Shooting to relax without the 'pressure' of a tournament is fine; not everyone is competitive and archery is a very relaxing sport for many people. Tyndale Archers welcome anybody who wants to shoot for the sheer pleasure of it. After a while though, unless you challenge yourself, either by taking part in the Tockington 200 badge scheme, or some other way of gauging your progress, you may become bored and drift away from the sport.
Please don't be put off by the idea of trying a tournament out in that case, thinking that it is too scary and everyone will be so much better than you. They all started somewhere and novices and County Squad archers shoot side-by-side; you really can learn a lot from watching others. They are a great way of meeting people, having fun, picking up or exchanging a few tips. An archery tournament is a fun way for a family of archers to spend the day together, with all of them competing at the same time, at the same event, but for different prizes depending on age, gender and bow style. Everyone is friendly, there are refreshments and if you don't win a medal on the day you may at least come away with a raffle prize. It's the taking part and having fun that counts and often it depends on who else turns up on the day. As the saying goes "You have to be in it to win it!"
Many tournaments also have awards such as the Rose Award or Tassel (see pictures below), so even if you don't win a medal, you may score enough points to come away with something shiny to put on your 'boasting hat'. You haven't got a boasting hat? Well stick it on your quiver - or wherever you like.
Several of our club members are experienced in various types of tournament - just ask and they will happily advise you.
