Mack. S., May – The coaches and archers are all that seem to be talked about in the archery community, and it makes sense as they are the archery team. But, almost every sport has a Booster team behind them, archery isn’t an exception to that case. A team of parents who have made themselves a supporting and foundational volunteer to their sport, all because their little ball of joy wanted to shoot a cool bow. Without these wonderful people, archery, or any other sport for that matter, wouldn’t be able to work.
The Archery Boosters do everything that operates behind the scenes, in a way they are the entity that keeps an archery team running. They help plan tournaments, find volunteers to hold these events, and care for the coaches while they run around flights, making tournaments enjoyable events. The Boosters will regulate the teams finances, by raising funds and getting sponsors for the team, so that the equipment and other fees can be paid. Parents would likely pay a whole lot more without a Booster committee trying to earn money, as in my experience, the schools funding normally isn’t enough to properly run a team. Without a Booster team, you probably wouldn’t have arrows, targets, or even school bows either- really, you wouldn’t have an archery team. Also, those delicious nachos you feast on before you shoot? That wouldn’t be available without these people. They are the reason there are concessions or any other fun things and events. Like for my team, there are end of the season celebrations and banquets, all because the Boosters hold them. Not to mention, Booster members also take care of any other tasks they can help with. The Boosters for my team, for instance, are constantly helping deliver score cards, gather archers for flights, and just try raising the archers morale before they shoot. These guys do everything they can to help the archery team succeed, and all for free.
With the Booster teams doing all this, they still have to be wary of the regulations around them. The Boosters normally need to be registered as certain organizations, have separate bank accounts and members verified on those accounts, as well as contain specific positions. In Kentucky, the Booster team has to understand and abide by the Kentucky Red Book, a document that states all the does and don’ts the Booster team must do, like the ones I just mentioned. Many other states have similar rules as well. Being a Booster member isn’t the simplest or easiest thing out there.
So, thank you. Thank you to all the Booster members out there that make these teams possible. And I hope anyone that didn’t really know what the Boosters did, understands now and maybe treats them a little kinder. Overall, these are just parents trying to make their child’s sport better and possible.
