President's Address

22 May 07

Greetings fellow archers,

Finally the exams are over for most whilst the holidays all too quickly are also over for others. BUT for many it is the start of a month long holiday, yay…

SEAAF Junior Championship 2007

The event went very well, especially so when Singapore won the inaugural Cerebos overall challenge trophy, winning in 6 out of the 8 categories contested. Well done guys. This event shows that the plans and training put in by the young archers are on track and if we keep this up we will be doing archery proud in the future years to come.

To the organizers, National Junior College Archery Club ably led by Hanqiang, thank you for a job well done. You guys made it all possible and the letter of thanks and appreciation from the various countries are strong testimonies to the work you guys have put in for the event.

Full results are available on the competition section of the website.

NUS Indoor Shoot 2007

Don’t forget to register early for the event. It is a sanctioned shoot and all clubs, archers, and friends of archery are invited to participate in this annual event by the archers of NUS.

For more information please go to the Competition Section of this website.

Interschool Championship 2007

We intend to organize this event in late July or early August in full support of the many student archers that we have presently. All clubs are invited to send in their interest to organize this 3-day event covering the schools in Singapore. The range to be used is ZHNAR. Organisers will be paid $1500 for the work to be done with all expenses being billed and paid for by AAS. So, this is a good chance for the club to make some money for their coffer. Alternatively, the club may choose to shoulder the whole thing and be entrepreneurial. This way, you charge the fees, collect the fees and use the fees to run the whole event. At the end of the day, any profit (or loses) is yours to bear or keep. AAS will support by the loan of use of the range at ZHNAR.

Interested club or clubs (yup, you can combine efforts) please send your interest to be the organizer for this event to Sonny Nair by 30 May 2007.

Outstanding prizes for AAS Outdoor Competition 2007

My apologies for not getting the replacement trophies to you on time and for keeping the deserving winners waiting on edge. It has been one event after another and I have been very busy. I will try to get them sorted out by month's end. Sorry folks.

Calendar of Events 2007 (COE)

It is very important that we keep the calendar of events updated so that all the others can plan their activities around it. As such, we would like to advise all clubs that are going to hold any events, sanctioned or otherwise to please keep Sonny informed so that he can update the COE. Remember, this year’s SEA Games will be held in December and most of the participating archers will be very busy training/participating during the later part of the year for it. As such, it is not advisable to hold any events during the November / December period.

FITA Judge Leong's Report

Leong has made a very detailed and informative report that I would like all archers to take note of. Time and again we have reiterated these points but it has nonetheless been forgotten with the passage of time. So, guys, do note the advice given.

These are only my personal comments and do not represent the views of all other judges on duty.

A) ISSUE PERTAINING TO RULES
  1. There are a few cases where archers were talking among themselves and to their coaches or others while on the shooting line. This is not permitted. Their coaches or others can tell them what to do but archers are not allowed to talk back. (Articles 7.4.6 & JGB; 5.5.10)
  2. Our archers also like to stay on the shooting line after their last arrow and use their scope to spot their arrows. (Actually they developed the bad habit of checking each arrow on the butt after each shot; I don’t think they know the real purpose of the scope. Just wasting precious time and stressing themselves). The problem here is that they are to retire behind the waiting line immediately after they have shot their arrows (7.7.4.1)
  3. During team match, our archers are not familiar with the team format. Need to understand articles 7.5.2.3 and 7.5.2.4.
  4. During individual matches, our archers do not know where their shooting position are. Need to understand articles 7.5.2.2.
  5. Archers carry handphones into the FOP, one of them even attempted to use it during scoring. This is not permitted as per article 7.3.4.1.
  6. Archers do not know their entitlement and their rightful position on the shooting line. One of our archer was pushed to the edge with two scopes (his and the opponent) obstructing his movement. Need to know articles 7.1.1.7 and 7.5.1.3.
B) OTHER UNDESIRABLE PRACTICES
  1. Our archers are more concerned about their own scores and arrows behind the butt. I have noticed that during scoring, most do not bother to check what is written on the official score cards. This resulted in many cases of request for correction after arrows were pulled. There are cases where they accept what the opponents asked for. There are also many cases where the archers do not bother about scoring but went straight to behind the butt to look for their "missed" arrow.
  2. They tend to argue or ask the judge why or even try to explain the reason for their action. In most cases (95%), the judge is correct when he say that certain things/actions are not allowed. Please tell your archers if they are not happy with a judge's decision or action to report the matter to the team official immediately and let them settle the matter. (In fact, for above-cases, 1, 2 & 5, the archers actually asked me why they can't do that).
  3. During the team event, one of the archers (spectator) behind the waiting line was brave enough to ask the judge to move away because the judge was blocking her view. Please note that the FOP belongs to the organiser, spectators have no right to organize things inside the FOP.
  4. Lastly, I overheard one of our archer say "the stupid judge say it is a nine". Though that statement is not directed at me, it makes me think as to why I am taking my own leave to judge the event. Maybe I am stupid?

My comments here are for your information and necessary action, if any.

Best regards,
Leong

Technical Delegate Major (retired) Baharuddin SEAAF 2007 Report

As is international practice, the TD has submitted his report to us, the organizers, and some points of concern were highlighted to us and are being actioned upon. Organisers of future events, both local and international, should read the report and be aware of our short comings. (see TD Report)

Thanks for reading and good shooting.

George Loh
President
AAS