Greetings Fellow Archers
Spring has finally sprung and the outdoor 3D season is upon us. I hope to see all our members in Brattleboro the weekend of April 25. The guys at Sportsmen Inc. have been great hosts these last four years and we are looking forward to another well set up event. This will be the first outdoor 3D event to run on the new known distance rules established at last year's Championship. Based on the reception we had at the Indoor Winter Qualifier, the new format should be well received.

NEW ENGLAND TRIPLE CROWN
This should be a great mini-tour this season.  All three locations and dates are the same as last year so everything should go like a well-oiled machine. We anticipate good attendance for a number of reasons. All three of these events went off without a hitch last season and everyone that attended seemed very supportive of the program. This will be the first season that we won't have to contend with a major shoot schedule conflict from the IBO Northeast Triple Crown, because that series has been officially cancelled! Also, our World Championship this year falls on a date that also has no major shoot conflicts, which will encourage more participation in the qualifiers from the region's top archers who will be able to attend this year. On top of all that, we managed to get out over 4600 packages of flyers to active archers in the region. The only thing left to do is encourage all our members to come out and shoot, and bring your friends! We have lots of great reasons to participate this year...keep reading!

NEW YORK TRIPLE CROWN
 The support we are getting from archers in the Empire State is almost overwhelming!  Two out of every three memberships we have received this year are from New York archers that want to show their support for our efforts to bring the NETAA tournament tour to them in a big way this season.  In addition to 3D interest in the Empire State we are seeing a good turn out of target archers.  There have been a few target qualifiers already and a 540 Round qualifier will be held in conjunction with the third leg of the Triple Crown in Middleburg.  That's right, the "Last Chance 540 Qualifier" will be held just one month before the Championship and held on the same course/range as the Championship itself!  Anyone that hasn't qualified should definitely plan to attend this event.  Also, all those archers that qualified at an indoor 450 Round qualifier this winter should consider shooting this tournament as a final dry run for the big event.  Those that want to compete for the '99 NETAA Grand Championship must qualify and compete in both the 3D and 540 events so don't miss this last opportunity to qualify.

SOUTHERN TRIPLE CROWN
We've announced several times that we wanted to add an additional mini-tour in the southern states of the Northeast region for this season.  We also made numerous calls and sent dozens of letters trying to arrange the three host site locations.  Unfortunately, time ran out and we just didn't get it done!  To build a strong foundation of successful shoots making up an annual tournament tour is a major undertaking, and one that can't be accomplished without lots of help/support.  We've decided that NETAA will not run any tournaments that are not scheduled by December 15th in the future.  This is the cut off date for the production and mailing of the tournament flyers promoting the tournament tour for the following year.  We expect to mail over 6,000 packages next December, which represents a tremendous investment of time and money.  We won't take the chance on any event that can't be promoted with that mailing, so the Southern Triple Crown won't happen in'99. 

We do want to get this off the ground for the millennium year however, and ask all our members to help get the word back to us of possible host site locations.  We hope to have one leg in New Jersey, one in Eastern PA, and one in either Delaware or Eastern Maryland.  This will all be subject to the availability of suitable locations however and we will investigate any viable alternatives.
 

The two categories have been designed to give more people a chance to participate in a team event.  The "OPEN Category" will be made up of any three-person team regardless of gender or class.  The "MIXED Category" will be comprised of three team members, but there must be one from each of the following classes:  Men's Freestyle, Men's Bowhunter Freestyle, and one Lady archer.  We are encouraging teams to represent a single shop or manufacturer and to wear matching team shirts on, at least, the final shoot-off round.  These are suggestions only, and the teams will be open to all qualified groups.  To qualify as a team member you must be qualified and registered to compete in the NETAA 3D Championship.  Your team registration must be filed and paid prior to any team member commencing shooting in the Championship.  Archers may sign up for more than one team. 

Semi-final team standings will be determined by adding the total scores of all three team members from Friday and Saturday qualification rounds.  The top 3-5 teams in each category will advance to a final shoot off round for the spectators on Sunday.  This should be a lot of fun and offers additional opportunity to earn some extra prize money.  If this event is well supported this season we should be able to increase the amount of sponsorship for next season.  We want to offer a special "Thanks" to Pete Rickard for his support of this brand new event.

'99 NETAA Grand Championship
As announced last issue, we have been looking for a TITLE SPONSOR for this event. I'm very happy to announce that the fine people at NORTHERN BUILDING SYSTEMS, INC. have stepped forward and guaranteed the $1,000.00 Grand Championship Prize money.  Northern is a manufacturer and distributor of pre-engineered metal buildings here in the Northeast and has expressed an interest in increased sponsorship support for next season if they feel the consumer awareness generated by their support of archery is worthwhile.  If any of our members knows someone thinking of building , have them contact me so we can get Northern the oportunity to bid.  We need lots of people calling them to show we appreciate their support of our sport. 

The Grand Champion will be the archer who turns in the highest total combined score (3D and 540) from the money division at this year's Championship.  There is no additional registration fee, everyone registering for both the 3D and 540 Championship in the "MONEY" division will automatically go into this additional competition.  In addition to the cash prize, we will award a "special" trophy to the winner.  There will only be three classes recognized in the MONEY division (M-FS, M-BFS, F-FS).

AIM FOR COLLEGE AWARDS
It looks like we'll be awarding $5,000.00 in Scholarship Tuition Voucher Certificates at this year's Championship, so get those youngsters qualified!  We are still looking for sponsors for this program, but with the generosity of Robelle Industries ($1,000.00), Muzzy ($100.00), a major donation from the 810 WGY Radio Station Christmas Wish "Help Us Help Kids Program",  and the proceeds from the raffles, we will reach our goal.  The exact amount of the WGY sponsorship has not been confirmed as of this writing, but our Fund Raising Chairman, Pete Lucas, requested $3,000.00 and has received confirmation we've been approved.  The program is Co-Sponsored by Stewarts Stores and final amount confirmation will come from them in approximately 10 days. If any of our members knows additional companies that might consider sponsorship of this worthwhile program, contact Roy or Pam at the NETAA office so we can send the information to them.

Good shooting, Roy Goodwin