Basic Archery Instructor (BAI) – Refresher

Safety rating organizations rank archery safer than every ball sport taught in schools except table tennis. Archery accidents are almost unheard of because care is taken to lay out a safe range, rules are rigorously followed, and archery is a very deliberate controlled activity.

During this lesson, the BAI will learn how to make sure shooting occurs in a safe direction. They will learn how the waiting, shooting and target lines help keep everyone in safe positions on the archery range. A simple set of internationally accepted whistle areas on the range.

Each student will learn which of their eyes are dominant. They will learn the importance of shooting a bow with the bowstring on the same side of the face as the dominant eye.

Discussion Most people have one eye that is dominant over the other. When looking with both eyes open, over a pointed finger or looking down an arrow, the dominant eye lines up over the finger or arrow more so than the non-dominant eye. Most people’s dominant eye matches their dominant hand. In other words, most right-handed people are right-eye dominant and vice-versa.

The BAI will learn to make a String Bow® and understand how this training aid can make archery a more enjoyable life-long activity.

The use of the String Bow® enables the instructor to teach the student proper shooting technique without distraction or interference from equipment or the target. It helps prevent the student from judging performance solely upon where the arrow hits the target during the beginning stages of learning. A correctly made String Bow® will also determine an archer’s proper draw length. Too many archers shoot bows that have too long (veterans) or too short draw lengths (beginners). Improper draw length makes it nearly impossible for the archer to perform proper form, shot execution, and follow through.

Student archers will learn eleven steps to perform and execute ideal shooting form, shot execution, and follow through.

Discussion There are many keys to enjoying success in archery. It is important the archer’s equipment fits, and bows, arrows, and accessories are well tuned for effective arrow flight. The archer must also execute consistent shooting form from shot to shot. The archer’s shooting form is most effective when it allows the shooter to be stable, relaxed, and comfortable, to maintain proper muscle activity and body alignment through-out each shot.

The instructor will demonstrate how to move about a new archer using non-threatening techniques and motivational language to help the archer achieve greater levels of success.

It is the rare archer who is able to immediately transfer what he sees and hears about proper shooting form, to perfect technique on the range. The instructor needs the ability to recognize movements the student archer can improve upon. The instructor should help the archer make the adjustments necessary to improve performance of the Eleven Steps to Archery Success.

The archer will experience how the range lines and whistle signals are used to move about the range in a safe manner. The archer will practice transferring String Bow® and Eleven Steps to Archery Success lessons to actual shooting of a bow. The archer will learn how to safely retrieve arrows from the targets.

Discussion The new archer will put most of the previous !lessons together in this session to experience a positive, safe and successful shooting activity. The instructor will use the CPR technique to properly correct an archer’s performance of the Eleven Steps to Archery Success. The student will learn that all range safety rules must be followed very closely in order for the range to be operated in an efficient and safe manner.

Demonstrate how the range and archers are routinely managed. The archer will learn how to score arrows and have an opportunity to experience coaching and being coached.

This lesson describes what will take place during the normal archery class after students have learned safety rules and how to shoot. It is important that the archery instructor understands the difference in Running the Range and the previous Safety Orientation lessons. During this lesson, the instructor conducts archery class on a properly arranged NASP® archery range. The instructor will use whistle commands and range lines to direct student archers when and where they are supposed to be, and furthermore, what they will do.

BAI candidates will learn names for parts of the compound bow. They will also learn how to inspect bows, maintain, operate, and repair before and during use for the sake of safety and performance.

Throughout beginning archery lessons, it is necessary for the instructor to refer to various parts of the bow. It is important that students learn the correct nomenclature for these parts to facilitate archery discussions in the classroom and beyond. For example, if a student sees what might be a crack in the bow’s limb, the student could be able to communicate this to the instructor by knowing upper from lower limbs, and bow face from bow back. In other words, instead of a student saying, “There appears to be a crack in this long green part.” The student could say, “There appears to be a crack in the face of the bow’s upper limb.”

Teach the names of arrow parts, inspection, and repair.

The only arrow authorized to use in NASP® is a full-length aluminum arrow made and marked specifically for the program. Aluminum is the arrow material of choice for use by youth in NASP® because of its superior safety features. Unlike wood and carbon shaft material, aluminum is very unlikely to splinter when hit by another arrow or upon hitting a hard object.