THE GRAND NATIONAL ARCHERY SOCIETY
When you have joined a Club you will eventually become the proud owner of a GNAS card with your own number on it. This means you are an affiliated member of the Society so this is a little information about GNAS you may find of interest.
GNAS is the main governing body of the sport in the UK and was formed in 1861 to look after the interests of archery clubs in the UK and those of UK nationals abroad, whether able bodies or disabled. It is affiliated to the British Olympic Association and the International Archery Federation (FITA) and is a member of the Sports Council. Through these bodies GNAS is represented at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships and International Tournaments. There are other Archery Societies, but this is the one for getting to the top in the UK.
The UK is divided for administration purposes into Regions under this and further into Counties. Ours are Grand Western Archery Society (GWAS) and Somerset County Archery Association (SCAA). These hold annual Championships and Open Tournaments in all disciplines i.e. Field, Clout, Flight and Indoor, for Seniors and Juniors.
GNAS MEMBERSHIP
You only get a card the first year, after which you will get a replacement sticker to bring it up to date. It is your proof of membership and you could be asked to produce it at tournaments run under GNAS rules. Your card has your name and title, a Club number e.g.. DD06 (which means you belong to GWAS, Somerset and your club) and your individual membership number. You will be asked to give this when you fill in entry forms.
Apart from insurance against third party claims for injury to persons or property, providing of course you have been observing the rules, you have access to the GNAS awards system. Handicaps and classifications are worked out by your club Records Officer, so you need to make sure you submit your scores to them. You will soon be able to work out your own improvements as good scores will reduce your handicap and bad will push it up (though it can only go up once a year). You need 3 scores to get started and most clubs offer medals for improvements and classification, so you can start your collection.
The GNAS rules of shooting are available for purchase on the GNAS website for those interested and the really keen ones can buy Handicap tables to see how they are improving. Most archers seem to find it useful to keep a record of their own scores for future reference.