When I was 8 I played farm system baseball. I was among the top few players in my age group. At 9, we either played minor or little league ball next. There were tryouts before the next season to determine where you would play. I was picked by a little league team. As a pitcher and catcher (no comments), I did very well against kids my own age. But when I went to little league, playing against kids as old as 12, it was a very different story.
My point to this is the age advancement from Future Bowhunter. At 9, I don’t think the kids are ready to be put out on courses; shooting against 12 year olds. The pressure of now having to judge distance, along with competing against kids much older, is allot for the younger ones to handle. There is a huge difference between a 9 year old and a 12 year old. It is very intimidating for young kids to perform in front of older kids. The older kids are shooting bows of much higher poundage than the younger ones. This, in itself, is a huge advantage. Would it not be better to keep kids in FBH until 10? There would be no need for another class since FBH is non-competitive. What are everyone’s thoughts on this?

The majority of the shoots the FBH shoot with their parents, so do cubs. Its at the national level that its split.

I had a FBH turned cub, in his last year as FBH he was almost cleaning the course, at Peek-n-Peek at the FBH shoot the last year he was there, he shot a 98/100. He jumped to cub and it devasted his fragile ego. The sudden jump to 30 yards, where you have multiple pins and distance guessing did him in, not the competing against older kids.

The FBH is a class for the pure enjoyment of the children. The class is set up with the best intentions and the enjoyment of each child can not be predicted. Overall the class can only be monitored and changes made based on each new expierence. I believe that each phase of the FBH shoot is about as basic as it can be and still have any structure.

The parents of the participants are the most influencial part of the shoot. They alone can can determine whether or not the child is ready to handle the expierence mentally as well as physically. Learning to accept disappointments as well as accomplishments has to be taught prior to any undertaking such as shooting a bow. Safety is the first thing that has to be taught and then each parent has to determine when children are ready to participate, based on how well they can mix and participate.
When a child graduates to the next level at what ever age, they decide to continue and accept the rules and the wins and losses are a part of the game. The IBO can make available the games but how the individual archers play the game is strictly and individual thing which at that young age is the side of their character that they must learn at home.
Lets try to make it an enjoyable expierence for all the kids and hope that every kid can learn something that will benefit them in the future.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't feel 9 and 10 year old kids are ready for this. Has the negative experience affected your son's desire to shoot? That's one of my concerns. If we are to bring the young ones along, and into the ranks, we need to do so carefully.

So how do you tell your child they can't shoot at The Triple Crown, or The Worlds, this year? Placement is not my concern. Hitting the targets, and shooting a score they can live with is very important to the kids, same as the adults. Most adults can accept the bumps and go on. Many children have a much harder time dealing with disappointment.

Ken, or anyone from the IBO, please jump in with your thoughts and comments. And anyone else with kids, too.

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This wouldn't necessitate forming a new class. Merely a rule change re: age for FBH.

I think that the key here is to have your kids ready to shoot and accept the results prior to going to a national event. The IBO can not custom make a class for each individual child. At the age you are talking about the child is learning how to accept and fit in in the many things that they do daily. The partents have the responsibility of teaching children values and rewards for the daily thing that they may expierience. In an organization dealing with children each child must be treated fair and they must feel that the expierence was a good one. Ability is not something that the IBO can control other than possibly some basic instructions to let the child know they care and want them to do better. Raising a child is very difficult at times but in most cases is also very rewarding and that is why parents are the most important people when it comes to building character in children. If a child is not ready for a shooting expierence than try to have them ready the next time.

fastfletch:
Come on. We're talking about kids under 10 years old, here. Kids at that age are very easily disappointed, and can quickly loose interest. Especially when the added pressure of judging distance and shooting with much older kids (12 is much older than 9) is thrown in.

That's the usual response any time a possible rule change is proposed. All that need be done is to raise the age for FBH to 10. How would that "custom make a class for each individual child?

So why not propose to raise the age to 10? That certainly wouldn't hinder the chances of a good experience. And how could it be unfair?

Suggestions for change are acceptable at any time I would suggest. When you can suggest a change that will make the majority of any class happy I'm sure that it will be a great suggestion. If such change is only being suggested by one or a few more people I'm sure that such changes will take much more study. Any time that someone makes a suggestion that will give the FBH a better format that ALL OF KIDS can enjoy and benefit from it will be accepted and requested by many people. If your suggestion is such I'm sure that there will be many more people requesting the change from the BOD. There are no losers in the FBH class and the IBO does not build these children it only makes a form of recreation available.

the bod will always try to do what is best for the kids, but if you have read any of my responses you know I do not beleive in making changes because of a few comments on web. what needs to be done is at the national and world shoot start a petition and have the parents that agree with you sign it and if that is what the majority wants I am sure it could be done. just so you know if the age was changed to 9 or 10 and someone felt they could handle shooting the cub class nothing says they can not move up early, same as a youth moving to an adult class early.