whats the point

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yewbow

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Hi there im looking for a club to shoot with i have been a member for the BLBS for three years now but all the clubs i contact say you need to be with the GNAS i only shoot longbows so if no club lets you shoot whats the point of the BLBS is there somthing im missing ? i would stop shooting befor i would pick up one of modern bows that do all the work for you so why are longbong bow archers made to be with the GNAS a compound archer is never told you must be with the BLBS
Sorry for the rant all but sometimes you need to get things of your chest

:mind-blow
 

darthTer

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Hi there im looking for a club to shoot with i have been a member for the BLBS for three years now but all the clubs i contact say you need to be with the GNAS i only shoot longbows so if no club lets you shoot whats the point of the BLBS is there somthing im missing ? i would stop shooting befor i would pick up one of modern bows that do all the work for you so why are longbong bow archers made to be with the GNAS a compound archer is never told you must be with the BLBS
Sorry for the rant all but sometimes you need to get things of your chest

:mind-blow
You will find that its not something against longbows...

The majority of clubs are affiliated to GNAS...which provides public liability insurance cover for clubs and there members. If you are not GNAS affiliated, you are not covered by the insurance (except under certain circumstances). However, there are a number of clubs which provide their own insurance, so GNAS membership not required.

Hope that helps....
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
i would stop shooting befor i would pick up one of modern bows that do all the work for you so why are longbong bow archers made to be with the GNAS a compound archer is never told you must be with the BLBS
Sorry for the rant all but sometimes you need to get things of your chest

:mind-blow
As Darthers says all down to club affiliations and insurance, BLBS are not the governing body of the sport in the UK more about one specific aspect of the the sport ensuring the longevity of the ELB. A lot of events are roving marks and clout. There are no insurance reciprical agreements between GNAS & FITA and BLBS in much the same way as NFAS, EFA etc. It's a shame but thats politics. Then again nobody is stopped from shooting what they like.

But why do I hear your first point so often from Longbow archers that don't shoot anything else.

A good recurve/compound archer can shoot anything well Longbow, Compound/recurve, Traditional it's all archery the techniques are the same and the size of groups are all relative to the bow you shoot and to win takes similar amounts of skill thats why we all don't compete against each other.

But we are all archers.
 
C

Compound10

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we run a specific BLBs two way western every April. East Sussex is a bit far from Telford but there you go.


Entry form in the dropbox for anyone who wants one.

As for bows that do everything for you - you should have been stood next to me last night when to get a max score I was having to hit a centre of the target about the size of a ten pence piece

ANything else is a miss.
 

yewbow

New member
I do take back what i sed about the bows doing all the work you know what its like when you get a bee in your bonit. I gess i just wish there was one thing to be a member of. it just seems that you have to get a bank lone just to shoot your bow all bows not just longbow. with club fees then the GNAS/BLBS it sometimes feel that we are getting robbed (A BIG SORRY TO ALL ARCHERS ABOUT THE BOW THING ) :footinmou
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
Perhaps the answer is to decide what sort of shooting you wish to do and is is accessable to you, then join the appropriate club and association.

The bow thing was a general comment, I have to smile when people say they prefer the simplicity of a longbow, I know longbow archers that spend more time and money making arrows and fiddling than I do as a recurve archer :)
 

bimble

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You are allowed to shoot longbow as part of GNAS (though don't expect to be particularly catered for). We have several longbow only archers in my home club.

i only shoot longbows so if no club lets you shoot whats the point of the BLBS is there somthing im missing ? i would stop shooting befor i would pick up one of modern bows
 

yewbow

New member
Your right about time and money on arrows gilty as charged :yes:
as for shooting i would like do more roving then target
 

nelly

New member
Unfortunately as you've found, there aren't too many BL-BS clubs. Joining BL-BS is more like joining the MG owners club great for odd gatherings and meeting similar minded people. GNAS fees are more like paying your Road Tax which allows you to drive any vehicle on any road in the UK.

