Organizing an Archery Club

The formation of an archery club stems from a natural desire for the companionship of others who enjoy the sport of archery. The associations and friendships formed, the opportunities for exchanging ideas on shooting technique and tackle, sharing the expense of property used in common, are a few of the benefits derived from membership in an archery club.

A successful club may grow from a very small beginning, if the original group plans a sound long range policy and is careful not to assume a heavy financial burden. Keep in mind that the sole objective is to provide the opportunity for group participation in your favorite sport, and at a price which the members can afford.

Talk with several of the archers living in your community, and interest them in the club idea. Very few clubs can afford the luxury of a private range; and you should survey your own community for possible range sites which belong to existing organizations and can be adapted to your needs while still serving their original purpose. Such a site may be available at your local rod and gun club. Hunting with the bow is rapidly gaining favor, and you may find the club receptive to your proposition.

The municipal park authorities, the local Y. M. C. A., and the local school district should also be interviewed. Some of them may already have an archery program which could be expanded to fit your needs, or they may be prevailed upon to provide range facilities on ground which they already maintain for recreational purposes. One of the real chores which faces members of an archery club is maintaining the range. Particularly burdensome is the endless job of keeping the turf clipped. You will be relieved from many hours of labor, if you can gain access to ground which is maintained for park or recreational purposes.

When you have assembled this preliminary information, call a meeting of the group for the purpose of organizing the club. Inform the group of the findings of your survey. The cost of securing and maintaining range facilities is a major item in the operating budget.

A tentative yearly budget should be set up at this meeting. It should contain in addition to the range costs already mentioned, an estimate of the cost of the following items: targets, faces, 1oo foot tape, storage space, dues to affiliate with state and national organizations, and correspondence costs. In addition, it is a wise provision to provide accident insurance coverage. This coverage should be comprehensive and include work accidents, injuries to spectators, livestock, etc. as well as injuries incurred by club members attributable to archery. The budget total will enable you to make an informed guess on the amount that should be established as membership dues. When dues are high, it is difficult to secure and retain membership. If, however, dues are set low for the sole purpose of attracting members, the club is certain to run into financial difficulties.

When these matters have been thoroughly explored and your group is in agreement that a club should be formed, appoint a temporary chairman, a secretary, a constitution and by-laws committee, and a publicity committee. Up to this point all actions have been unofficial. Set a date for the next meeting, allowing a sufficient interval of time for the several committees to complete their assigned tasks.The next meeting is the organization meeting, and the temporary chairman presides. Submit to those present, for adoption, the proposed constitution and by-laws, which have been prepared in the interim between meetings by the constitution and by-laws committee. The articles of the proposed constitution and by-laws should be taken up one at a time, and each one voted on separately after full opportunity has been given for discussion. The article on fees and dues should be thoroughly discussed and the temporary chairman should explain the basis on which the suggested amount of the dues was established.

Upon adoption of the constitution and by-laws, the next order of business should be the election of the permanent officers of the club. At the conclusion of the election the chairman should dismiss the temporary officers and committees and formally turn the meeting over to the newly elected officials of the club. In selecting your permanent officers, it does not necessarily follow that the best shots make the best officers. Choose preferably members who enjoy tackling an organizational problem and solving it, members who are interested in sports more than they are in their individual scores, and particularly members who attract respect and confidence.

To facilitate the work of the temporary constitution and bylaws committee, a model constitution is herein set forth. This consitution will serve as a guide. It should be amended or revised to meet the particular requirements of your club.

CONSTITUTION
of

(Name of club)

ARTICLE I
The name of this organization shall be

ARTICLE II
Purpose

1. The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the sport of archery and the spirit of good fellowship among archers, to encourage the use of the bow in hunting, to cooperate with all organizations in the conservation of our natural and wildlife resources, to maintain a range and conduct tournaments and games in accordance with the rules of the National and State Archery Associations.

ARTICLE III
Membership

1.There shall be six classes of membership: Honorary, Life, Active, Sustaining, Junior, and Family.

2.Honorary membership, with exemption from regular fees and dues, may be granted for exceptional merit and service upon recom mendation by the Board of Governors by majority vote of the membership at an annual meeting.

3.Life membership, with exemption from regular fees and dues, shall be granted to anyone, by action of the Board of Governors, on payment of $

4.Active membership shall be granted to anyone upon application endorsed by one member, payment of regular fees and dues, and approval of the Secretary.

5.Junior membership shall be granted to anyone under sixteen years of age, upon application endorsed by one member, payment of regular fees and dues, and approval of the Secretary. Upon at taining the sixteenth birthday, the Junior member shall automatically become an active member.

6.Sustaining membership shall be granted to anyone upon applica tion endorsed by one member, by action of the Board of Governors, on payment of annual dues in the amount of $

7.Family membership may be granted to a family, including hus band and wife with minor dependents, upon application approved by the Secretary, provided the appropriate fees and annual dues in the amount of $ = have been paid.

8.The Board of Governors may suspend or expel an active orjunior member for conduct detrimental to the interests of theassociation.The member may, however, be reinstated upon appeal,by a two-thirds vote of the members present at an annual meeting.ARTICLE IV
Board of Governors

1.The Board of Governors shall consist of a President, Vice-Presi- dent, and Secretary and Treasurer (combined office), and two regular members.

