Beginners Courses at Sydney Bowmen

Welcome to Sydney Bowmen and the sport of archery. Sydney Bowmen Archery Club is a friendly club made up of women, children and men of all ages and nationalities. The Club was formed 60 years ago, making us the longest running archery club in Australia.

The Club is committed to developing archers who aspire to become skilled shooters whether for competition or recreation.

To fulfil this commitment, the Club offers aspiring archers the opportunity to attend a 4 week Beginners' Course.

Casual attendance is welcomed, however, under the official rules, casual shooting is limited to a maximum of 4 sessions.

We do not charge an annual Club membership fee. However, for insurance purposes, you will need to become a member of the NSW Archery Society. This also makes you a member of the national body, Archery Australia and entitles you to automatic membership of the Sydney Bowmen Archery Club.

As a member of the NSW Archery Society/Archery Australia, you will be able to enter competitions and receive official publications.

The membership/affiliation fee for the NSW Archery Society is payable every 1 July.

Although there is no Club membership fee, we charge all Club members $5 for each attendance, which covers ground hire and other running expenses. There is a daily equipment hire fee of $5 if you do not have your own archery gear. These fees do not apply if you are undertaking the Beginners’ Course or the Come-N-Try Program (see below).

The Sydney Bowmen Beginners’ Course is designed as a hands-on practical way to gain basic archery skills in a fun and positive learning environment. By the end of the course you will have learned how to shoot a bow safely – and hit the target!

Each session runs for about 2 hours and deals with a particular aspect of shooting.

In each session there will be a short introduction explaining the purpose of the lesson, followed by supervised practice.

All sessions will be led by qualified coaches approved by the NSW Archery Society.

Course participants should wear comfortable clothing, sun protection and hats… and bring their own drinks.

The course will be conducted at Latham Park, Moverly Road, Coogee. Session times are on each Sunday morning, between 10.30am to 12.15pm.

The next beginner's course starts on Sunday 7 September 2008. Subsequent courses will begin on the first Sundays in November 2008, February 2009, March 2009 and the first Sunday in every second month from then on.

Unless it is really pouring, archery will generally be on. If in doubt contact the Club coach, Michael Fouracre, on 0421 013 749 for further information.

The minimum age is 8 years old. However, continuation in the course is subject to instructor assessment of the child’s physical ability and maturity.

Children between the ages of 8 and 12 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Please phone Marsden Auerbach on (H) 8356 9176,
(W) 9374 8572 to book your place in the Beginners’ Course.
Payment of $70 must be received in advance to secure your place - please send to Marsden Auerbach, 107 Glenmore Rd, Paddington NSW 2021,
or you could make the payment directly to one of the coaches at the ground.

Acquire the 10 fundamental steps to shooting a bow
Learn and practise the archery safety rules
Know and use the basic archery equipment
Know how to score at target archery
to Gain grading certificate at 20m
to Learn the rules for scoring and competition
to Experience single distance archery competition

SESSION #	SESSION TITLE
1	*ARCHERY FUNDAMENTAL and SAFETY, RELEASING THE ARROW*
2	*HOLDING & AIMING STANCE, THE STRING or DRAWING HAND, THE BOW HAND, PREDRAW, FOLLOW THROUGH, RELAXING & RECOVERY*
3	DRAWING THE BOW & ANCHORING + OPEN SHOOTING SESSION
4	SCORING, USING THE SCORE SHEET, ESTABLISHING BASELINE SCORES +MINI COMPETITION- Individual or Team

The Beginner’s Course fee is $70, payable in advance . This covers the 4-week course tuition by qualified coaches, supply of archery equipment and temporary membership for insurance purposes.

NOTE – WE REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF 4 PARTICIPANTS BEFORE THE COURSE CAN BE RUN. IF WE HAVE INSUFFICIENT NUMBERS, WE WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH YOU TO MAKE ALTERNATE ARRANGEMENTS.

As an alternative to the 4 week Beginner’s Course, you can attend the Come-N-Try program. This program allows you to try out archery in safety to see whether you like it and want to learn more. It is not intended to provide a systematic course of instruction.

The fee is $10 per session with a limit of 4 sessions per year. Thereafter, should you wish to continue shooting with the Club, you must become a member in accordance with NSW Archery Society rules.

POLICIES
The Sydney Bowmen Archery Club is affiliated with the Archery Society of NSW and Archery Australia and, as a registered club, is subject to all the policies that apply under these bodies.

1. Q: Is a certificate of proficiency issued?

A: Yes, a certificate will be issued on completion of the full program.

2. Q: Can I get a refund after paying the $70 for the course?

A: No. Once the payment for the course has been made, it is not refundable. However, participants who sign up for the 4 week course and then miss a number of sessions may be entitled to join up on a subsequent course to make up a block of missed sessions, equivalent to the number missed.

A: A child must be at least 8 years old. However, continuation in the course at these younger ages is subject to instructor assessment of the child’s physical ability (some younger children may not be strong enough to pull even a light bow) and his/her maturity. A guardian must be present during each session.

4. Q: Do I need to purchase equipment to do the course?

A: No, all archery equipment necessary for the course will be provided. We recommend that you refrain from buying equipment until you have tried shooting for a while and have had a chance to speak to your instructor about the best equipment for you. Once you have completed the Beginner’s Course you’ll have a much better idea of the equipment you want and need – and whether you prefer to shoot a recurve, compound or traditional bow.

5. Q: Can I use my own archery equipment to do the course?

A: Yes, subject to the instructor inspecting your equipment and giving you the OK to use it.

6. Q: What does a set of archery equipment cost?

A: This depends on a range of issues such as your budget, the type of equipment you prefer and whether or not you want to shoot in competitions. You can discuss this with the Club instructors who can advise you on the type of equipment that would be suitable for you and put you in touch with reputable suppliers.

7. Q: Do you cater for left-handers?

A: Yes, bows come both left and right handed.

8. Q: Can disabled people do the course?

A: Yes, in fact archery can be a very good sport for people with disabilities – for example, you can shoot well from a wheelchair. The nature of the disability and archery safety needs to be discussed with the instructor.

9. Q: Once I have completed the basic course, do you provide on- going coaching?

A: When you have completed the course, you will understand the basics of archery. It’s then a matter of developing your shooting skills through practice with advice on the finer points from the Club coaches and other experienced archers.

10. Q: I’m not sure I have the time to do the basic course. Can I just shoot on a casual basis?

A: Our insurance conditions state that only "members" can shoot. They define a member as someone who is either participating in a Come-N-Try day; someone who is doing a structured course or someone who has paid the NSW Archery Society/Archery Australia membership fee and become a Club member. For this reason, it is not possible for someone to shoot on a casual basis. After the Come-N-Try day period has elapsed or upon completion of the Beginners' Course, you must join the Club in order to be able to continue to shoot.

11. Q: What is the Come-N-Try program?

A: This casual attendance program enables you to shoot under supervision. Coaching is limited to covering some essential elements of archery so you can handle a bow and shoot arrows in a safe and fun environment. We recommend that anyone interested in continuing in the sport should undertake the Beginners’ Course.

12. Q: Do you cater for corporate groups?

A: No. However we suggest you contact Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre on 9748 7313 or visit their web site www.archerycentre.com.au to organise a corporate day at the Olympic Archery Park at Homebush.

Sydney Bowmen

The longest running Archery Club in New South Wales