the 2008 national indoor results - National Field Archery Association

y Paul Davison
NFAA Historian
Way Back When
O n c e U p o n a T i m e . . .
O n l y F o u r C h a m p i o n s h i p T r o p h i e s
W e r e A w a r d e d
have an officially-issued
name badge saying that
I’m the NFAA Head Has-
Been. I only wear the
badge at the annual NFAA Board
of Directors meeting, where
it draws a few laughs at the
welcoming reception. With this
title, however, together with a
recurring NFAA history article
in this magazine, I feel that I’m
justified to get on my soap box
once or twice.
At this year’s annual
meeting there was considerable
discussion, with no resolution,
on the increase in the number
of NFAA awards presented at
our Sectional and National
Championships. This same
discussion has been repeated at
virtually every annual meeting
for the past ten years. I first
reported on the subject in the
Sep/Oct 2001 Nostalgia Corner
article in this magazine.
The problem is money. The
NFAA wants to balance the
tournament registration fees
with the tournament expenses,
which are essentially the host
club’s tournament operating
costs, plus the cost of the NFAA
awards. The NFAA doesn’t
expect to make a profit on their
tournaments, but they also don’t
expect to lose much money.
The smaller NFAA tournaments,
especially Outdoor Sectional
tournaments, have been money
losers for several years. This
is because as many as 60% to
70% of the competitors receive
either a first, second or third
place championship award. A
reasonable goal is about 1:3
award-to-shooter ratio.
The following table (see
facing page) shows the
proliferation of NFAA awards
over the past sixty years. At
the first Outdoor Nationals in
1946, there were provisions for
only four championship awards
— 1/18th of the 72 authorized
today. There are seven non-
Pro (plus one Pro) divisions
and nine different styles for
two genders. Not all styles are
represented in all divisions, but
the total number of possible
championship awards still adds
up to 72.
Something’s got to give.
Either we reduce the number
of awards, reduce the cost of
the awards, or increase the
registration fees. Another
solution could be some sort of
handicap system similar to what
was tried (and quickly rejected)
by the NFAA in 1974. That
is, competitors are grouped
according to the average of
their most recent scores without
regard to style of shooting, or
possibly without regard to age
or gender. It could be worth
another try, however.
In addition to the “styleless”
handicap system, here are a few
specific solutions offered over
the past few years:
1. Merge like styles; such as,
Barebow with Bowhunter and
Bowhunter Freestyle Limited
with Freestyle Limited.
2. Merge age groups; primarily
Senior with Master Senior,
and Young Adult with Adult.
3. Provide complimentary,
and less costly, awards for
Seniors and/or Young Adults,
who could still compete for
championship awards in
the Adult Divisions. Seniors
Proliferation of NFAA Divisions and Styles—the First 60 Years
were treated this way before
1994.
4. Instead of using the current
“unit rule” (first, second
and third place awards for
one, two and three shooters,
respectively); return to, for
example; one award for 1to-3
shooters, two awards for
4-to-6 shooters, and three
awards for seven or more
shooters. This option only
reduces the number of second
and third place awards.
5. Replace the championship
silver bowls (Nationals) and
plaques (Sectionals) with less
expensive medals.
6. Increase registration fees.
Most people agree that this
is just a temporary patch,
and not a viable, permanent
solution.
This is about as far as I’m
going to go on this sensitive
subject. Remember, it’s you,
the NFAA member that has the
most to say about this issue.
Your state’s NFAA Director needs
to know your opinion on which
direction the NFAA should go.
Thanks for letting me step
out of my historian role for a
minute. I’m getting off my soap
box now. ■
42 Archery Magazine June / July 2008 Archery Magazine June / July 2008 43
Year
Open (Adult)
Youth
Young Adult
Amateur (Adult)
Pro 3
Cub
Adult 4
Senior (Adult and Pro)
Master Senior 5
Barebow
Freestyle Limited 1
Bowhunter 2
Freestyle
Bowhunter Freestyle
Bowhunter FSL
Traditional
FITA Olympic
FITA Compound
FITA Barebow
FSL Recurve/Longbow 6
1946
1950
1952
1956
1961
1973
1975
DIVISION (MALE AND FEMALE)
STYLE
Crossbow 7
1 No release aids. Called just “Freestyle” until 1973.
2 Bowhunter styles not recognized in Cub, Youth and Young Adult Divisions.
3 Pros included Barebow and Bowhunter in 1976-80, and BHFS and BHFSL in 1981-89.
4 Adult Division combines Open and Amateur in 1981. Adult-only Traditional style started in 1985.
5 Master Senior for BB, FS and FSL only. Pro MSFS dropped after 2004.
6 FSLR/L essentially same as FITA Olympic. Not approved for Cub, Youth and Young Adult Divisions until 2005.
7 Crossbow style for Adults only.
For more NFAA history, visit www.fieldarchery.com and click on NFAA History, or visit the historian’s website at www.stringwalker.net
1981
1986
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1994
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2001
2005