There is a great variety of different bows out there and we all have to put up with each over if we want to be able to find a local club. I would look for local GNAS clubs that have a good number of Longbow members as a compromise. The odd Longbow shooting Committee member wouldn't hurt either

Good luck
 

nelly

New member
Unfortunately as you've found, there aren't too many BL-BS clubs. Joining BL-BS is more like joining the MG owners club great for odd gatherings and meeting similar minded people. GNAS fees are more like paying your Road Tax which allows you to drive any vehicle on any road in the UK.

There is a great variety of different bows out there and we all have to put up with each over if we want to be able to find a local club. I would look for local GNAS clubs that have a good number of Longbow members as a compromise. The odd Longbow shooting Committee member wouldn't hurt either

Good luck
 

AntiqueArcher

New member
Unfortunately as you've found, there aren't too many BL-BS clubs. Joining BL-BS is more like joining the MG owners club great for odd gatherings and meeting similar minded people. GNAS fees are more like paying your Road Tax which allows you to drive any vehicle on any road in the UK.

There is a great variety of different bows out there and we all have to put up with each over if we want to be able to find a local club. I would look for local GNAS clubs that have a good number of Longbow members as a compromise. The odd Longbow shooting Committee member wouldn't hurt either

Good luck
Nelly,

I love the analogy! Very accurate. I would seriously support the suggestion of joining a GNAs affiliated club.

I don't agree with Bimble that you won't be well catered for. In my experience I have be well looked after at tourneys by GNAS (maybe with the exception of the supply of trophies, which has turned out a blessing in disguise). The shoots are better run/organised, the venues are (generally) flatter, and as there are far more GNAS tournaments of a wider variety, there are many more close to you.

Telford has a good club, I think that's where you are based, yes? If a GNAS member you can shoot the Telford Double FITA in September-a real top notch shoot run very well. Give it a go.

AA
 

steve58

New member
You are allowed to shoot longbow as part of GNAS (though don't expect to be particularly catered for). We have several longbow only archers in my home club.
Exactly. You probably wouldn't even be able to get into the national indoor championship because it's begrudgingly operated as a tiny inconvenient add on to the compound day. Clearly the BLBS indoors is the true national championship. Much more difficult round too.
 

Yew Selfbow

Active member
Exactly. You probably wouldn't even be able to get into the national indoor championship because it's begrudgingly operated as a tiny inconvenient add on to the compound day. Clearly the BLBS indoors is the true national championship. Much more difficult round too.
Well said Steve
 

AntiqueArcher

New member
Exactly. You probably wouldn't even be able to get into the national indoor championship because it's begrudgingly operated as a tiny inconvenient add on to the compound day. Clearly the BLBS indoors is the true national championship. Much more difficult round too.
Steve,

You're turning into one of those grumpy old men. Congratulations!!!!

In fairness you did have a place at the National Indoor Championships-but not on your prefered session. It's all to easy to slag off GNAS and organisers when they will not defend themselves here. I for one will be very disappointed that we shall not get to shoot together this year since you withdrew your entry. All indoor competitions are limited for space and therefore can only offer limited numbers, as you know. Last year I had to shoot the morning and then hang around for the H2H, this meant leaving home around 04.30am and not returning 'til way after 10pm. Unfortunately I couldn't justify the drive to the BL-BS indoor champs this winter as it was so far up country for me personally.

Having checked the GNAS website, it turns out that the number of LBs shooting at the Nat. Indoor Champs varied from just 2 in 2001 to 24 in 2002. In subsequent years there have never been the same number shooting. From this I deduce that numbers have never been limited for Longbows, or if they have this limit has never been reached. Are you being a little unfair when describing our part in the "National Compound, Longbow and Recurve..." Champs as a tiny, begrudging, add-on to the compound day? We have discussed in detail the problems, and broadly agree with each other, but this post was an unfair cheap shot.

By the way-who won the BL-BS national indoor champs? :applause::beer::cake: This wouldn't have anything to do with your opinion that it's the only true Championships would it?

