First off I would like to commend everyone who helped pull off this shoot.

I have been attending the worlds and the triple crowns since 1999 and have had a great deal of fun in doing so. However I must say that I personally will not be returning to snowshoe next year or any year that the shoot is held there. These are my reasons:

1) Boredom- After having been to Snowshoe the last 5 years I have become genuinly bored with what is offered, you can only ride the ski lift or float around in the paddle boats so many times.. A change in scenerie would be nice every couple years.

2) The weather and range placement- What we had on Friday was not fog but rather a cloud... anytime you are close to 5000ft in elevation the clouds can move in and obscure visibility, not a good thing when you are trying to have a bow shoot. As a side note, I spoke with a worker at the mountian who indicated that Snowshoe controled a great deal of land further downslope in the valley... Why not have the ranges there rather than in the clouds.

3) Unsafe ranges- Now I am not talking about slippery footing or steep trails but rather ranges where there is a good chance of being struck by a missed shot. Numerous times on both ranges I personally shot on, (E and L) the shooting peg of a subsequent target was placed in such a way that it was too close to the previous target. Whenever this occured and there was also a backup at the stake the group behind was forced to sit on top of the group shooting the target for fear of being struck by a loose arrow. Rumor has it that one persons bow was struck by an arrow as they were pulling arrows, evidently the arrow had been fired from several targets back.

4) The 4 day format and a genuine arrogance of certain people
The "4 day format" necessitated by the unpredictability of the "weather" (read as "clouds") has made coming to snowshoe too costly for me to do, basically it boils down to 3 days taken off work plus the cost of lodging for 3 nights then the cost of lodging for an additional night. When it became evident that Friday would be canceled one of the guys in my party asked an IBO official who shall remain nameless what would come of it, whether or not we would have to pay for another nights stay or if the mountain would provide it at no charge due to extenuating circumstances. To which the official replied rather smugly from atop his four wheeler that "of course you will have to pay, its a 4 day format everyone has to pay for four days". Fair enough, so we went to the Mountain top check in to try and pay for our accommadations for another night, only to find out that our rooms had been booked by other people arriving on Saturday and that we would have to change rooms to one with only 2 beds for 8 people.

These are my reasons why I will not be returning to Snowshoe and instead will be heading to Georgia the week earlier instead.

Stephen Barondeau

Sorry to hear your dislikes. I've been going to this event for the past 4 years, and have yet to get bored, and I haven't even tried the paddle boats yet. This year our group was of 12 people. We had a great time!!! They consisted of people from Kentucky, New York, & PA. I've heard all the complaints people have inregards to Snowshoe, I think it's a beautiful place, which I'm sure you won't argue. This to me is not just a shoot, it's my vacation. Due to the currcumstances last year, I came to this event with a new out look: to spend time with great friends, relax, meet new friends, and to just plain have fun; shooting good would just be a bonus. I did all of the above. You just can't meet better people anywhere than at these events.

As for your room, we had a friend that we found out was staying for the weekend by himself, we called the front desk to see if he could have his money refunded so he could stay with us instead. They said "YES". Instead of $300+ for the weekend he spent $100 with us and that includes his share of the room this year + food (boy did we eat good) + his share of the deposit for next year. My point is that, had you booked this room for the 4 days it was scheduled for, and had the shoot gone according to plan, they may have not charged you for the 4th day. We figured in the above situation that the worst thing they could have said is"NO". It doesn't hurt to ask.

Good luck in Georgia next year, and enjoy the new surroundings, and as always, hit them in the middle!!

didn't go this year, but last year we were booked to leave on Sunday, when Saturday was cancelled, we decided to get a start on the 13 hour ride. when we checked out they did NOT charge us for Saturday night even though we checked out after the checkout time.

If you went knowing that you might have to stay, and didn't reserve for the full time, then you took a gamble and lost.

this was my 4th year at snowshoe for the worlds and will definately be my last, unkept promises and the most unorganized shooting organization in the world have definately made the decision for me and the 14 other members of my group who travel there every year, if the IBO or IBH ( International bowhunters of Ohio) as most of us like to call it keep doing the things that there doing there isnt gona be an ibo.

shot an asa this year and ther is just no comparison, what a great organization

thebreeze---i will tend to agree with you on your statement. Most of us work pretty hard on preparing yourself for the worlds. Last year I got to shoot 20 shots and go home. This year I got to shoot 40 shots but if you were in a group after 1 Pm on Thursday , you got to shoot in some very heavy rain and some fog near the bottom. Some of the guys started off pretty good but the elements got us all toward the end. The lenses were out ,the umbrella was over us ,the glasses were fogged and we were really wet and cold. The best of us were 15 down going into Saturday morning. I haven't gave much thought for next year, but think I would probally be a damn fool to try it again. Said that last year and 3 weeks before Worlds called and got a room again. Got to be a place that it doesn't rain all the time and be foggy till noon .

what ASA shoot did you go to?

You know, it really bothers me that yall hated snowshoe that much. I have to tell yall, I loved it. This was my first year, and its not gonna be my last. The big question is, " Where do yall want the next IBO Word Championship to be held'? Disney World?, Six Flags? Or if yall dont want it to rain, I guess we could always have the Championship out in the desert in Arizona. I dont know if IBO is gonna sign another contarct with snowshoe after 2005, but I hope they do. YOu could not have such a better place. And as far as ASA goes.. They suck! I live in South Alabama and shoot ASA events all the time. Let me tell ya.. They would put on a shoot in a hurricane just to make some money. Thats means they dont care about the safety for the shooters and sure dont give a damn about what you think. IBO is the only way to go.. THanks IBO for putting on a great shoot.

You're right BJ I'm from ROLL TIDE country also Go IBO seems like everyone wants a shoot thata sometimes IMPOSSIBLE to have but everyone has an opinion among other thangs

Maybe if it was not a 3-d shoot it wouldn't be outside????????????

The IBO needs a pat on the back for all the work they do to protect OUR rights to archery hunt. There is more to this orginization than just holding 3D shoots. We should be glad that there is an orginization like this to help protect our rights. As far as Snowshoe it is a beautiful place to shoot. It is a very challenging setting. Does anyone of you who complain about the IBO have any idea the work that goes into putting on a shoot of this size. Thank you IBO for all of your hard work and dedication to the sport of archery.