Summer 2009
Award of Merit to Mick Fitzpatrick
Mick Fitzpatrick has been presented with the Award of Merit, the YAA's highest honour. The award was presented by YAA President Stan Snow at the YAA Clout Championships in Bradford on the 19th of April 2009.
The citation from Barnsley Archery Club reads:
The members of Barnsley Archery Club would like to nominate Mick Fitzpatrick for the Award of Merit.
Mick recently left the YAA committee after almost 20 years of service, which we feel should not go unrecognised.
From entering the sport in 1981, Mick soon became involved with the county committee, variously holding positions of Tournament Organiser (following Janet Wales and preceding Andrew Neal), then Chairman for several years, then Clout Organiser most recently. During that time he has also represented YAA on the NCAS committee for around 14 years.
He has taken part in all disciplines of archery over the years, achieving MB field, shooting at MB and GMB levels in target archery once he moved to compound. His passion for clout archery has always been evident, and he has contributed much to the growth in the sport. As a recurve archer Mick won titles at county and regional level; with compound he took titles and records at county, regional and national levels, for several years until recently holding all the national clout records. He was only the second person to receive the gold tassel when it was first introduced. He has been equally successful with longbow, winning the YAA championships, and taking it up in the year compounds were banned to finish second, pipped in the last dozen to the title by Malcolm Clint.
Mick’s other passion has been coaching, and he has played a large role in developing the coaching organisation we have today. Initially tutored by Tom Musgrove, Mick took his first coaching level in 1984, moving on to County level by 1990. He has been an active coach, working with individuals at all levels including international. He has also been an excellent coach educator, working on coach training courses for the past 16 years, and supporting the YAA Youth squads since their inception in the early 1990s.
Although no longer on the committee, wishing to return to his own shooting more, Mick is still an excellent role model and ambassador for the sport, and our members feel he should receive this recognition which is so richly deserved.
New GNAS subscription fees for 2009/10
At the recent G.N.A.S. Annual General Meeting another increase in fees was agreed, taking effect from 1st May 2009 and applying to all new members joining from that date. There have been no increases in NCAS and YAA fees.
With these increases the total fees are now due as follows:
| GNAS | NCAS | YAA | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior club member | £35.00 | £1.50 | £4.00 | £40.50 |
| Junior member of senior club | £21.00 | £0.75 | £2.00 | £23.75 |
There was no change to the Junior Club bloc fee which remains at £50.00 with individual juniors paying £0.75 to NCAS and £2.00 to YAA.
The fees for direct GNAS membership increased to £43.00 for adults and £42.00 for juniors.
All subscription fee cheques should be made payable to Yorkshire Archery Association or YAA and sent along with the forms direct to me at:
Martyn Spence
Tamaline
Garthends Lane
Hemingbrough
North Yorkshire
YO8 6QW
Please remember that for all new members joining from 1st May, the above subscriptions will take them through to 30th September 2010.
Please circulate the above information to all club officials responsible for collecting fees and issuing payments to YAA. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Martyn Spence
YAA Treasurer
Please note: Martyn is no longer the YAA Treasurer. Subscriptions and enquiries should be sent to the current Treasurer, Dave Phillips.
Inter Counties and Junior Representative Match score submission
Score submission forms for selection to represent Yorkshire in the 5 Counties junior and senior competitions, and the proposed junior representative match in June, have been sent to all Club Secretaries along with the YAA AGM papers.
If you have not seen a copy and you would like to be considered for selection for Yorkshire, please ask your secretary for a copy, or alternatively download a copy from the links below:
(Form removed)
(Form removed)
(Form removed)
The deadline for submission of scores for the Junior Rep match is 8 May 2009.
The deadline for submission of scores for the 5 Counties, junior and senior, is 31 August 2009.
Northern Counties Coaching Conference
Saturday 23rd May from 10:00 till 4:00.
£30.00 including lunch.
