[Ansteorra-archery] A modest proposal

[Rumil Fletcher]

A lot has been said over the years about how to promote archery, how 
to attract new people to our sport.  Many of these ideas have had to 
do with getting more recognition for archers within the kingdom. 
That is not a bad thing, but I would like to suggest an alternative.

Let's make archery more fun.

Many people, perhaps most, were attracted to the SCA because it 
reminded them of some romantic aspect of the middle ages:  knights in 
shining armour, damsels in distress, slaying the dragon, high feast 
in the great hall, pulling an oar with the Vikings, etc.  You get the 
idea.  I suspect that many of us were attracted to archery for much 
the same reasons; Robin Hood and his merry men, William Tell, etc.

So, rather than placing all the emphases on the standard tournaments, 
how about trying harder to recreate the romantic atmosphere of Robin 
Hood, or some other archery related notion, something that will 
invigorate the imagination and make it more than just about shooting 
the best score.

Such as:

A Quest:  Teams composed of a chivalric fighter, rapier fighter, 
bard, and archer go through a course designed to challenge them in 
all their skills.  Throw in riddles to solve (what is the average air 
velocity of an unladen swallow), ropes to swing across creeks (safely 
of course), and strange monsters to fight (like the dragon I once saw 
at a northern event - 4 fighters linked together in a line with 6 
swords and 2 shields between them.  Much harder to kill than  people 
expected.)  The fighters and bards will become much more acquainted 
with the archers, as they work side-by-side to achieve a common goal. 
Archers with even moderate skill will suddenly find themselves in 
great demand from teams so lacking.



or how about...

A Robin Hood Tournament:  Recreate all the major points of the 
legend, such as splitting the hangman's noose, the fight with Little 
John on the log bridge (non-archery but what-the-heck), etc.  Extra 
points to be awards for proper garb and equipment true to that 
period.  And of course, the tournament at the end.



or if you want an oriental flavor...

The Hoard of Ghengis Khan:  A combat archery event.  While riding on 
(some sort of simulated) horse, shooting at moving targets.  Events 
could recreate the Great Hunt, where they formed a huge circle 20 
miles wide and slowly closed the noose (get some fighters to play the 
animals who try to break out), the siege, where you ride past the 
walls and shoot at the defenders inside, or an open field battle, 
where a few of the combat archers are the Mongol invaders, while the 
majority are the much slower Russian infantry (with hobbled ankles so 
they can only walk slowly).



There are many more scenarios you could work up.  And of course the 
details of how these things work would need a lot of work.  But the 
idea is to bring back to archery the romanticism of the middle ages 
that sometimes gets lost amongst all the SCA stuff.

Rumil Fletcher