Information No. 9 from FITA Judges and Coaches Committees

Information No. 9 from FITA Judges and Coaches Committees Lausanne – 9 December 2010   Information to Coaches In 2009 there were many competitions where archers were either confused or just did not know the rules or regulations currently in place. This resulted in many delays being encountered during competitions which caused frustration to the competitors and organisers alike. Because of this the FITA Judges and Coaches Committees have agreed it would be useful to introduce some  "drops" on issues concerning coaches, procedures and rules, and make judges procedures understandable to them, and not least, so the coaches know what to expect from the judges. Ken BEARMAN, FITA Coaches Committee Chairman   We hereby intend to start a series of small inputs in order to be helpful to coaches and enhance their knowledge on rules and procedures to avoid extraordinary stress on their archers. We are of course also open to questions that might be asked. Morten B. WILMANN, FITA Judges Committee Chairman   9. Drawing the Bow Quite often judges have to tell archers not to draw their bow in the archers’ resting area, and sometimes these archers make adverse comments or gestures.   This is a behaviour that archers should be told not to do from the very beginning of their archery career, and thereby, they would avoid being annoyed close before the beginning of a tournament.   The rules clearly states that a bow, with or without an arrow, should only be drawn on the shooting line. This means that if an archer wants to "warm up" by drawing his bow, or wants to "check his bow" by drawing, he should go to the shooting line. The reason is obvious; if a string or bow breaks in the rest area, it may cause harm to other people around, and furthermore people do not like being "aimed at" with a bow, whether it is loaded or not (it may be quite frightening). It could be even worse if an archer in distraction puts an arrow on the bow in this area. Therefore, it is "good behaviour" to follow the rules in this respect, and the coach has an important role to play to ensure this.   Let us add that even "shooting" with a rubber band in this area is not advisable, it is in fact possible to hit other people upon "release". Even using a rubber band may be preferably when standing on the shooting line, or at least in a safe position away from other people who may be moving around in the rest area.   World Archery Communication