Very well said Pinwheel 12. I' m with you 100%. Before the 11-ring there were only a very small handfull of perfect scores ever shot. A perfect score with 11 rings is virtually impossible. In bowling a perfect score of 300 happens somewhat regularly. You won,t see them adding an 11th pin to up their challenge. What' s next? a tack size 15-ring inside the 11.

The people that can shoot for the 11 ring should have no trouble hitting the ten ring. In the end the guy that can shoot more elevens will still win even when there is no 11 ring. If you take away all the people that shoot a high score from any class then the new guy that shoots the high score will become the bad guy. Their will always be winners and loosers and the same guys will be complaining that it isn' t fair unless they become the winners. A guy that is willing to practice and work hard enough to get to the top of any class should not be penilized. First place should be an award not a gift.

The guy who shoots more elevens may or may not still win---it all depends upon whether or not they can handle the pressure of shootoffs. Tournament nerves have claimed more than one victim.

I also agree that the top prize should not be a gift---having won my share in years past I can strongly see this point--however to get more people competing and for the overall numbers to grow, we must make it easier for them to do so IMHO. If we keep making things tougher and tougher and tougher still every year all we are doing is catering to the top shooters and forgetting about the bulk of the competitors. This leaves a bad taste in their mouths and is why we see more and more dissention every year--I hear this constantly from 3D shooters who frequent my (IBO) Pro shop. They don' t mind (too much) if they get beat by 10 or even 20 points, but when they get slaughtered by 50, 60, or 80, no, they won' t be back because realistically they know they cannot make up that kind of ground. 10, 20 or 30--well then there is a possibility of picking that up or " pulling one out of a hat" . INCENTIVE to participate is the key objective here.

As stated, the top shooters will always be there--until there is no-one else but them that is. If you have no-one to witness your accomplishments, it really isn' t that much fun, is it?[] What we need to do is make it enticing to those who wish to compete but do not currently feel they can. This will increase numbers. Back when 3D first started it was a much more relaxing atmosphere IMO---laughing, joking, even busting if someone missed a shot was the norm. Try that now, especially at a major, and you' ll get decked![] Far too serious. We need to make the game FUN again. To do that formats and scoring must not be so demanding of the archers participating. That simple IMHO.

Besides--a few shootoffs never hurt anyone, and prepares us all for that one shot " moment of truth" under severe pressure! Good shooting, Pinwheel 12

[8D][8D][8D] I' ve got a fresh idea to this 11 ring thing! Why not make the 10 ring smaller( harder to hit), get rid of 11' s , now Just think about it, someone might get a perfect score, and still be considered a great shot!! Just think about the excitement of possible shoot-offs again!

I think 11' s are great. Practice Practice Practice, usually leads to more 11' s and fewer 8' s or 5' s.