AGB Membership Fees 20/21

dvd8n

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That's pretty hard
I didn't mean to sound harsh, it's just that the club has quite an old demographic; we have quite a few members who come along to the AGM, and maybe make an effort for the occasional fun shoot, still think of themselves as archers, but you don't see them on the course very often. And they are the same people who are shielding or who are quite sensibly feeling that it's not worth risking their health to go to the course.

And yes, they are friends and we'd miss them on the course and all that, but the question was about the society, and it would be naive to not recognise that them all not renewing simultaneously wouldn't affect such a small society.

And in my defence I'm not young myself (retired)...
 

geoffretired

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One of the things that I have noticed over the years is the way attendance drops over the winter, with bad weather and no daylight after working hours. Come the following spring, some members don't show up and later, don't join again. It seems they find other things to do in what was their archery time. It would seem to me that this situation will increase the numbers who won't rejoin. Those who are not back shooting already have probably not shot since last November!
 

jerryRTD

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One of the things that I have noticed over the years is the way attendance drops over the winter, with bad weather and no daylight after working hours. Come the following spring, some members don't show up and later, don't join again. It seems they find other things to do in what was their archery time. It would seem to me that this situation will increase the numbers who won't rejoin. Those who are not back shooting already have probably not shot since last November!
That is why a good indoor range is really important Our club gains members over the winter Have a go's and beginers are still being run and the attendance is good Fun shoots going on (I bagged a Gruffalow) all because our club has a large warm school gym to shoot in.
 

dvd8n

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That is why a good indoor range is really important Our club gains members over the winter Have a go's and beginers are still being run and the attendance is good Fun shoots going on (I bagged a Gruffalow) all because our club has a large warm school gym to shoot in.
At the target club we usually get more people shooting in winter too as we also shoot in a school gym then. I'm not sure if and when we will get access to that this winter though.
 

geoffretired

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We have access to an indoor range as part of the umbrella offered by the " club" that we shoot within. It was a great way to keep members over the winter and at one time was so we'll used we had to run sessions at four times during the Fridays and Saturdays. For some reason it lost its popularity, which I always felt was a shame.
 

KidCurry

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Until 2 or 3 years ago I would shoot once a week indoors over the winter season at a venue with a capacity of 36 (ish) people. It would always be filled. Over the last 2 years I've seen numbers drop and sometimes now only 8 archers will be shooting with less than half being the norm. I'm not sure why. Even the indoor comp was almost cancelled due to low numbers.
 

geoffretired

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I wonder if it has something to do with the "intensity" that some archers feel when shooting close range with a higher expectation that seems to follow. Or is it a sign that the archers are not so hooked on shooting at every opportunity?
 

KidCurry

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I wonder if it has something to do with the "intensity" that some archers feel when shooting close range with a higher expectation that seems to follow. Or is it a sign that the archers are not so hooked on shooting at every opportunity?
I think the second. Shooting intensity indoors hasn't really changed in the last twenty years, except maybe compound with the small ten. Which begs the question, if they are not shooting what else is taking their time? Perhaps we are all working harder.
 
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dvd8n

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Personally I spend the whole indoor season wishing we were back outside. I tell myself things like "work on your form" but to be honest I'm only there for the craic.
 

Kernowlad

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I much prefer outside too but the weather doesn’t always let me shoot.

KidCurry; so many other things that I regularly find myself suffering from kit guilt; should I be cycling (decent MTB and good road bike), running, sea swimming (just got a good swimming wetsuit to add to the many surfing ones), wild camping (plenty of good kit), campering. Then there’s the Coastguard commitment and others.
Surfing always comes first as it’s rare to get good waves but I feel I can justify all that kit.

So if the weather is good, we’ll ping some arrows. If there’s a tournament, we’ll try and attend, but club nights and anything else are way down the list.

We’re lucky to be able to enjoy so many things but they all require time and kit to pursue!
 

geoffretired

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Shooting intensity indoors hasn't really changed in the last twenty years,
Ahh a misunderstanding of sorts there. I don't really think it is the intensity that has changed, it is the archers' determination to deal with it.
 

Kernowlad

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A few arrows with my boy in the sunshine and all is good. Looking forward to some club shooting (I actually enjoy their indoor 3D range) but happy with this for now.
AGB is but a distant memory; some good, some bad.
Just been gifted over half an acre of field (with stream, some woodland) so itching to get the targets over there for some longer range fun.
 

Kerf

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I’ll renew this year partly to keep a voice in AGB for when (if) this Covid-19 malarkey is finally over. By then there will be a clearer picture of how many members and clubs have fallen by the wayside - and as a number of you here say, I suspect there will be far more than AGB optimistically thinks. How AGB reacts to that will be crucial. Hiking up fees to help recoup a reduction in income would be a grave mistake in my view.
I believe AGB needs to take a long hard look at itself to decide (for example) whether it primarily serves the grassroots membership or if it primarily exists to promote elite sport. Currently is seems to be trying to serve both and is doing neither particularly well.
 

geoffretired

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Jerry I agree with that.
I would add that clubs are where non archers go in order to find out what it is like to shoot with a bow and arrows.
That is where they become archers and enjoy archery or leave soon afterwards.
I see grassroots archery as places where people go to enjoy some of their free time. Clubs are worth supporting for what they do at their grounds.
It sometimes seems that clubs are viewed as a source of future international medal winners. I think medal winners should be seen as a by product; nothing more than that.
 

Ian

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I don`t know the figures but have we really had a good return in terms of medals versus capital investment in trying to secure them?
Maybe that money could be better spent elsewhere.
 

KidCurry

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The performance side is doing well after all we have qualified 2 full teams for the Olympics.
I think what most people would want to know, including myself, is how much money is spent on each archer qualifying for the Olympics compared to each club archer? Problem is the waters are muddied by UK Sport funding and how much is spent trying to secure UK Sport funding, so I guess we will never know.
I was invited to the Masters this year. Years since I bothered being interested. The invitation came with a whopping entrance fee. So you have to be good and rich to shoot at this level. It was filed in the appropriate place.
 
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