[Archers] Recommendation

[Garth Groff]

Noble Friends of the Bow,

Her Majesty's post, and other messages on this subject, set me to 
thinking about awards this weekend. I see that we have no real fixed 
benchmarks for recommending someone for the King's Missiliers or the Yew 
Bow. That is probably as it should be. Each candidate is different, and 
expresses their excellence in different ways.

So here is what I would consider, in no particular order, and keeping in 
mind that some points will be stronger than others in each candidate:


Participation and commitment: Is the candidate a regular participant in 
the archery community through their local group's practices, and at 
tournaments in at least their regional area? Do they make any of their 
own equipment?

Service: Does the candidate contribute to archery by marshaling at 
practices, assisting at tournaments, staging a tournament as MIC, 
contributing targets, teaching archery in the field, teaching classes on 
archery subjects at University, or serving as a higher officer in the 
archery program? There is nothing in Her Majesty's comments requiring an 
office for an award, and there are lots of other ways a non-officer can 
be of service. Staging a tournament can be especially difficult for 
someone from a small group, so I wouldn't always expect this, but it 
certainly is a plus.

Worthy conduct: Does the candidate show respect to others he/she 
interacts with in and out of the archery community? Do they contribute 
their knowledge and expertise to the archery community, and to assist 
others such as newcomers? Are they honest? Are they respectful of the 
rules? Are they complainers?

Scores: Although Her Majesty pointed out that the awards were not 
intended to be a test of skills, in a martial sport this is still hard 
for us to completely ignore. If the candidate has mastered their chosen 
weapon or weapons, and achieved a score worthy of note, that could be a 
plus. What is worthy of note? Well that's debatable, but certainly above 
our two lowest ranks by my definition.

Comments?


Yours Aye,


Mungo