The NETAA Bowhunter Proficiency Round was Developed in 1998 to solve several
problems facing the archery/bowhunting industry.  Declining numbers of
participants at organized 3D events throughout the Northeast was the first
sign that something was wrong.  To counteract the lost revenue, clubs lowered
registration fees and started holding more shoots.  The added numbers of
shoots created more competition for participation, thus numbers kept falling. 
Clearly, something needs to be done to attract more people to the sport, and
the obvious place to look is with-in the existing ranks of resident
bowhunters.
 

There are problems reaching out to bowhunters to encourage their participation
in organized archer tournament events.  For one, they do not want to pay the
higher fees associated with events that award big trophies or that serve as
qualifiers for a major tournament tour.  They also do not believe that they
can be "competitive" against the serious tournament archers that have
essentially taken over the 3D game.  The NETAA Bowhunter Proficiency Round
solves these problems, and more.
 

The round is shot on a standard 30 target 3D course, making it very easy to
set up and run for any club already in the 3D game.  It is shot at unknown
distances with only two stakes per target.  One stake is for all sight
shooters, the other is for traditional archers and young children.  Maximum
distances are recommended at 40 and 25 yards respectively.  The two principle
differences between this round and existing 3D games are in the scoring and
awards.
 

The round is scored 10,8, minus 5.  Twelve rings are not counted and any arrow
striking the target outside the "kill zone" (eight ring) is scored as a minus
five taking points off the archer's overall score.  Every archer has the
option of taking an announced "pass" from the shooting stake at any target
where it is felt a killing shot is not with-in his or her effective range. 
Announced "passes" are scored "zero".  After announcing a pass, and all
archers in the group have had a turn at the shooting stake for any target, the
group proceeds to the target to score/pull arrows.  Archers taking a "pass" on
the target take the lead, and are allowed to take a practice shot from any
distance in a straight line between the shooting stake and the target. 
Practice arrows receive no score.
 

This scoring method rewards the bowhunter for good clean killing shots while
penalizing them for wounded game.  It provides an incentive to consider one's
effective range, and pass shots outside that range.  This is a superior game
for use as bowhunting practice  because it teaches the importance of passing
shots beyond one's effective range while also providing practice at judging
distance and making clean killing shots. 
 

The awards program is comprised of a system of patches that are awarded to all
archers meeting certain minimum standards on the round.  This way no
archer/bowhunter is "competing" against any other, but rather competing to
post a score high enough to reach the next level of "proficiency".  The basic
proficiency award patch is a 3" diameter six colored patch with a 3D target
and the word "BOWHUNTER" embroidered above the NETAA designation.  This patch
is "earned" by posting a score of 175 or more on the 30 target course (scored
as above).  Additional levels of proficiency are designated with 1" by 3" bars
that can be added under the basic patch.  These levels are as follows:
        200 points - Journeyman
        225 points - Advanced
        250 points - Expert
        275 points - Master
The awards can be handed out as the score cards are turned in (as part of the
awards program and cost structure of the shoot), sold to the archers who earn
them, or ordered directly from NETAA by mailing a signed score card with a
fee.  The option is up to the shoot organizer, and the awards are made
available at low costs to the organizers wishing to either include the awards
as part of the registration fee or sell them to contestants at the events for
a small additional profit.  Unused patches can be returned to NETAA for full
credit.
 

Some organizers keep the cost to compete as low as possible by excluding the
supply of the patches thereby encouraging everyone to compete for the lowest
possible cost.  They then have the option of selling the patches at a small
profit to those that both earn them and want to participate in the program. 
Others can charge a little more at registration and include the basic patch to
anyone turning in a score above 175, but selling the higher level bars.  For
those organizations that don't want to be involved with the awards, the score
cards can be signed by a tournament official and returned to the competitor
with an order form that can be used to send away (to NETAA) to purchase the
awards earned.
 

Shoot organizers wishing to hold a sanctioned NETAA Bowhunter Proficiency
Round can request a sanction request form from NETAA headquarters.  The form
is filled out and returned to NETAA with a $25.00 shoot sanctioning fee. 
Awards can be ordered at this time.  NETAA will forward all appropriate
information/forms to the organizer with a copy of the accepted sanctioning
form.  The event will then be listed on NETAA's web site.  After the event the
organizer must forward to NETAA a complete list of all contestants with their
mailing addresses and final scores.  The list must also be accompanied by
payment of $1.00 per contestant as a shooter's fee.  Any unused awards patches
can be returned at this time for full credit by deducting the cost of the
awards returned from the shooter's fee owed.
 

The NETAA Bowhunter Proficiency Round awards program can be customized to fit
the needs of any club/organization.  Those wanting to attract the largest
numbers of competitors with the lowest possible registration fees, can exclude
the cost of the awards in the base registration fee.  Additional profits can
be made by providing the awards at the end of the shoot for a reasonable cost.
 Additional shoots can be scheduled to provide contestants with the
opportunity to earn higher levels of proficiency, thereby encouraging better
participation in the next event.  As the program gets better known in an area,
bowhunters will seek out these tournaments as a way of "earning" proficiency
awards and practicing under more realistic conditions for upcoming seasons
without the need to compete "against" serious tournament archers for trophies.
 They will pay a little more to be involved in an awards program they can
"win" at, which will help solve the profitability problem for shoot
organizers, and will learn better shooting habits in the field which will help
reduce wounding losses and project a better image for the sport.  This is a
win-win-win situation for all involved.