At Barnsley Archery Club, Shaw Lane Sports Club, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Programme:
Understanding back pressure and the muscles that create it
Coaching disability; developing performance with disabled archers
Common archery injuries - avoidance and management
Compound bows - understanding bow set up and initial tuning
Coaching compounds
Coaching juniors
Panel discussion - a chance to have your coaching questions answered.
Speakers include:
Tom Musgrove, GNAS Senior Coach
Bev Detoeuf, GNAS Director M&D, fitness trainer
Kath Fitzpatrick, GNAS Senior Coach, RCO, Director-England
Helen George, GNAS Senior Coach, Paralympic team coach
YAA Coaching Group
All attendees will receive a pack of information handouts and slides to take away from the conference.
Lunch will be provided courtesy of YAA Coaching. Please advise of any dietary requirements.
Please note the venue has disabled access.
(Document removed)
(Document removed)
YAA Indoor Championships 2009
The 2009 YAA Senior & Junior Indoor Championships took place in Wakefield on the 8th of March. Record Status Portsmouth rounds were shot in the morning and the afternoon.
Certificates for new county records were presented. Stan Snow's decanter wasn't - county secretary left it at home. Stan forgives him though, on condition that when it IS presented, it's filled with something nice!
Yorkshire Archery Association Indoor Championships 2009 results
YAA Field Championships 2009
The YAA Senior & Junior Field Championships took place at High Melton on Saturday the 18th of April. Hosts Dearne Valley Archery Club once again performed an excellent job of preparing the course. They even laid on good weather again.
A marked FITA 24 round, with Record Status and Arrowhead status, was shot.
2009 results
2009 photos
The 50th Top Town Tournament
The Top Town tournament will be shot for the 50th time on Sunday the 2nd of August 2009 at the ground of Danum Archers in Doncaster.
This unique tournament is run by the Doncaster & District Archery Association, and is open to archers from anywhere in the country. Its distinctive feature is that teams of archers from the same town compete for the honour of being the top town in archery. The archers in a team can all come from different clubs, as long as those clubs are based in the same postal town.
The first Top Town tournament took place on the 21st of August 1960, and it has run every year since.
The idea for the tournament emerged from several committee members of the D&DAA. Fred Lumly is thought to have been the first to suggest it. In those days there were very few big shoots in that part of Yorkshire. Archers had to travel long distances to get enough scores on long-distance rounds to obtain classifications. The Top Town provided a great shooting opportunity to archers in the area.
The shoot always takes place in the borough of Doncaster. The first was held at the British Rail Sports Ground at Hexthorpe. The round shot then was 6 dozen arrows at 60 yards, that being the longest distance available to allow for overshoot. The shoot has been held at various venues since - BNS Sports, Harvester Archers, Cantley Park, and now Danum Archers on Armthorpe Road. The rounds shot have also varied - a York/Hereford, Ladies and Gents FITAs, and now an Albion for seniors and a Windsor for juniors.
The original rules that governed the shoot were that any affiliated Senior Lady or Gentleman member of the GNAS or FITA be allowed to shoot for Trophies. Those trophies had been donated by various archers, friends of archers, businesses and the then Landlord of the Wheatley Hotel, who allowed the D&DAA to hold its monthly meetings in the best room and donated the prestigious trophy we know as the TOP TOWN TROPHY.
Records from the very beginning are kept in the Top Town Book. Each year the winning town is entered into this book along with the names and clubs of the archers and the Coat of Arms for the postal town.
The winning team was that which achieved the highest three scores by gentlemen and the highest two scores by ladies. Recently changes have been made to accommodate the ever widening range of bows and the ever growing membership, including juniors.
If you fancy putting in a team for the 50th meeting, entry forms can be downloaded from the D&DAA website and the YAA website.
Thanks to the D&DAA, especially life-member Stan Snow, for the information in this article.
(Entry form removed)
The D&DAA recently swelled its ranks with the addition of Harvester Archers and Cobra Archers. They join Danum Archers, Arrowflight Archers, Dearne Valley Archery Club, Chantry Bowmen, Barnsley Archery Club and Greenman Archery Club in an organisation as unique as the Top Town itself.
