<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Greetings all,<BR>
First, let me say thank you to Ignacio for this list to allow us to come<BR>
together over our various distances and talk.<BR>
On the issue of the wrist strap, I was the one that first put this into <BR>
this set of rules when I was KAM. The reasoning was that, like "clicker"<BR>
sight pins and stablizers, it was a more modern commodity<BR>
to allow people to shoot groups the size of a dime in the modern <BR>
methods of archery. Yes, you want a loose grip on your bow, the strap<BR>
can allow you to have almost no grip, but a free fall of the bow after the shot<BR>
so the archer doesn't jerk his shot off. That is its purpose, and my thoughts why it should stay in the olympic sport and not ours.<BR>
Now having said that, I have seen on at least two occasions where an<BR>
archer has lost their bow upon release of an arrow. One archer tried to retrieve<BR>
it, causing a hold on the line by the alert line marshal. At one time straps<BR>
were not allowed in the East, but it has been changed to specifically allow them<BR>
now. Did they use them in the past or could they have? Who knows.<BR>
It has become a more standard practice throughout the kingdoms to allow them,<BR>
and yes it could be a safety point. But they should not be required.<BR>
People that want to use them should be allowed to, and it could be a teaching point to better the archers of our kingdom which is what we are all striving for.<BR>
<BR>
On the point of RR, I feel it is important that MIT has a RR average, and this is why.<BR>
First, if you are going to be a marshal in Atlantia, you should know how to score,<BR>
shoot, and run a royal round for it is how we rank the archers in the kingdom.<BR>
Now, just shooting a RR for an average will not guarantee that you will know the ins and outs of it, but you will have at least been exposed to how they work and how they run. If having a RR average was not a requirement, this could not be said of the MIT, and they might know nothing of how the RR works.<BR>
Second, I feel it is important to support the kingdom and its effort in archery. It makes going to the Crown and putting forth Ideas for the archery community much easier.<BR>
If we can show we have X number of active archers in various rankings, and we<BR>
have ranked XX in the IKAC, it is an immediate show of what the archers are doing.<BR>
Marshals should encourage the archers to shoot RR at practices as has been stated.<BR>
Maybe you don't like RR for whatever reason. Maybe the archers at your practices would like the choice. They don't have to shoot RR if they are put in front of them,<BR>
but they CAN'T shoot them if they are not given the opportunity. As a Target Marshal in Atlantia, you should support your Kingdom by example and have a RR average.<BR>
Third, it is good practice for shooting speed and even unknown distances because<BR>
you get a feel for yardage out to 40 yards.<BR>
I understand that not everone can find a range they can use to 40 yards.<BR>
And I am not saying RR and IKAC and nothing else. Anyone that's been to one of<BR>
my tourneys knows I like other shoots and do not include RR in tourneys<BR>
but use them for practice.<BR>
<BR>
I've rambled enough. These are my thoughts for what they're worth.<BR>
<BR>
Yours in service,<BR>
<BR>
Mika Longbow<BR>
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