2.Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the Board of Gov ernors shall control and manage the activities, policies, and property of the organization.

3.At any meeting of the Board of Governors three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

4.All vacancies on the Board of Governors or of any office shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Governors, and the appointee shall serve until the next annual election.

5.The Board of Governors shall meet at the call of the Chairman.

ARTICLE V
Officers and Their Duties

1.The officers of this organization shall consist of a President, Vice-President, and a Secretary and Treasurer (combined office).

2.The President shall preside at all meetings, appoint the members to all committees, and shall generally perform all the duties inci dent to his office.

3.The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President, if he is unable to act.

4.The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep all the records of the organ ization, serve all notices of meetings, conduct all correspondence, and present a written report at the annual meeting, and in general perform all the duties incident to the office.

5.The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the organization. He shall keep accurate records of the receipts and disbursements and make an annual written report at the annual meeting, and in general have the powers to perform the duties incident to his office.

ARTICLE VI
Election and Terms of Office

1.The annual meeting of the Organization shall be held on

2.At the annual meeting the membership shall elect the President, Vice-President, and, the Secretary-Treasurer (combined office).

3.At the first annual meeting the membership shall elect two mem bers to the Board of Governors, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall serve for two years, the one receiving the second highest number of votes shall serve for a period of one year. Thereafter the elected members to the Board of Governors shall serve a term of two years.

ARTICLE VII
Fees and Dues .

1.The membership fee for active members shall be $_ per year for a single person, for a family membership per year. The Junior membership fee shall be $ per year. The membership fee shall include a years’ membership in the Archery Association, and a one year’s subscription to the

2.Target fees and tournament fees shall be fixed by the Board of Governors.

ARTICLE VIII
Fiscal Year

1.The fiscal year shall begin

ARTICLE IX
Committees

1.The President shall appoint committees of three or more members as follows: Constitution, Grounds, Membership, Tournament, Publicity, Conservation, and such special committees as may be necessary.

ARTICLE X
Tournaments

1.An annual tournament to determine champions in the various classes shall be held as determined by the Board of Governors.

2.All tournaments and competition shall be in accordance with the rules of the National Archery Association and the National Field Archery Association.

ARTICLE XI
Amendments

1.This constitution may be altered or amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership at any annual meeting or special meeting called for that purpose, or by a two-thirds vote of the members present if the proposed change has been mailed to every member at least thirty days before the meeting. By-Laws

By-laws provide the means for spelling out special rules necessary for the proper functioning of your organization. Each Club should adopt such by-laws as they become necessary to conduct the activities of the organization.

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Established clubs have found by experience that certain policies are sound administrative procedure and produce worthwhile benefits to the local organization: affiliate with a national organization if you wish to compete in inter-state competition, affiliate with your state wide organization of archers for intra-state competition and to support efforts on a state-wide basis to promote archery. The organization should conduct at least one formal open tournament each year, and club shoots should be held at regular intervals. Set up and maintain the standard system for classifying all the club members in order that they may compete with those of equal qualifications in tournaments conducted under the rules of the national organizations. This classification system serves the same purpose as class leagues serve in baseball. It brings together in competition archers of comparative ability. Charge a target fee at all shoots sufficient to cover all of the expense. When open tournaments are conducted, resist the temptation to make a profit for the host club. If you persist in the latter practice, archers will begin to avoid your tournaments. Send a delegation to the open tournaments held by neighboring clubs. They will reciprocate by attending your open tournaments. You will widen your acquaintance among fellow archers and exchange information and ideas which will benefit your local organization. Be certain to make provisions for a sustaining membership in your constitution; local merchants dealing in archery tackle will recognize the benefits that will accrue to their business from a local archery club. It is poor policy to expect that membership in your local club should entitle a member to a discount on purchases of individual items of archery tackle at your local sporting goods dealer. In return your club has a right to expect the merchant to carry an adequate stock of merchandise for immediate sale. Quantity purchases, ordered by the local club for future delivery, should earn the customary discounts permitted in the trade, as this is not risk merchandise and is subject to immediate turnover by the dealer.

Promote the introduction of archery in the sports program of your local school district. The Physical Education teacher should be qualified as an archery instructor.In order to maintain interest among the Junior members, and to be certain that their views are given consideration, a number of clubs have appointed a Junior member to the Board of Directors. They have found that it pays off in the help they receive from the Juniors in maintaining the club facilities. If the youngsters are short of cash, they should receive preference in working out their dues when the club employs help to perform any services.

Interest is maintained and sharpened by maintaining and regularly posting a bulletin of scores. A glass enclosed, weatherproof, bulletin board posted on the range will serve to give the widest publicity to all matters pertaining to archery which you wish to bring to the attention of the members.

There are substantial benefits from affiliation with your state archery association. For example, in Pennsylvania the state archery association schedules regional and state championship tournaments, distributes news on archery to the membership, represents the member clubs before the state legislature and the various departments dealing with the natural and wildlife resources of the commonwealth. The state association provides appropriate medals and trophies at cost for tournaments conducted by member clubs.

All of these things, properly integrated, make archery a wholesome and delightful sport in which all the members of the family may participate.