Points from the 2009 AGM
Key Items from YAA AGM held 7 March 2009 at Barnsley Archery Club
There were 29 members present with 12 apologies. This was slightly down on last year's attendance.
Stan Snow as YAA President welcomed everyone to the meeting. He expressed his disappointment that so few non-committee members had turned up.
Dennis Heritage as Chairman thanked the committee for their work over the last 12 months. He commented on the success of the tournaments and the unusual occurrence of having to abandon the YAA Double FITA because of the weather conditions.
Four new clubs joined the YAA this year: Blue Light Archers, Cobra Archers, East Park Archers and our first school club at St Bede’s. Burton Agnes closed and Circle archers joined with the Bowmen of St Mary’s.
The Yorkshire Sword was presented to Martin Holtby at the YAA Championships.
The first ever Yorkshire Award was presented to Geoff Taylor of Phoenix Bowmen and the second presented to Cedric Abbott of Bowmen of Adel. Both were well deserved for the work done at their respective clubs.
The Treasurer reported a healthy bank balance, even though some significant expenditure had taken place during the year. The surplus generated by the outdoor tournaments had fallen compared to last year, but this was as a direct result of hiring in portable toilets for both weekends. This appeared to have been welcomed by all concerned, and it was planned to be repeated this year. As a result, the portable toilets and tents will be put up for sale this year. We have increased stocks of all medals this year, taking advantage of quantity discounts. Greater numbers of grants to judges and coaches who progress have been made this year, and this is also expected to increase again this year, now the criteria for awarding has been confirmed and published. One club still owes money to YAA for underpayment of GNAS affiliation fees, but this is expected to be recovered shortly.
Martyn announced that he would not be standing as Treasurer at the 2010 AGM.
The Treasurer recommended that there should be no increase in YAA affiliation fees.
Each of the Officers presented a report on their field of responsibility.
The elections of the Officers and General Committee took place. Peter Welbourn had already resigned from the post of Field Officer due to health reasons. John Gilroy had also resigned earlier in the year from the general committee.
The following members were elected or re-elected to the Committee to serve until 2011:
| President | Stan Snow |
| Vice President | Christine Morgan |
| Chairman | Dennis Heritage |
| Target Tournament Organiser | Andrew Neal |
| Coaching Officer | Kath Fitzpatrick |
| Field Officer | Michelle Kiddy |
| PRO | Tim Mason |
There were eight vacancies for the General Committee but only 7 nominations were made. All seven were elected unopposed. One of the seven people will only serve until 2010. This will be determined at the June Committee meeting. The seven elected or re-elected were:
| General Committee | Harry Drake |
| Susan Heritage | |
| Carl Morgan | |
| Keith Shooter | |
| Michael Ward | |
| Martin Holtby | |
| Andy Wilkinson |
The following members still have until 2010 to serve of their present term of office:
| Vice President | Jim Routledge |
| Secretary | Dave Phillips |
| Treasurer | Martyn Spence |
| Clout Officer | Mark Hayes |
| Judges Liaison | Karen Winsett |
| Junior Officer | Nick Beeson |
| General Committee | Trish Castle |
| Jean Clarkson | |
| Sean Gleeson | |
| Danny Walsh |
One vacancy exists on the general committee. If anyone wishes to be co-opted to the committee, please contact the County Secretary.
The post of Flight Officer remains unfilled. If anyone is interested in taking on this role, please make contact with the County Secretary.
Martin Holtby was again approved as Child Protection Officer and Christine Morgan as the Deputy Child Protection Officer.
Dave Phillips
County Secretary
YAA AGM 2010 - start time and other arrangements?
To all YAA archers and Club Secretaries.
This year the start time of the AGM was brought forward from 2pm to 10am. For the last few years, with one exception, the number present has hovered around the 30 mark. This year 29 people signed in. As in previous years the greater majority of members present were Committee Members too.
