Greetings fellow archers.  I've pushed the deadline for this column a little
bit in order to you all some of the highlights of the 2000 NETAA Outdoor World
Championship.  It will take a couple columns to get everything covered; so,
you will all have something to look forward to.  The tournament results should
be posted on the web site by the time the printed newsletter gets out in a few
weeks.  As always, the best way to keep "up-to-date" on NETAA is to check the
web page often.
 

2000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP- The weather cooperated  perfectly for the three day
event giving us moderate temperatures and a pleasant breeze for the entire
tournament.  Situated on top of some beautiful rolling hills in the
picturesque New York countryside, Archery Connection provides a scenic, warm,
and friendly home to our Championship.  The numbers were up about 35% this
year making the tournament a success.  As usual, we learned more about running
a multi event tournament and will make some small adjustments to assure that
next year's tournament is even better.  I am proud of the fact that everything
went off smoothly and on schedule for the entire three days.  I want to thank
all the contestants for the cooperation and understanding that made it
possible and apologize if I was short with anyone during the weekend.  I am
sometimes so concerned with maintaining the schedule and staying ahead of
potential problems, that I do not take the time to relax and sometimes am
unable to deal with situations as completely or quickly as I would like.  I
will try to do better.
 

Bruce Miller and his crew did a great job setting up for us and taking care of
our needs during the weekend.  They are due a tremendous vote of thanks and
appreciation for their efforts.  I, for one, am looking forward to working
with them again next year, as the championship will remain in Middleburgh for
the near future.
 

GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP- This was the second year we recognized an overall NETAA
Grand Champion, and the first year we were able to do it in both the men's and
lady's category.  Thanks to the generous support of Northern Building Systems,
we were able to present significant bonus checks to both winners.  Larry Frey
was our overall Men's Champion and received a $1,000.00 bonus check.  Ellen
Reed was the Lady's Grand Champion and received $500.00.  They both received
awesome trophies to signify their achievement and will be presented Grand
Championship jackets that we hope they will proudly wear.  Both of these
people are not only fine archers but great sportsmen and ambassadors for the
sport.  NETAA is proud to have them represent the organization as this year's
Grand Champions.  Congratulations Larry and Ellen!
 

ANNUAL MEETING NOTES- The annual NETAA membership meeting was held between
3:00-4:00 on Sunday, just before the awards presentation.  We moved quickly
through a number of issues as follows:
 

A short summary of the expansion of the tournament tour this year was given
along with the plans to add several more significant events to the tour for
next season.  The progress on the web site was covered along with plans to
continue to expand/improve the site.  The membership was then asked to openly
discuss and vote on the following:
 

        A motion was made to amend the pay down procedure in the money division so
that we pay down one place for every three contestants with a maximum of five
places paid in each class.  We have been paying to a maximum of 10 places (as
in all other divisions/classes).  After discussion a vote was taken and the
motion was defeated.
 

        A motion was made to revise the rule dealing with selecting finalists for the
Sunday final round in the 3D competition.  For the last three years we have
advanced the top five archers in each class.  If ties existed for fifth place
after Saturday's scores were posted, the tie was decided by the total number
of 12s shot for the 40 targets.  This eliminated shoot offs and kept the
finals to a maximum of five competitors in each class.  The five competitor
concept helps eliminate back ups on Sunday while allowing all competitors to
shoot in one group per class.  The motion was to revise the rule so that all
contestants sharing a tie score for fifth position would advance to Sunday's
finals.  After much discussion the motion passed.
 

        A motion was made to carry the 3D scores from the first two days forward to
Sunday and award the championship based on the total aggregate scores for all
three days.  After considerable discussion this motion failed to pass.  Next
year all finalists will again start Sunday's round with a "zero" score, and
the awards will be presented based solely on Sunday's results (excepting the
breaking of ties).
 

In addition to the items voted on above, several other items were discussed as
follows during the meeting:
 

        It was suggested that stakes placed close to the targets should be short
enough so as not to provide an obstruction of any sort to the kill area.  It
was agreed that shorter stakes will be used in the future.
 

        It was suggested that new targets be used both at the Championship and at all
triple crowns.  A specific suggestion was that we should disallow targets that
are not manufactured (this specifically in reference to the homemade targets
used at one event this season).  It was explained that it would be impossible
to dictate to host sites that they secure all newly manufactured targets for
our events until/unless our attendance/participation expands significantly.
When we get to the point where we draw 800+ archers at our 3D events we can
start dictating all sorts of things, but as long as we have under 200
contestants we are lucky to find host sites that will put forth a good effort
for us!  It was agreed to make every attempt to assure that all targets are
"solid" and that the score rings are clearly defined.
 

        A question was raised with regard to the increase in registration fee from
$35.00 to $50.00 this year, and the concern that the additional fee may keep
some competitors away.  While I am sure that some will use the fee as an
excuse not to attend, I doubt we will loose many people as a result.  Several
other organizations change similar fees and give back much less yet still
survive/prosper.  The $15.00 increase was for three specific reasons.  First,
we needed to pay the host site more money (they charged us a very low rate
last year to help us get on our feet based on the promise of a more reasonable
fee the second year.  Second, we wanted to increase the cash awards and
therefore set $5.00 of the increase aside for the cash prize fund.  This money
was returned to the contestants during the awards presentation along with the
accumulated shooter's fees from the qualification tour.  Finally, NETAA needed
to charge a little more to attempt to break even on the Championship this
year.  It was noted that NETAA has lost money on the tour the last five years,
which is a trend that had to be reversed without cutting back on the quality
of the trophies or eliminating the free competitors shirts!
 

        A question was raised about the rules.  Two committees were formed last year
to put together both 3D and target game rules.  The 3D rules have been
completed for several months and can be down loaded from the web site.  The
target game rules will be completed and added to the web site in the next two
months.
 

        A question was raised about making qualification more available.  Supposedly
many archers wanted to compete in the 540 round that just could not find a
qualifier.  There were a number of qualifiers, but we certainly need more.
NETAA is actively seeking potential tournament organizers that might be
interested in submitting an application for a NETAA sanctioned tournament.  We
will formalize the process for sanctioning and add it to the web site shortly
along with an effort to get qualifiers in as many states as possible.
 

It was a productive meeting and much was accomplished that will help next
season.  We thank all the members that attended and contributed their thoughts
and ideas.  We wish more of our members could have attended and look forward
to next year's meeting.
 

2001 SCHEDULE- The tournament tour for next season is all but finished.  We
will not set the date for the Championship until ASA announces their dates for
next year to make every attempt to avoid conflicts.  The schedule will be
posted in the next newsletter, but will be up on the web site much sooner.
Keep posted!
 

UP COMING NEWS- In the next few months there will be several exciting
announcements.  Look forward to some rules changes and clarifications to make
things run smoother.  An "Invitational/Elimination" round will be announced
that should produce first place prize money of $1,000-$2,000 per event, and we
will announce at least three of these events!  A new Interactive Video
Championship with big cash prizes will be announced the finals of which will
be in conjunction with next year's Championship. The NETAA signature
clothing/merchandize line will be announced.  And, much, much more.  Stay
tuned!
 

Good shooting