Fellow Archers
I am writing to tell you about a very exciting opportunity for Scottish Archery.
Very recently, we received the official invitation to participate in the 2nd Commonwealth Archery Championships to be held in India this coming November (there is also an update received on 10th August). This will be the first time since 1982 that we have had the opportunity to compete on the global stage and I and many others are very excited at this prospect.
The Executive met and decided that to send as large a team as possible (maximum of 16, 4 from each sex/bow type) to give the maximum opportunity for Scotland’s archers. We also took a very hard decision to commit a large part of our savings but felt this opportunity was too valuable to miss.
At the SAA web site, we have published the selection criteria (which we will keep under review) and many archers have already started on the road to “raise their game” to meet the targets set. Since the announcement, I have also received much encouragement and support for our decision to participate.
This is not just about the archers who go to India - this is a great opportunity to raise the profile of archery for us all as our archers will represent the whole of Scottish Archery. I am sure that many of your friends and colleagues will read about this in the papers or see it on the news, and their interest will be aroused and they will come to you and say ‘you do archery, tell me about it’. It will also give you the chance to interact with your local press and community to generate a springboard to attract new members, re-invigorate existing participants and attract back some past members and raise the whole profile of the sport in the eyes of the public.
Now, I want you to be part of the team and to help to gather the funding that we will require.
We are still working on the detail of how much it will cost. Our best estimate is that the total cost will be around £13,500, but we cannot be sure until we have all the facts and figures in. The SAA will provide £5,000 and we will be asking the archers to provide £5,600 (£350 each). Our target is to raise the balance of around £3,000 by the end of October.
We have started work on a set of web pages to help individuals and clubs by suggesting ways we know of from our experience. However, we want you to get involved by telling us what works well and will be putting up a discussion list to help make this happen.
So, visit the SAA web site at www.scottisharchery.org.uk and get involved!
Regards,
Bob.