Before agreeing upon the arrangements for the 2010 meeting, the YAA Committee would like to gauge your opinions about the AGM. That is, your views about YOUR ARCHERY ASSOCIATION AGM.
We are required to hold the AGM each year during March/April/May to conduct the official business of the Association, so we are not looking for suggestions to scrap the AGM altogether!!
We would like to know:
What you would like to see from/at the AGM?
What start time would you like to see used?
What day/date would you like to see the AGM held?
What venue would you like to see used? Currently Barnsley.
What would it take to make you consider attending the meeting?
Any other points you may have which will help us with the running of the Association and AGM.
Certainly from the point of view of the Committee Members, the morning start suits them best, as it removes any unnecessary waiting between the end of the Committee Meeting and the AGM. This year we finished the combined meetings 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than last year. That said, I’m sure they would also look at any serious proposals put forward to try to increase attendance at the AGM.
Dave Phillips
County Secretary
Points from the March committee meeting
Key Items from YAA Committee Meeting held 7 March 2009 at Barnsley Archery Club.
There were 18 members present with 6 apologies.
We appear to have one club not re-affiliated for 2008/9, Archery Academy.
An order has been placed for 10 Egertec bosses, to be delivered for the first YAA weekend.
The L1 and L2 Coach training programmes have started. The L1 has 14 candidates, with Andy Arnold as Lead Tutor. The L2 is the first run of the new programme, with 14 candidates accepted after interview and induction. Ten of the candidates are from 6 YAA clubs, one from Lancs, one from Cheshire and two from Lincs. Kath Fitzpatrick is the Lead Tutor.
The winter squad training sessions have now finished. An outdoor session will be held before the junior championships.
The indoor championships have been full for some weeks now. Some from the waiting list have now been accommodated.
YAA representatives to the NCAS committee were agreed as Danny Walsh, Sean Gleeson and Michael Ward.
Carl Morgan was appointed from the Committee to act as Vice Chairman for the year.
With the restriction on the use of St George's ground for clout shoots, the YAA clout has moved to Bronte. Additional clout venues are required. If anyone is aware of a suitable ground, please contact Mark Hayes.
Michael Ward has been appointed to the GNAS Membership Services Reference Group. If anyone has any issues which could be looked at with the group, please contact him directly.
The low attendance at the AGM was again discussed. Alternative venues, dates and times were suggested. It was agreed to seek the views of clubs as to these aspects of the AGM.
The meeting dates for 2009/2010 were agreed as:
27 June 2009
19 September 2009
16 January 2010
13 March 2010 to include AGM, unless feedback identifies alternative date etc.
Dave Phillips
County Secretary
Yorkshire archers in Arizona
Danielle Brown (Aire Valley Archers) and Sarah Beamish (York Archers Society) travelled to the US in early April for a training camp, followed by competition in the Arizona Cup. Dani's a regular international, but this was Sarah's first trip with the GB squad.
The Arizona Cup is notable for pitting able-bodied and disabled archers against each other on equal terms. A look at the results is a real eye-opener for anyone who thinks Paralympic archery is at a lower standard than mainstream archery – the Paralympic scores are totally competitive.
Dani and Sarah both shot in the Women's Compound division.
Sarah progressed well through the tournament, until she was knocked out by eventual silver medallist Brittany Lorenti (USA).
Dani started with a new IPC World Record, when she shot 342 points from 36 arrows on the 70 metres round. A few hours later, she equalled the 60 metre record. Then on Easter Saturday, she celebrated her 21st birthday by breaking the IPC record for the Women's FITA round, scoring 1362. Unfortunately, Dani went out in the quarter finals to Nichola Simpson (GBR), who went on to win the bronze medal.
Congratulations to Sarah and Dani on their excellent performances!
YAA Clout Championships 2009
The county's Clout Championships were held at the ground of Bronte Archers on Sunday the 19th of April. The weather was spot on, once the early overcast cleared, though the ground was a little on the hard side.
