Newport Pagnell Archers Newsletter December 2016
Welcome for the last time this year and Seasonal Greetings to all. We have some good news and some less good. Firstly, the good news:
The club is thriving, with current membership at 91, of whom 50 are adults, 32 under 25, 6 disabled and 3 Honorary Life Members. This compares to less than 50 a year ago and strongly reflects our club’s inclusiveness. Members can see our up to date finances and budget information on the web site.
We organised the 43rd Buckinghamshire Indoor County Championships, results attached. Thanks to Valerie Williamson for doing the organising and all club members who helped. Congratulations to all our members who won their events: Sarina Laan (twice!), Daisy Williams, Michael Klein, Jacky Crow, Phil James, Grant Miller, Edward and Clive Glass. We are looking for a volunteer to take over from Valerie, who is retiring from the role after 15 or so years. Section 12 of the Operating Manual describes what is involved. If you are interested let me know please.
We have started our “Boost Archery” coaching programme. This will help improve skills for all levels from beginners upwards. The results are already showing up, interestingly with both participants and those who have observed but not yet taken part. If you are interested in joining please contact Gren.
One piece of less good news: We are still having problems with double bookings on Saturdays at Millmead. This is sadly down to the person concerned being ill and beyond our control, although I hope to resolve it soon. In the meantime we would like to make amends to those who have been inconvenienced. We can offer a choice of: full refund; place on the next Have a Go when we are certain it will take place; or free “upgrade” onto the next Beginners Course. Please let me know if you wish either a refund or an upgrade.
On a related point, we would like to invite those who did a beginners course some time ago and would like to have another go to join a Have a Go session at half price - just £10. If you are interested let me know please.
We have experimented with publishing an advance schedule for Have a Goes and Beginners Courses, but this has not been very successful. In future we will invite people to register for a place, with the option to pay up front, after the date is confirmed, or on the day in cash. Please note, those who have expressed an interest in buying places as presents can now do so using the form on the web site.
Talking of which, we hope to have an improved web site soon, courtesy of Steve Maynard and Hari Bakhshi. The current one does actually work - all the information needed day to day is at Club Information / “here”.
We plan to start upgrading our indoor equipment early next year with modern high quality light weight foam bosses. This will be a phased programme, part of which will include disposing of the old straw bosses. If you would be interested in one of these please let me know.
Reminder on Sundays at Millmead. This is the one time when we shoot formally for those wishing to achieve and record scores. Everyone else is equally welcome to attend (of course) but please respect those who are shooting “seriously”. If you can’t arrive promptly at 1530 we will try to make a target available for recreational shooting but you may have to take pot luck!
That’s about it for 2016. We wish you all an enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year. As a contribution to seasonal fun our final Sunday at Millmead (18th December) will be an informal fun session, courtesy of Carl and Gren. You are welcome to bring food and drink if you wish. More details nearer the time!
Thank you all and enjoy the coming year’s shooting!
Secretary
