AGB released the latest yearbook a few days ago:
...
Thanks dvd8n. I very nearly posted a link to this a couple of days ago since there is a lot of good discussion on this thread, but also a degree of speculation too. It's useful to knowing in a bit more detail where money goes to (and comes from) and what AGB does behind the scenes.
I'm not saying here that membership does or does not represent value for money, nor whether it should go up or down, simply that it is good to see some informed argument in addition to anecdotal evidence which is valuable in its own way.
For example, the 'elite programme' appears to be covered almost entirely by a specific grant. However, the waters are a little muddy since it also says that 76p of senior membership goes towards elite sport... And 'elite' seems to imply
recurve target(?) as
compound training costs are listed as where £3.29 of my membership fee goes.
Sport England and UK Sport grants are dependant upon elite performances - I'm sure many remember that funding for archery was completely cut after 2016, with a reprieve granted only after Naomi and Patrick's world bronze in 2018. Even if this only funds the elite parts of the sport, it is money AGB save to spend elsewhere or reduce fees. I have to agree with an earlier statement in this thread, however, that the fantastic performances from the UK's field and 3D archers is often severely under-recognised.
Archery is an expensive sport, as has already been mentioned. Though some do it for relaxation and a weekend pastime with friends, there are others that aspire to be the nation's or world's best. To achieve this the coaching pathways and junior/training squads are vital. To stop funding these would risk making the sporting side (and perhaps others) of archery even more exclusive than it already is, and success only available for those who can afford coaching, travel, and competition. The work that has been done in recent years to build the performance pathway to take juniors from grassroots has been great in this regard, even if it could still go further...
Similar remarks can be made about the mentor scheme which I know has been successful in our area with growing grassroots archery in schools. As Kernowlad remarks, even though he found his home in NFAS field the AGB supported beginners' courses give a good grounding in how to shoot, and often much better than those run through other organisations in my personal experience.
1. Does AGB give good value for competitive archers?
Personally I benefit from the more 'sporty' side of Archery GB, but I think it is worth saying that even here I feel they have lost touch a little with what the average competitive archer wants and seem to favour the very elite. Examples of this from my point of view are the changes to the national ranking system that penalised those shooting locally in favour of those who can travel and enter National Tour events, and the format changes to the Masters this year to put everything at one distance with an emphasis on head-to-heads. I believe a lot of this is rooted with a particular individual at AGB - has anyone seen the utterly absurd tournament guidelines that were recently published!?
As a reflection from watching this thread I would like to finish up by saying that I think it is best to try and engage with AGB, make our voices heard, and exact change rather than rage quit. I say this as a member of both an AGB affiliated club, and an NFAS one; both societies have their merits and their downsides.
This is why I regularly respond when AGB ask for feedback (and sometimes when they don't
) and encourage others on here to do so too. I am actively involved with their working groups and my local organisations, and do my best to communicate my, and other's feelings and experiences. If AGB really isn't for you that's fine, but instead of just bashing them let's discuss how things can be improved and communicate this to them - the idea of tiered membership that has been discussed is a good example. I encourage everyone here to fill in the membership survey that was recently sent out.
A small footnote - at a recent county meeting we were told from a reasonably reliable source that it is likely AGB will reduce fees for renewing members next year, as English Bowman suggested on page 1 of this thread.