[benglish]

I think that competition is what keeps it fun, but I've heard that it scares families away, what do you all think?

 

[Brown Hornet]

Even the fun shoot is still a competition....there is always a winner.:wink:

I prefer to go to a "real competition" and have fun....:wink:

 

[323]

Around here not to many husband have there spouses involved... When my wife isn't in school she could go to all these shoots and place 3rd all day long and you all ask why becuase there are usually only 4 or 5 females shooting in the unlimited class. This goes for the pee-wees as well. We as shooters need to get more folks involved and we need to start with our families 1st!

 

[huntindoc]

Look at how many people play in golf tournaments. If there was no competition no one would play . It's in our nature to be competitive, either with ourself, the course or other archers.

How serious you get is up to you. I've only shot at our state & local club shoots, but hope to shoot some ASA & indoor events in the future. Before I get too old to draw my bow!

hd

 

[frsd44]

I think that because of words like league, and competition are keeping a lot of people from comming out and shooting. A lot of people feel that they are not good enough or have to be an extremely good shooter just to shoot with these groups.

 

[Bo Bob]

I think the word "tournament" keeps some people away.
I have talked to guys to shot and as soon as I say that there is a tournament at... they back away from it. They say that they're not good enough to shoot in a tournament.
I try to tell them that they can shoot a practice round and they don't have to particapate in the "tourn" but that seems to scare them off.

 

[Justin17]

You really need both. Having just one or the other would get the sport nowhere. Fun shoots get people interested and that is about it. Competitions get them to the next level and this is where they will get more involved with archery.

Competitions need fun shoots because without the initial interest they would have no competitors. Fun shoots need competitions because they keep the hot shots out of the fun shoots. These better shots might be looking to set their club's courses up with more difficulty which doesn't usually attract new shooters.

 

[dbowers]

I've gotten a little burned out with the competition side of 3D, so I am taken some time off and focusing on having fun with it. Not to say that comp can't be fun, I just over did it a bit.

 

[illbowhunter]

I think it is great to have the whole family involved. I shoot with my son, daughter, daughter-in-law, and grandaughter. I wish the wife would start but she catches poison ivy bad so stays away from the woods.

 

[benglish]

I think that because of words like league, and competition are keeping a lot of people from comming out and shooting. A lot of people feel that they are not good enough or have to be an extremely good shooter just to shoot with these groups.

I think you're right about this, but what do you suppose we can do to encourage those people to show up? How do we make it seem more aproachable?

 

[Valhalla 1]

I voted for competition, because even at the fun level it is still competition, as others have said. I'm not good enough to seriously compete (or at best I don't have the time to commit to be a serious competitor), but it is the fun of friendly competition that brings me out. Sometimes it is against myself, sometimes my buddies. Just going around shooting the targets would get old fast. I like to keep score, even if that score is a bit sad.

 

[sj_lutz]

How about "funatition"?? :wink:

 

[Rack Tracker]

A Competition is what you make of it...

When I step to the line in Vegas or Redding, I'm just shooting against myself. It's about doing my best and not about where I end up in the standings. When it comes to local shoots, I think the different equipment and age classes in the NFAA insure that folks shoot against their peers. Go to enough sanctioned shoots and you can even get a handicap and shoot in b or c class.


Heck just spending time around top shooters makes me a better shooter whether its a California blacktail or an orange dot in my sights.

 

[flintcreek6412]

I think it's a 2 fold issue......and I speak from experience because I've never officially competed.

a) Lots of people including myself are either intimidated, confused or even insulted at all of the different rules and different organizations. Simplify it so anyone with any set up can participate. Just break it into a target(long stab, scoped sights, v-bars, etc) and hunter(short stab, no lens but allow sliders like hunters use, and no limit on speed, weight, or arrow/fletching). If I have to get different arrows, slow my bow, change my sight to be in a hunter class I'm simply not interested.

b) Create different flight/handicaps so the 30th place guy has a chance to place #1 in maybe a "C" flight. Not sure if they do it or not but it would maybe make others feel more comfortable if while explaining it you let them know they actually have a chance at a good finish.

 

[rocklock]

We have fun and don't take it too seriously, but believe me; it is still a competition! lol....