G’day members!
2024 is off to cracking start.
Exciting news – our management committee is all set with Tane Hardwick and Alison Goodwin joining as the Club Communications crew, and a warm welcome to Steve Farnden as our new Traditional Skills Officer. The new National Coaching Coordinator and foundation member Les Simpson is hitting the ground running and expanding and developing our national coaching network and curriculum. We can’t wait to see what our new committee members bring to the table over the coming archery season.
Most of you will know that late last year the TAA web page was replaced with a cracking new version. We heard your requests for online payments and applications and now that’s a reality – and not the only thing the new web page can do.
We’re so excited to be able to tell you that this new web page can expand our ability to Protect, Preserve and Promote our wonderful sport, by offering:
• Improved booking for Traditional Skills classes
• Video instructions
• Expanded news articles
• Hosting the newsletter in a digital format
• End to end event registration and payment for national events and to help clubs if they need it
• Offering our unique TAA merchandise online
• Connecting our diverse Archery Family (Field, Target, Hunting, and others)
Now for some challenging news – it has become apparent that the Australian Bowhunters Association have removed cross participation from their 2024 National Rules of Shoot.
How does this affect TAA members? TAA continues to support the Archery Alliance and has always observed all our required obligations under the Alliance. TAA will as an organisation continue to observe the cross-participation agreement that is a corner stone of the Alliance. We will always remain family oriented and committed to promoting the fun and fellowship which is uniquely enjoyed at traditional archery clubs and events. Let's stay united in the archery community and stand tall in the Alliance, now is the time for all TAA members to put aside petty grievances and show respect more than ever.
Speaking of growing, our beloved newsletter "Sticks and Strings" has come a long way since its launch in 2021, and we're eager to expand it even more. To help capture member stories, we’re expanding the subcommittee to embrace the diversity of Traditional Archery across all of Australia. So we’re looking for recruits from anywhere in Australia, you don’t have to have a club nearby or even in your state (we’re looking at you ACT, SA & NT) just a heart full of archery and a willingness to work as part of a team. The newsletter will stay the same great quarterly read, full of character and cahoots, with representation from all over Aus.
Have you noticed the TAA calendar has gone digital as well, but it is still available in PDF format if you need that to get by. The calendar is starting to fill up as clubs let us know their plans for the year. And we are over the moon to announce for the first time ever all states that have active TAA clubs are now holding State Musters, this fantastic development would not have been possible if we hadn’t listened to you and relaxed the State Shoot Guidelines last year.
For TAA to grow and flourish in these modern times we need to embrace technology and utilise its potential for our members benefit, and we’ve been doing that quietly in the background for the last few years streamlining processes to make volunteering for TAA more achievable for our committee members. We’re very focused on bringing these advantages to you our members now, while being very careful not to lose our history and heritage and what we stand for.
Archery can be a solo sport, but we know the TAA membership stands united in all aspects of Archery, Field, Target and Bow Hunting, along with our friends in the other Archery Alliance organisations to protect what we love and cherish.
Your committee is here to listen to constructive feedback on anything the members would like to see happen for the future, please contact us and let’s see if we can help.
Thank you all for being part of the TAA family and walking with us into the future of Traditional Archery in Australia.
Greg Smith
President
February 2024