Time for our yearly update on tournament requirements and etiquette!  Good luck to all our archers this weekend at Beaver Valley Archers.

Things to Remember for Tournaments:

1. Wear black pants and your team shirt. If you run into an “emergency”, you can come dressed differently, just be sure to not wear camo or old jeans.
2. Arrive 30-45 minutes prior to shooting time.
   • You need time to check-in, put equipment together, & listen to announcements (announcements are typically 5-10 minutes prior to start of shooting).
3. Come prepared
   • Be sure you have all of your equipment and enough arrows (in your quiver, not your case).
     • 3 arrows are shot at a time, but you need to have extras in case of damage to, or loss of, vanes or nocks (4 arrows is a minimum; 6 or more is best).
     • ALL of an archer’s arrows MUST match and have their initials on the shafts!
   • Keep a pencil in your quiver!
4. Upon arrival, check in at the registration desk and put your equipment together.
   • You are to verify your merit class, age class, equipment, gender, target type/size.
   • Sometimes merit classes change often. If you jumped ANYTIME before the tournament (including at the last tournament) be sure to correct it at check-in.
   • If you are given your scorecard at the registration desk, you are to place it at the target.
5. Scoring:
   • NEVER mark or touch arrows or the target before they are ALL called and recorded!
   • No less than 3 archers may score together, typical group size is 4 archers.
   • Double scoring is always used.
   • Archers decide who calls, who scores, and who observes.
   • Make sure everyone is clear on whether each archer is scoring inner or outer 10 rings.
   • Do NOT copy scores! i.e. – scorekeepers must do their own addition.
   • Check scores after every end, before arrows are pulled (even if the other scorekeeper doesn’t want to do this, it is very important, and is a rule – insist on doing it).
   • Mark your arrows!
6. Line etiquette:
   • Step to the line within the allotted time (10 seconds)/
   • If you are late to the line, do not step to line if archer facing you is at full draw.
   • Take care not to bump those around you on the line.
   • Do NOT leave the line if a shooter immediately on either side of you is at full draw.
7. Verbal communication and coaching on the line is NOT permitted.
   Communication must occur behind the wait line while your line is not shooting.
8. If you are unable to shoot an arrow/end due to an equipment issue, notify a coach and/or line judge. (A line judge MUST be told – a coach can do this for you – BEFORE you miss your time to shoot).  If you are on the line, raise your hand to indicate a problem. The line judge will let you know to step off the line and seek help.
9. At completion of shooting, give both scorecards to the host club’s representative. They will return one of them to you.  Keep it for your records, but we will receive the scores from the host club in a few days.
10. Any questions or problems, ask a coach or line judge.

Links are available on the website (and copied here for your convenience) to sign up for jobs and food donations for the Falcon JOAD Tournament, held the weekend of Jan. 14-16.

We’re a smaller group this year, but when we hold our tournament we still need to handle the same number of people as always. So I’m hoping that if you have two able adults in the house, you are going to help out by taking two job assignments.

Falcon Tournament Jobs

I kept the same food list as always, too, but we’ll never meet it with one donation per family. So I’m going to ask that each family select TWO items from the list. If this presents a problem, please reach out to coach Jeff and we’ll see what we can work out.

Falcon Tournament Food

Thank you everyone! I hope you enjoy a terrific holiday!

A clarification came out from USA Archery this week, which reverses what we thought was going to happen to the shot clock:

The World Archery bylaw change, which reduces the shooting time in qualification and individual Olympic, compound and indoor rounds from 40 seconds per arrow to just 30 seconds, will only apply to world ranking events in 2022, beginning March 1. This means that USA Archery events will not implement or reflect this change and our event clocks will remain at 40 seconds per arrow.

You can read more on the USA Archery news page. As you were!

This Saturday (Dec. 18th) we will have our annual Holiday Party during practice. Archers are invited to bring a treat (side dish or dessert, or whatever you want) to share. JOAD will provide a sandwich ring and drinks. We’ll do a little practice and then play archery games!

We will NOT have practice the following Saturday, which will be December 25th. We WILL have a special practice on Monday, December 27th beginning at 6 PM. It’s okay if you can’t make it, but for those who can, we will focus on getting ready for the start of tournaments the next weekend. After this date, all practices will be on Mondays at 6.

Archers who are going to miss a practice need to let us know. Please email Laura at hrelec02@gmail.com if you will not be at practice.

Tournament invitations are coming in! We’ve already sent a request to Beaver Valley. If you are have not made choices on the Tournament Signup Page, then we have not requested a line for you. Wendi will be handling the tournament requests, so should email her at scheduling@falconjoad.org if you are making changes to your requested times.

All archers who are shooting in tournaments need to have a CURRENT membership with USA Archery. Some clubs will not register an archer without a USAA number. Please go to https://www.usarchery.org/memberships/become-a-member to set up your “Youth All-Access” membership.

All JOAD member are required to be current members of the Falcon Archers by January. Since there were zero new Falcon members at the December meeting last week, we will assume that all new or lapsed members will be at the next meeting, January 12th at 7:00.

The link for Tournament Signups is now active. Yo can find it in the “Current Year Info” tab (on the right side or bottom of the website), or go to this direct link.

As a reminder, archers should mark their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line choice for each tournament. When the tournament invitation comes out, we will send our preferences right away. After a week or two, we’ll get back everyone’s line assignments and post them on the website.

Welcome to the 2021-22 JOAD Season!

• The first practice for all Archers is Sat. Nov. 6th.  Arrive and equipment setup at 8:30AM.
• Be READY to shoot at 9AM.  If there are any announcements or awards to present, we will do this at 9AM (sharp). I don’t want any archers showing up during Announcements and assembling their equipment.  It is a distraction!
  
• Set up equipment in the shooting area and then store your case up in the meeting area in the shelving provided.  This will lessen the clutter on tables. 
• Practices Nov. thru Dec. Saturdays 8:30AM to approx. 12PM
• Practices Jan. thru Mid March will move to Monday evening from 6 to 8PM.

The new schedule is posted on the website. Other links (tournament signups, etc.) to follow.

Falcon JOAD want to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy NEw Year.