17 November 2011 - Last day of the 5th World Archery Coaching Seminar

Last day of the 5th World Archery Coaching Seminar  London (GBR) – 17 November 2011  The last day 5th World Archery Coaching Seminar on 11 November 2011 started with Trish LOVELL, President of Archery GB and former international field archer, talking about barebow technique and field archery. The topics covered included bow design, technique, aiming and tuning. There appeared to be a relatively low level of audience exposure to barebow and so the talk was both interesting and informative for many. The lecturer engaged the audience at all points and there was excellent audience participation.   She was then followed by Alison WILLIAMSON (GBR), elite archer, who presented a top international archer’s perspective. This was run as an open question and answer session with Tim SWANE (GBR), launching the questions and acting as chairman once the dialogue was under way. There were questions on a wide variety of topics including funding, lifestyle, coaching, team selection, Olympic preparation, the mental game and life after archery. The format was a refreshing change from the regular PowerPoint presentation.   In the afternoon George TEKMITCHOV (USA) from Easton gave a talk on tuning for the advanced Olympic archery competitor. This was a detailed discussion of recurve tuning with explanations of why each step is important. Although somewhat technical at times, everything was explained very clearly—bow tuning made easy! His key message was "grouping trumps all". His talk included invaluable tips even for people who can confidently tune a recurve bow and he amused us with a trick for testing whether the point of an arrow was loose. He closed with a short propaganda slot telling us about new Easton products and the Hoyt bow manufacturing process.   The last talk before the closing speeches was from Ceriann DAVIES (GBR) from the Archery GB Performance Unit. This was about developing talent as part of her task of building a legacy for the future post the London 2012 Olympics. She described her plans for changes to the selection and development of potential Olympic archers with great enthusiasm.   The seminar closed with presentations and short speeches of thanks from Tim SWANE, Pascal COLMAIRE (World Archery Development & Education Director) and Trish LOVELL in her role as President of Archery GB.    Audience feedback on the three day seminar as a whole included appreciation of the openness and honesty of Archery GB speakers in sharing how they have got to where they are and recognising that this is a learning process. This compared favourably to previous World Archery Coaching Seminars where it was thought that there was a tendency to be more prescriptive and closed to new ideas. The depth and diversity of detail exceeded many of the sessions at previous seminars and was of great benefit.   The level of audience participation and interaction with speakers was a clear indication of the interest generated throughout the seminar. Photos   Carol BYDE, Archery GB Senior Coach World Archery Communication