Jillian McClanahan, April – Your first competition can be scary! I know mine certainly was. For me, I was mostly afraid of the unknown. I knew I was going to show up and shoot, but where will my teammates be shooting? What if I have to use the bathroom? Where will my parents be? What do the scorecards look like? I’m sure if you’re anxious like I am, all of these questions sound pretty familiar. Your first NASP® competition may be state, I have participated in three state competitions so let me put some ease to your endless questions.
First thing I want to clear up, you’re almost never alone. I know my biggest fear was getting lost and missing the shoot completely. If you’re not with your parents, you’re with your team so there’s really no “getting lost.” On the off chance you do get separated from your group, the matching team shirts make it pretty easy to find your team in the crowd, and everyone is extremely friendly so all you would have to do is ask for directions.
In all the competitions I have participated in, I have never shot directly next to a teammate, but there is always at least a couple of your teammates close. Even if you guys are spread around the line isn’t long, so you can talk in between rounds. Coaches walk up and down the lanes, checking on their archers throughout the shoot so they aren’t far if you need them. Unless your parent is an archery coach, they can’t be past the curtain, but there are chairs set up for them to watch, and it’s plenty close for you to talk in between flights.
One of the first things you will do as a team after arriving at the competition is sit down as a group, pass out scorecards and fill in your shooter number. The sticker on your score card will have what lane you’re on. I text my parents my number so they know where to sit. After you fill out your shooter number the coaches either take your phones, or have you put them away so they are not a distraction on the line. If you have to use the bathroom this is usually the time when you do so. The coaches hand out arrows, make sure everyone has their score cards and bows out of their cases.
Competitions have a ton of archers, usually multiple flights, sometimes even two days worth. After the previousgroup is cleared they announce over the speaker that it’s time to hang your bows for inspection, put your score card on the clipboard in front of your target and put your arrows in your quivers. Make sure that your lane mate does not have the same colored arrow as you, and if they do communicate with your coach so they can switch out your arrows.
During the shooting process they announce over the speaker instructions, and use whistle commands. An hour may seem like a long time to stand there, but it goes by in what feels like seconds. Make sure you sign the bottom of your score card, and get your lane mate to sign the witness signature before turning them into the lane official.
If you’re the last round of archers in the competition, stick around for the awards ceremony. It’s really fun to watch them hand out trophies and support other archers even if you didn’t win anything.
I hope reading this article eased some of your worries. Competitions aren’t as scary as they seem, and always end up being really fun.