Archery Rules

1. Individual archers must stay behind the shooting line until the all clear whistles has been blown. You must also respect and react to any "FAST" call which is made. You should not cross the shooting line as the round is not over and you must wait for an all clear before shooting again.

2. The Saturday sessions are for experienced archers only, except for the Saturday before a competition. During the Saturday session a full Portsmouth round will be shot. In order to qualify for attendance to a Saturday session on a regular basis you must average 200 points over 3 GNAS competitions. Special circumstances may allow new members to be allowed into these sessions prior to fulfilment of the above but this must be agreed upon by all experienced archers attending already. This is time set aside for those who have given their own time to help you with your archery. Please respect that they need time themselves to work on their own time to help you with your archery. Please respect that they need time themselves to work on their own technique.

3. The equipment that is lent to you is your responsibility. If you are unsure about any point regarding equipment talk to the Equipment Officer (Viking). The equipment must be returned after the year is complete and should only leave the sports union when travelling for competitions. If you wish to take it with you during a holiday we can discuss the conditions under which this may be allowed.

4. There is some etiquette that must be observed when shooting in competitions. Firstly if you damage another archer's equipment you must offer to pay for it on the spot. Also talking behind the shooting line should be kept to a minimum as it disrupts the people on the shooting line - If you respect them they will respect you

5. The club has individual members that are responsible for the smooth running of the club. The Health and Safety Officer (Joe) of the club is responsible for the safety of the club, if he asks you to do something then he is acting in the interest of your safety and the safety of the other members of the club. The Equipment Officer (Viking) is responsible for all equipment in the club, if you have any problems with equipment or have a gut feeling that anything is wrong then feel free to talk to her. The most important person of the exec is the Captain (Frog). She has overall responsibility of the club. You should respect all instructions that she gives you.

6. Signals - All clubs use a pre-destined set of signals for safety during meetings. These can either be in the form of calls or whistles. The signals for Heriot Watt are whistled and are as follows:

One Blast - Safe to Shoot: Take position on shooting line and fire when ready

Two Blasts - Safe to Collect: You may step over the shooting line to either leave the room (when door is in middle of range) or collect your arrows at the target

Three Blasts - FAST: A hazard has occurred in the shooting range. This signal must be obeyed instantly whether shouted or whistled. Relax your bow if at draw and remove arrow if nocked. Step away from the line and wait for the safe to shoot signal before continuing.

7. All equipment must be kept behind a designated equipment line. This is to prevent slips, trips and falls as well as damage to equipment, which is more than likely be very expensive and the club will not pay for it.

8. Respect must be shown to officials at competition meetings. They are giving up their time for us and deserve to be treated with respect as they can impart important advice to archers of all levels.

Also with these rules are guidelines specifically for outdoor shoots.

1. Before being able to shoot outdoors an archer needs to prove he/she can hit an indoor range target of 20 yards with 18 arrows and no misses.

2. The first range outdoor will be 30 yards and increase in 10 yard increments to 80 yards for Males and 70 yards for females. Before being able to progress to a further target an archer needs to show that he/she can hit the shorter range with 18 arrows and no misses.

If you have not shot indoors before the outdoor season, please turn up to the indoor shoot (Saturdays 10-12) otherwise you will not be able to shoot outdoors. There will be no exceptions.