[Ansteorra-archery] Something interesting

[Susan Hill]

Gentlemen,

This post is totally inappropriate for this list. If you have personal 
issues with the KAM, then they are between you and he, not the rest of us. 
Please do not air your dirty laundry for the rest of us to have to see. 
There were issues at hand, they were dealt with, and that is that. Robert, 
if you wish to discuss this with an individual, do so off the list.

As far as fewer scores being turned in, one of the reasons is a very 
favorable one. Lots of marshals are coming up with more imaginative ways to 
make practice interesting. This means that there are fewer RR scores being 
submitted, and fewer IKACS, as well, but that is not necessarily a bad 
thing. We recently had a practice where we spent a couple of enjoyable hours 
playing 'follow the leader.' Especially in the heat of summer, it was nice 
to be able to shoot in short segments rather than have to get all of the 
ends done in order to keep 'warmed up.' There was no pressure, lots of 
friendly ribbing, and a lot of fun. People could come and go as they 
pleased.

As far as alcohol on the range....no, I wouldn't allow it, either. Alcohol 
with any kind of weaponry in use is not a good idea. I don't care how good a 
shot you are, how well you can hold your beer or anything else, it increases 
the risk factor for all kinds of accidents in any situation. When you are 
messing with sharp pointy things, you don't need increased risk factors. I 
don't know of any gun ranges where alcohol is allowed either, shooting or 
not.

Please keep your personal beefs personal. They do nothing to improve the 
archery community as a whole. There are two sides to every argument and 
Master Pug is gentleman enough to not air this kind of thing on a public 
forum. He had his reasons for his decisions and they may or may not be 
exactly as Robert has stated them, being the 'injured' party.

There are plenty of archers and marshals out there who are great examples 
for others to follow. New people need to be encouraged, but they also need 
to take some steps forward on their own. Our barony did not have an archery 
program until a 'newbie' took the cause for his own and created one. We do 
need more marshals out there, and because there aren't so many authorizing 
marshals because of the restructuring, that has made getting them more 
difficult. If you are interested in learing how to marshal, contact your 
branch marshal and your regional marshal. Work with them to set up a 
schedule for training. It really doesn't take much work. I learned to run a 
range and set one up with my branch marshal and then worked at a couple of 
events as a marshal in training where I set up ranges, dealt with safety 
issues, inspected equipment, and proved to the regional/authorizing marshal 
that I knew what I was doing. Just going to practices consistantly and 
watching and asking questions and helping out was the primary training. 
Virtually anyone can do it and you don't have to be a great, or even a good 
shot to do it. If you are on the range a couple times a month, at least, at 
practice, you are on your way to becoming a marshal. It's up to you to take 
the next step.

In service to Archery, Ansteorra, and the Dream

Lady Lyneya de Grey
KAA
Arcarius to Jaque the Spink, Order of the Arc d' Or