As for difficulty, I reckon the FITA18 H2H is pretty tough, as (if I recall our conversations) do you. Worcester and FITA18 faces are the same size, shot pretty much from the same distance. True you shoot more arrows over the rounds combined but you also get to shoot 5 at once making 12 ends per round, FITA18 effectively breaks that up into 20 ends of 3 arrows, which personally I think makes it harder to keep a rhythm.
 

steve58

New member
Having checked the GNAS website, it turns out that the number of LBs shooting at the Nat. Indoor Champs varied from just 2 in 2001 to 24 in 2002. In subsequent years there have never been the same number shooting. From this I deduce that numbers have never been limited for Longbows, or if they have this limit has never been reached. Are you being a little unfair when describing our part in the "National Compound, Longbow and Recurve..." Champs as a tiny, begrudging, add-on to the compound day? We have discussed in detail the problems, and broadly agree with each other, but this post was an unfair cheap shot.

By the way-who won the BL-BS national indoor champs? :applause::beer::cake: This wouldn't have anything to do with your opinion that it's the only true Championships would it?

As for difficulty, I reckon the FITA18 H2H is pretty tough, as (if I recall our conversations) do you. Worcester and FITA18 faces are the same size, shot pretty much from the same distance. True you shoot more arrows over the rounds combined but you also get to shoot 5 at once making 12 ends per round, FITA18 effectively breaks that up into 20 ends of 3 arrows, which personally I think makes it harder to keep a rhythm.
I hope you have spotted that my tongue was somewhat in my cheek!

Average gents longbow entry for the national indoors 2001 to 2009 was 9 archers, it wouldn't kill them to reserve three bosses per session for the longbow section, only releasing unclaimed places after the closing date; doing this would send the message that the national GB was doing something to try to encourage indoor longbow archers.

Apart from not getting my preferred session I was not happy with other things this year; the failure to clarify format of the comp on the entry form, the possibility that the match round format would effectively preclude the use of a sighting aid allowed under the rules.

My reason for arguing ( :stirthepo) that the BLBS Double Worcester round is more of a challenge is that BLBS shoot two way even indoors and that on the Worcester round one has to switch from the top face to the bottom half way through.

Based on the times you have given above I reckon that you would have been no worse off coming up the M1 to Sheffield? More fuel I suppose?

Cheers!
 

AntiqueArcher

New member
Exactly. You probably wouldn't even be able to get into the national indoor championship because it's begrudgingly operated as a tiny inconvenient add on to the compound day. Clearly the BLBS indoors is the true national championship. Much more difficult round too.
Steve,

The above doesn't sound very tongue in cheek to me! What's more important, it wouldn't to time giving tournament organisers or GNAS officials.

As to your maths... average LBs at The National Indoor is actually 14.1r, unless I'm mistaken. Sorry mate but that is already more than 3 bosses. Anyway, why should we demand or deserve special treatment over and above any other bow style? Point remains, you did have a place and chose not to accept it. Others will no doubt be grateful of the opportunity you've given them.

As for BL-BS champs, you know I would have liked to shoot it. Apart from anything I enjoy your company and competition. It takes somewhat longer to drive to Sheffield than it does Lillishall. Coate to Sheffield 196.57m, 3hrs 58mins, Coate to Lillishall 139.69m, 3hrs 04mins. Each way that makes enough difference for me.

After the fiasco they called the BL-BS National Championships (September), I wouldn't travel 1 hour to their competitions unless I could be sure the ground was set out....square?, equidistant for all archers?, marked out in advance so as to accomodate an archer using points of aim?!!! It was shambolic I'm afraid, a joke. Running to a shooting line which was only just being setting out, to try and pace out for 2 markers, not having the opportunity to check they were correct, having to run back to the shooting line as archers were preparing to draw... it was a joke. Not once but for both 80 AND 60yds. I had expected more from the BL-BS and was embarresed for the organisation. Unless I could be sure of a difference next year, I wouldn't waste my time. If people just want to go around slapping their thigh, good luck to 'em. If they want to participate in an archery competition which is supposed to give equal opportunity to all those shooting within the written rules of their sport, join the GNAS! Hopefully I'm wrong and they will not be so amateur next time.

Each to their own I suppose!

AA
 
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