Tracking Your Progress
What’s it all about?
Some people are happy just to shoot without bothering to score, either to concentrate on their technique or just for a social time out. Others will want to test themselves and measure their progress. This can be done by obtaining and subsequently improving upon a handicap and classification. This also helps the club see how its members are doing. Handicaps and classifications are a useful way to not only track your progress in archery but also to enable competition between archers of different abilities or who use different bows etc.
Handicaps and classifications are derived separately for outdoor and indoor shooting. To get a handicap you need to shoot an initial 3 rounds whereas you need to shoot a certain number of arrows at an appropriate score to get a Classification. There are some simple rules to follow when submitting scores. Firstly I’ll address shooting outdoors then I’ll point out the differences when we move indoors for the winter.
Choosing the round to shoot
- In the shelter at the range there is a comprehensive list of outdoor rounds showing the number of arrows to be shot at each distance and the size of target face to use. Choose one that you feel comfortable with, both in terms of the distances to be shot and the number of arrows you will have to shoot.
- The target faces to use and the method of scoring can be found under “Useful Info”.
How to submit your scores
When you shoot a round and score it at a Club Target day (as defined below), you should send the completed scoresheet to the records officer even if it’s not been witnessed. You can do this by posting it in the box provided in the shelter at the club or by emailing it to the Records Officer.
Unwitnessed scores are still useful to collect as they help to give an idea of the level and progress of individual archers within the club. Please note that it needs to be clear to the Records Officer whether or not a round has been witnessed so if you have scored a round yourself, do not fill in the scorer’s signature box on the scoresheet and do not ask someone who has not scored the round for you to sign it.
If you have shot at an external competition please highlight your score on the competition results sheet before posting or emailing it.
If you are a member of more than one club you should provide the score sheets to the records officer for each club. This is to ensure that your handicap is kept consistent.
For the purposes of claiming club or external records, scores must be recorded according to the Rules of Shooting, this includes adopting a system of scoring which prevents any archer being the sole recorder of their own score. The scoresheet must be signed by both the archer and the scorer or in the case of external shoots the official competition results sheet must be submitted. You can find the current Club and External records in the Members Area.
Club target days (for the purposes of shooting rounds for handicap purposes)
As the range is open ‘all the time’ and members can shoot anytime they wish, club target days are defined as Monday to Sunday inclusive at any time that the range is open.
What happens with your scores?
Whenever you shoot a round you should submit your scoresheet to the Records Officer as described above. They will then, using the Archery GB Handicap Tables, work out the handicap value for that round and score. Once you have submitted 3 scores your handicap is worked out as an average of those handicap values. Once you have shot the appropriate number of arrows the Records Officer will also be able to work out your classification.
More information on Outdoor Handicaps and Classifications can be found under “Useful Info”.
Shooting Indoors
During the winter months individuals can shoot at the indoor venue or at competitions.
Scoresheets are used to calculate handicaps and classifications in a similar way to that described previously.
More information on Indoor Handicaps and Classifications can be found under “Useful Info”.
Awards
We have little badges that we give out for our Indoor Portsmouth rounds and outdoor frostbite rounds.