Lez Newsome acted as Lord Patron. Surprisingly, this was the first time in his 40-odd years of archery that he's been Lord P. Riggwelter Field Archers provided tasty catering, and many Bronte members worked in the field party. Thanks to everyone who pitched in and made the shoot such an enjoyable and successful day.
2009 results
2009 photos
More 2009 photos
Barnsley Charity Western 2009
Barnsley Archery Club held an open tournament on the 1st of March 2009, to raise funds for Cancer Research and the Macmillan Trust. Entries were much higher than expected - 17 bosses were required.
Barnsley AC's chairman Iain Smith wrote a letter of personal thanks to all involved:
The Barnsley charity shoot, which was held on Sunday the 1st of March, was a great success and proved a very enjoyable day for the club and hopefully all the archers who participated. The spirit of the shoot was fantastic and very upbeat in spite of a very chilly wind.
The number of archers who took part far exceeded our expectations and I would like to extend our thanks to all the archers who supported the shoot and were most generous in their donations throughout the day. As a result of the generosity of the club members, archers who attended, sponsorship from archery suppliers and from collections at the Shaw Lane facility, the day has raised £820 so far which will be donated jointly to Cancer Research and Macmillan Trust. These two charities are very deserving and I feel that this shoot has allowed me to give a little back to enable their good work, from which I have benefited over the last year, to continue.
I would like to extend particular thanks to the following people:
Aardvark Archery for sponsoring the target faces.
Merlin Archery for sponsoring a number of very interesting and fun raffle prizes.
Barnsley Archery Club members for their hard work leading up to and on the day.
Finally many thanks to everyone who braved the weather and came along, without you the day could not have been such a success.
Thank you once again.
Iain Smith
Chairman of Barnsley Archery Club
Swine flu advice
The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico has given many of us cause for concern about preventing its spread. Members of Archery Interchange UK have given this matter serious thought.
Our advice is to remove any pig feeders you have hanging on the washing line or from eaves. If you have pig nests in your chimney or hedge, it's best to remove them, but be careful not to inhale any dust. If you have a pig table, we suggest you remove it since it can act as a place for pigs to transfer the disease to other pigs.
If you have cats that often catch pigs and bring them into the house, you should make the cat flap too small for the cats to get a pig through.
New YAA Coaching website
YAA Coaching has a new website for news and resources related to archery coaching in Yorkshire:
www.yaacoaching.co.uk
You can sign up for notifications of the latest coaching-related news. And we're very interested in hearing your views about what the website should offer. Please contact Tim Mason (07986 185882 or yaa@phoenixbowmen.co.uk) with your suggestions.
The Yorkshire Award
THE YORKSHIRE AWARD is a prestigious award where clubs can nominate individuals or couples who, in the eyes of their club, deserve recognition for services to that particular club.
There is no set deadline for submission of nominations.
If you think someone in your club deserves such recognition, please download the nomination form from the website, complete it, and send it to the county secretary.
Yorkshire Award Nomination and Citation Form
Judges expenses form
The Judges Confirmation and Expense Form was designed following comments made by a number of judges.
The tournament organiser or club secretary should send the form to the judge well in advance of the event. The judge should return the confirmation of attendance and expected expenses, so matters can be settled in advance of the event.
To prevent double booking of Judges, the Judges Confirmation and Expense Form includes a tear off slip to send to Karen Winsett, the Judges Liaison Officer, when the booking has been confirmed. The form can be downloaded as a Word document from the YAA website:
Judges confirmation and expense form (Word format)
Alternatively, write to Dave Phillips or phone him for a copy.
Many thanks for your anticipated support.
Contact
Newsletter produced by Tim Mason on behalf of the Yorkshire Archery Association.
The next newsletter will be produced towards the end of July 2009. If you have anything you'd like to be included, please contact me via yaa@phoenixbowmen.co.uk or 07986 185882.
Webmaster