Place arm brace on bow arm – opposite of dominant eye
Bows
Stringing (if necessary), correct hold
Finger position
Correct finger position on bow – finger tips middle three fingers
Arrows
Index flight/feather, nocks. Measure arrows to archers
Demonstration
Position on line
Stand with bow arm towards target on foot either side of shooting line. Don’t twist to face target
Bow
Bow held beside body, like carrying a suitcase
Loading arrow
Arrow placed over bow, on outer side of limb, nock fitted to string index feather away from bow
Draw
Three fingers on string, draw back to reference point on face. Shoulders relaxed, elbow high.
Sighting
Arrow will tend to fly high from this bowing position so aim lower on the target. Sight along string
Release
Fingers should open and hand should continue back away from string finishing behind ear.
Group Shooting
Stance
Bring half the group to the shooting line and get them standing correctly.
Arrows
Check they have the correct arrows
Begin shooting
One whistle blast and they can start shooting independently three arrows. Deal with those that can’t load the arrows to start with, then look at bowing technique
Collection
When they finish their arrows they should place their bow on the ground, when all have finished blow two blasts and WALK forward to collect arrows.
Swap groups
Groups swap over – change bows/braces in necessary – remind them to go to correct arrows.
Collection
Arrows in target
Place hand on target at base of arrow. Other hand on arrow close to the target and pull out
Arrows in ground
Don’t lift arrows in grass as they can break, pull them out in the direction they entered.
Own arrows
Only collect your arrows, otherwise someone can end up looking for arrows that have already been collected
Carrying Arrows
Group tips together and hold in hand – walk like sergeant major
Lost arrows
Always find missing arrows – they present a danger if left in the ground. If is holding up a session, make a note to search later
Scoring
UK standard scoring method: Gold=9, Red=7, Blue=5, Black=3, White=1;
Common Faults
Loading arrow
The bow arm should stay holding the bow beside the body – watch for changing hands
Loading arrow
Arrow twisted so index flight in wrong position
Loading arrow
Arrow placed on wrong side of bow
Arrow falls off
Twisting string by gripping string with fist or by tensing fingers.
Arrow falls off
Thumb placed on nock
Arrow falls off
Holding arrow not string
Arrow falls off
Nock too loose on string – poor arrows – lightly nip top of arrow with first two finger tips
Short draw length
Poor strength (young children) choose smaller bow
Short draw length
Fear of bow – encourage
Short draw length
Body facing target or twisted towards target
Short draw length
Shoulders closed – open shoulders and raise elbow
Short draw length
Floating hand – hand to reference point on face – should be able to ‘kiss’ string
Missing target
Falls short: because of short draw length or forward release – hand should finish behind ear when arrow released
Missing target
Over the top: deliberately trying to shoot too far. Hand too low – bring to reference point
Missing target
Releases too quickly and doesn’t sight at all
Missing target
Moves too quickly once released
Missing target
Over compensating after each shot – aim for consistency of grouping before trying to adjusting aim too much
Catching arm
Can be painful – holding bow too tight, tension in shoulders, bowing elbow is forward. Rotate hand on grip
Archery Tag
Procedure
See operating procedure for set up and games
Additional safety
Must wear goggles, only use foam-tipped arrows
Loading arrow
Practice loading arrows without looking at what you are doing.