Arrowmith is spot on; I think it has more to do with the greater number of shoots, clubs, formats and logistics.
Back in the day we didn't have 4-5 shoots with in driving distance to choose from; now we do.
I am lucky in that I am close to two great clubs, HCB and Austin Archery, which allows me to shoot twice a month with minimal drive times. So there's no real reason for me to make a longer drive; I get my fix pretty often!
I think the other thing is how the shoot is ran. I meet people all the time that have no idea where the first stake/target is located, what class they need to be shooting in or how the club is scoring the targets (IBO, ASA, etc.).
During our first 4H shoot two weeks ago I made it a point to tell every shooter the layout of the range and make sure they understood the classes, their stake and the scoring we were using. This made for a great 3D shoot based on the feedback we received.
This may not matter to the old pros, but most of the shooters aren't old pros, they are just regular people who may hit 2-3 shoots a year and aren't that familiar with all the ins and outs of 3D archery.
If it is too confusing for the average archer they will not be back. Most of these shooters don't care about ASA, IBO, Reinhart, Mackenzie or politics; they just want to shoot their bows somewhere besides their back yards and have a good time.
Clubs need to realize there are two groups and cater to both of them and not just those on the circuit.
Speaking as someone who has started, ran and helped operate a club; this is my layman's view. I also think that the clubs that do this well, like HCB, have a large repeat business.
Just my observations.
Back in the day we didn't have 4-5 shoots with in driving distance to choose from; now we do.
I am lucky in that I am close to two great clubs, HCB and Austin Archery, which allows me to shoot twice a month with minimal drive times. So there's no real reason for me to make a longer drive; I get my fix pretty often!
I think the other thing is how the shoot is ran. I meet people all the time that have no idea where the first stake/target is located, what class they need to be shooting in or how the club is scoring the targets (IBO, ASA, etc.).
During our first 4H shoot two weeks ago I made it a point to tell every shooter the layout of the range and make sure they understood the classes, their stake and the scoring we were using. This made for a great 3D shoot based on the feedback we received.
This may not matter to the old pros, but most of the shooters aren't old pros, they are just regular people who may hit 2-3 shoots a year and aren't that familiar with all the ins and outs of 3D archery.
If it is too confusing for the average archer they will not be back. Most of these shooters don't care about ASA, IBO, Reinhart, Mackenzie or politics; they just want to shoot their bows somewhere besides their back yards and have a good time.
Clubs need to realize there are two groups and cater to both of them and not just those on the circuit.
Speaking as someone who has started, ran and helped operate a club; this is my layman's view. I also think that the clubs that do this well, like HCB, have a large repeat business.
Just my observations.
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