in practice our safety zones should
be about 40 yards.

3. The safety zones should extend outward from the firing lines at an angle
of 30- to 45-degrees to a distance even with the farthest target and then
straight out to the required distance.

The above conforms to both SCA in general mundane archery guidelines.  The
wisdom and experience of the marshals always comes into play and if
warranted the perimeter area might be increased and on some occasions it
might be decreased.  For what it is worth these same general guidelines
should be used for equestrian archery while.  The overshoot area for
equestrian archery can likely be reduced a bit in some instances because the
bows are limited to 35# and are required to use blunts.

Now, I do have some slight concern with your message.

The range probably should not have been setup where riders would be
routinely riding/crossing behind the range area.  I understand that often
space is limited but we should try to avoid that if at all possible.

Likewise the equestrians should use some common sense and courtesy and not
have ridden behind the archery range while it was live if there was any
other way around.  Even if they ride by at what they consider a safe
distance it can still be distracting to the archers who are competing in a
coveted tournament and it causes extra frustration and work on the marshals
who are having to now constantly keep track of where the equestrians are.

If the marshals were calling a hold when there were equestrians in the
backfield then that is good and proper that they kept safety in mind and
worked to accommodate the equestrians.  If it was routine to have to call a
hold during the tournament because there were horses in the backfield then
that was likely bad.

Regards,

H.L. Eadric Anstapa
Kingdom Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
eadric at scabrewer.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sluggy!" <slugmusk at linuxlegend.com>
To: <ansteorra-archery at ansteorra.org>;
<Ansteorra-Equestrian at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 1:03 AM
Subject: [Ansteorra-archery] Archery/Equestrian field setup

> Hello, all!
>
> I have what is mostly an archery field setup question, but it affects
> equestrian participants as well.
>
> In the rules as posted in
> http://www.sca.org/officers/marshal/combat/armored/marshal_handbook.pdf,
> specifically about the safety zone, it says, "There shall be a safety
> zone behind and to the sides of the shooting line and targets. It shall
> be of reasonable size to prevent injury to bystanders." It goes on to
> suggest occasions when the distance can be shortened, but it avoids
> (purposely, I suspect) any mention of a specific distance.
>
> Understandably, different bows, arrows and of course, archers, all have
> different combinations of effective and maximum ranges, but what would
> be considered a reasonable distance, particularly for the way the
> archery field is usually set up at the Canton First Monday Trade Days
> site? I ask because I was one of the horseback riders that were
> occasionally behind the targets. When we were riding down there, we were
> well beyond what *I* would consider to be a reasonably safe distance.
> I'm not very keen on endangering myself; I'm certainly not going to
> endanger my lady or our horses. I think we were not the only offenders,
> but I understand that the list was held until the riders crossed the road.
>
> As an archer and a horseman, I want us all to get along. Equestrian and
> archery both require a lot of space and have special safety
> considerations, but are sometimes viewed as a fringe activities by those
> who do neither. I want to protect them both. Furthermore, there is
> interest in the equestrian community in mounted archery, so our paths
> must surely cross sometime. :)
>
> I have cross posted this to both the Ansteorra Archery and the Ansteorra
> Equestrian lists...
>
> Sluggy!
>

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