Affiliating to Archery GB - why would I want to and how should I do it as a 2020 Archery club member?

There are lots of benefits to joining Archery GB – membership is required in order to shoot with most other clubs (although not all) and is also needed to join leagues and enter competitions. If you provide your address you’ll receive the quarterly Archery GB magazine called Archery UK and you can also take part in the highly recommended 'Personal Performance Courses' at Lilleshall (details of prices etc are available on the Archery GB website). There are probably lots of other good things as well – have a click around on the Archery GB website for more. 

So, there are 2 different ways of joining Archery GB – one is through your club (in our case 2020 Archery) in which case you MUST also affiliate to Region and County. In our case this is Southern County Archery Society (SCAS) and the County of London Archery Association (CLAA)  - don’t worry about this step we’ll do this automatically for you if you affiliate through us. You can also join Archery GB as a direct member. The main advantages and disadvantages are that you’ll be responsible for renewing each year if you’re a direct member whereas if you join through the club we’ll just contact you and ask if you want to continue as a member through the club with a payment request. The other difference is that there is a price difference. Clubs are able to offer a pro rata payment system for joining at different times of the year but if you join directly there is one fixed price all year round. The fixed price for direct membership is £46 no matter when you join. 

The Archery GB membership year runs from October to October. This makes the total cost for joining through our club 

• Oct-Dec = £47.50 
• Jan-March = £38
• April-June = £28.50 
• July – Sept = £19 

The fees breakdown of the Archery GB portion is available here http://www.archerygb.org/support/services/join/fees.php - on top of the Archery GB fee we need to charge CLAA fees of £3 to join (at any time of the year), SCAS costs £1.50 to join (at any time of the year) and we charge a £5 admin fee to cover the costs of banking and admin. 

If you’d like to join directly please go to the Archery GB website (link below) where there is a link to download the direct membership form. 

http://www.archerygb.org/support/services/join/fees.php

If you’d like to join through 2020 please send an email into the office (enquiries@2020archery.co.uk) with your full address. We will assume you're ok with us storing this data along with your email address so that we can contact you at renewal time (usually July / August). Once we’ve received your payment we’ll send it off to Archery GB pretty much immediately. Once it arrives with them they’ll process it and your card should arrive - directly from Archery GB - within 2-3 weeks. 

If you are planning to shoot at another club or you’ve registered for a competition we provide a standard Archery GB receipt which we’ll email to you. This should work as evidence that you’ve paid club subs until your card arrives although we recommend that you alert people that you will be bringing a receipt of payment not an actual Archery GB card if you're pushed for time. 

Finally, we’re happy to answer questions about the administering of how this all works but if you require more detailed information on Archery GB itself (why join, what to expect etc) please go to their website at www.archerygb.org

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Pranava : A new bow comes with new challenges

I finally bought a bow! My very own and very first so I thought I’d share the experience. 

I first started shooting in October 2012. I contemplated buying a bow in December but just before I planned to go shopping I went on vacation. When I got back I felt a bit like I was starting all over again. After a couple more useful months of practice (in February 2013), I realised that I was still shooting the 18lb club traIning bow. As I’d been practicing for around 5 months at this point I felt that I could probably manage something a little heavier. So each week I pushed myself a little and in three sessions I moved from 18 to 26lb (still using 2020 Archery bows)!

At the same time as I was increasing the poundage of the bow I started to gather information about equipment to try and make myself look like a knowledgeable buyer and mask (at least some of) my ignorance. So, on a sunny Saturday in March I set off to my nearest archery shop. A number of people had suggested that I should try out different risers so this was my plan. However, once I got to the store I discovered that there were only two risers within my budget (having a budget makes life far simpler). 

The first riser that I tried was pretty awesome, and felt much heavier than the wooden club bow. By the time I tried the second one I was super tired from practicing with the first so it seemed heavier - despite the sales girl insisting that it was in fact lighter than the previous one. Even with the extra weight I thought that the second bow was pretty awesome as well! I basically couldn’t tell the difference at all. Except that the more expensive one was prettier to look at. I thought for a bit… and then thought a bit more… and then decided to buy the pretty one! 

So I ended up with a beautiful red Hoyt Horizon riser and 26lb SF Premium limbs to go with it. I did buy an entire kit, mostly going for the cheaper options where possible. In total I came out with the bow plus 8 Jazz arrows with red/white fletchings, a basic sight, bow-stand, quiver, arm guard, finger tab, arrow puller and bow-stringer. I also bought a backpack as I can't possibly carry it all without one. Most people told me that the whole thing would take about 3 hours, but I reckon that I did it in only about 30mins! 

I was really eager to try it the next day, but as always seems to happen when I get very excited about something, bad luck followed and I woke up with flu. I had to wait an entire week before I could use my new kit. I turned up to the practice session at my usual time and found that It took me a good quarter of an hour just to fix everything together! I also made a good many mistakes as I did so and required a bit of help! Eventually I managed to get started and it then took me the next half of the session to nail down the sight marks. At this point I realised that shooting a club bow was a lot easier! 

