Here in NY & Pa we have a league that shoots every Sunday. It is made up of five clubs and no two clubs hold a shoot on any Sunday. Over 36 Weeks we average just about 100 shooters (95 last week) each week. Over the last few years the numbers haven't changed much for the average Sunday shoot, but the classes have since the Hunter Class was added. On average 40% of the total shooters are using the hunter class. The important thing is that the numbers have stayed about the same as far as total attendance is concerned. Our targets are holding up considering the number of arrows that are shot at them. We normally shoot 30 targets and the shooting fee is $8.00 for the adults and the Children and Ladies pay $5.oo. Lets use a average of $7.00 per shooter considering that the men are the largest number. $7.00 for 30 targets means that the clubs are getting .23 cents for each arrow that hits the target. The cost of the targets is part of providing a service for the members and league shooters and must be controled by the Tournament officials. That is our cost and is only one club with our own set up. The targets can be the smallest cost factor if you want to do a little work in the community.
The IBO is the leading organization for 3 D shooting but it still has a long way to go as a competitive organization. The Archery in the Schools program is in its infancy and is growing more and more every day. Most of the kids in the programs are really exposing many other people to the sport including their parents. The shooters coming out of the school programs will need classes that will satisfy their skills and desires for now and in the future. Addressing the needs of the future competitive archers is something that I think needs to be addressed now. Any changes in the class system that we have now should be well thought out and possibly even tried on a limited basis for future and present rules and regulations.
The hunter class as it is, is the most successful class in the IBO class system. Numbers don't lie and there will never be a class that satisfies everyone. Any changes should be made by a majority of the IBO members and a few opinions can not represent the majority. Ken is in a position to poll the clubs and the IBO members by what ever means to suggest changes and make recommendations to the BOD. Any changes should not be implimented as a permanent change until after the IBO members have had one year to voice their feelings after trying the systems changes. We are all the IBO and when we want changes we should communicate with the appropiate represnetatives from our own area and or the IBO Office. All of our suggestions for change should be based on the best interest of the organization.
History has taught us many things about archery organizations and the IBO is the original 3D organizaton and will keep growing if we all pull together whenever were shooting either live or foam deer or other game.