My second attempt was much better. I set up my kit in roughly 10 minutes - and managed to do it completely on my own without help. I also learnt that there is an upper limb and a lower limb and that they are not interchangeable! Ahem. 

I’m now gradually getting to the point where I feel like the bow is right for me and its starting to feel like mine. Just as important as this is learning how to take care of it properly and - easier this one - learning to love it!

If you're interested in taking the same course that Pranava did she was on the Fast Track Archery course - these courses run throughout the year and cost only £95. http://www.2020archery.co.uk/lessons-courses-7/Weekend-Beginners-Course

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Robin of Locksley

The tale of Robin Hood has been told in verse, story and film across the centuries. The legend is basically a collection of stories concerning a group of outlaws who risk life and limb to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Robin, a lovable rogue with a longbow and a quiver of arrows on his back, is always at the centre of the action with his band of Merry Men as the supporting cast. Love interest is provided by the beautiful Maid Marian often depicted as having a double life – a rebellious warrior chick in the forest choosing Robin and the outlaws whenever she can get away from the embroidery and dancing that, as a lady, she is supposed to be enjoying. The story centres around archery (Marian is often shown, especially in screen versions, as being a pretty accomplished archer herself) and epitomises for many of us how awesome skills with a longbow can get you out of trouble (and make you a hit with the ladies / is a good alternative to embroidery).

The story begins with Robin, a Saxon nobleman, living near the castle in the city of Nottingham. The city is ruled by Prince John, who has taken over while his brother, King Richard, is off fighting the Crusades. No-one seems to know whether Richard is alive or dead, his return is always hoped for but in his absence evil Prince John takes advantage of his new authority by teaming up with the equally nasty Sheriff of Nottingham. Between them they attempt to transfer as much money as possible from the people of Nottingham into their own coffers. As taxes keep rising and punitive laws are enacted to dissuade anyone from challenging them, the people of Nottingham are left with barely enough to feed themselves or keep a roof over their heads. As the story takes place following the Norman conquest of Britain the story also makes much of the evil (French) conquerors against the plucky British (Saxon) underdogs. 

Robin, hungry and struggling to survive (in some versions Robin himself is newly returned from the Crusades to find the family home burnt down and his family dead), is caught hunting royal deer with his longbow and is outlawed from the city. With no home, money or possessions, he’s left to fend for himself in Sherwood Forest which lies just outside the city. Robin’s skill at hunting, and his personal charisma, helps him to befriend other outlaws. They eventually form a full camp with various roles and skills in the group. The stories of how Little John, later to be Robin’s right hand man, and Will Scarlet come to join him are amongst the most famous of the tales. 

After months of futile fighting, with Robin and his men successfully stealing back taxes and storing food for the poor villagers, evil Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham are determined to arrest him. Knowing of Robin’s skill with the longbow and aware of his desire to fight for the rights of the Saxons, they stage an archery contest to trick him into coming back – illegally – into the city of Nottingham. Disguised as a peasant, Robin enters the city and enrols for the contest, determined to win the Silver Arrow prize. He easily makes it through to the final shoot-out, but his impressive skill alerts the Sheriff and his men who are on the look-out for Robin. With his Merry Men disguised amongst the crowd of Saxon peasants watching the contest, Robin’s first shot of the final hits gold. Little John, seeing that the Norman knights are moving in on Robin, tells the crowd that Robin is a fellow Saxon, and the best archer in the land. The crowd begins to cheer for him, distracting the knights and disrupting their movements. As Robin looses his final arrow, splitting the shaft of his previous ‘perfect 10’ and thereby winning the contest, Prince John signals to his knights to take him. Reacting quickly Little John shouts to the crowd to lift up the winner. A hooded Robin, is held aloft by the crowd. In the melee the outlaws manage to carry him straight through the Norman knights. As Robin is returned to the ground his bow is hidden once again and, with the help of his friends, he slips out of the city unnoticed. Robin and his men return to their camp deep in Sherwood Forest to celebrate their victory, as evil Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham are thwarted once again. 

Modern day Robin Hood

The incredible visual appeal of archery has probably contributed to the ongoing ‘Rise of Robin’ with versions of him or the stories featuring in movies, games and on television (although we’re currently enjoying the tales of Merlin and Prince Arthur – another traditional English failsafe that also, happily, tends to feature archery practice). There have been countless depictions of the courageous Robin in the past 70 years, with the feature film, Robin Hood (2010) featuring Russell Crowe (“you’ve got dead ears mate. Bollocks.”) being the most recent. But not the best. 

The story’s revival has done particularly well in the last ten years thanks to the most recent BBC series,which followed Robin and his Merry Men for 3 years. Your age probably determines which version of Robin you find the most recognisable – the glossy mulleted Michael Praed is sadly the one for me. Kevin Costner (also with a mullet, albeit shorter, and, err, more bleached) runs a close second. 

One of the most loved depictions of the story is Disney’s animated feature, which used a cast of animals to tell the popular tale. 

The music of Robin Hood

Even seeing this picture makes you start humming no?

And, if all that Robin Hood goodness has really got you in the mood here’s the Karaoke version : 

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