Archery Australia Newsletter – 2020-08
We have faced and overcome many challenges this year and with 2021 not very far away, it is time to focus for many of us on what lies ahead of us from a training and competition perspective. Whilst we can’t predict what things will look like next year, we will continue to plan and prepare for competitions as best we can.
This update will provide you with our most recent information on the following topics:
- Archery Australia Athletes Committee (AAAC)
- Paris24 Para Pathways Program (P24 Para)
- 2021 National Compound Program (NCP)
- 2021 National Recurve Program (NRP)
- 2021 National Para Program (NPP)
- 2021 International competition selection
Archery Australia Athletes Committee
An Archery Australia Athlete’s Committee is being commissioned to provide an avenue for collated athlete feedback to the CEO, and subsequently the board, on a routine basis. The committee will provide the Archery Australia CEO and Board with an up to date understanding of athlete views and offer ideas in areas directly related to athlete participation. Additionally, the committee will provide opportunities for leadership experience and knowledge retention of high standing Archery athletes.
The Archery Australia National Wellbeing Manager, Rhian Bird, will facilitate meetings of the committee which will meet a minimum of twice annually to discuss items of importance and hear feedback from Archery Australia members. The Archery Australia Athlete Committee Charter details the committee implementation process, with information on committee make-up, roles and responsibilities, communication channels, operation, eligibility, and regulations.
For further information:
Archery Australia Athletes Commission Charter – Click Here
Athletes Commission Nomination Form (to express your interest in joining the Commission) – Click Here
Paris 24 Para Pathways Program
In an exciting move this week, Archery Australia have announced the roll out of its first ever Para Archery focused Pathways program. The Paris24 Para (P24 Para) Pathways Program has been created by the Archery Australia High Performance team in conjunction with the AIS Performance Pathways unit.
National Para Coach, Ricci Cheah is “so excited to see the program begin. It is a ground-breaking initiative for Para Archery in Australia and I am excited for the potential to work with more archers and coaches across the nation. The program will no doubt help Australia in improving results in the future”
Archers selected into the P24 squad will be invited to various training camps, competitions and education sessions, aimed specifically at preparing them for qualification to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Archery Australia HP Pathways Manager, Robert Turner also stated today that he “appreciates greatly the ongoing technical and financial support from the AIS for our Para programming. Their support in these programs is vital”
To learn more about the P24 Para program please see the EOI form Click Here or contact our HP Pathways Manager Robert Turner (details in EOI)
2021 National Compound Program (NCP)
The National Compound Program have some of Australia’s top compounders working with our elite archers to both have fun and to push the standards higher. They are Scott Brice (Qld), Louise Redman (ACT), Marcel Verstegan (Vic), Clint Freeman (TAS), Pat Coghlan (SA) and Danie Oosthuizen (WA). Those six have vast experience internationally and know what it takes to get to the top. The numbers involved vary from State to State, but we have a group with really good talent.
While the lack of competition during the lock-downs has been quite annoying we have tried to use the time where we can. For example, amongst the most recent activities, Scott ran match practice in Brisbane; Louise ran some matches by Internet with Tazmin in Victoria and Rhiannon in South Australia using the World Archery face to face app (which seems to work well); and Clint ran a coaching day in Launceston. Aside from those, I ran an unofficial ranking list for the archers during July and August and we saw some very nice scores from the group. One task I set them was to see how many consecutive 10s they could shoot using a distance and target face size at the edge of their abilities – at 30 metres using an 800 mm target face Matt McDougall got to 54, which was pretty impressive. I have suggested they try 40 metres with a 1220 mm target face – it is not as easy as it might seem, and requires you to maintain your concentration very well (J.Park)
For further information please contact the National Compound Manager, Jim Park (jlpark@bigpond.net.au)
2021 National Recurve Program (NRP)
The NRP is the most recent iteration of the previous National High Performance Program (NHPP) which better reflects Archery Australia’s current strategy which is delivery of programs to ultimately produce Recurve Archery Champions at benchmark events including World Archery Championships and Olympic Games, and Champions at the World Archery Youth Championships.
The purpose of the NRP is to provide a system of support for Archery Australia’s leading Recurve archers in a structured, sequential and transparent manner that enables the athletes to be the best Archers that they can be. The NRP will have three distinct components:
- National Squad
- National Development Squad
- National Youth Squad
The NRP consists of three squads of athletes that provides a clearly structured pathway which athletes are able to progress through as they further develop their skills and performances. The entrance criteria for each of these tiers has been designed to align with Sport Australia’s Athlete classification strategy meaning that athletes are eligible to receive more support as they progress through the tiers. Athletes are able to enter the program at any level, National, Development or Youth, provided they meet the published selection criteria.
For more information about the National Recurve Program – Click Here
Expression of Interest Form – Click Here
2021 National Para Program (NPP)
The Archery Australia National Para Program is a new program that has been developed to reflect Archery Australia’s commitment to the delivery of development and elite programs to produce Para Archery Champions at benchmark events including World Archery Para Championships and Paralympic Games.
The purpose of the NPP is to provide a system of support for Archery Australia’s leading Para Archers in a structured, sequential and transparent manner that enables the athletes to be the best Archers that they can be. The NPP will have two distinct components:
- National Squad
- National Development Squad
Youth age athletes will be included in the National Development Squad until there are sufficient numbers to make the establishment of a National Youth Squad viable.
The ultimate objective of the NPP is to win medals at World Para Championships, Paralympic Games and World Cups by supporting identified athletes within the program through a combination of more accessible coaching, greater representation across the network of State Institutes and Academies of Sport, and performance based funding support for travel.
For more information about the National Para Program – Click Here
Expression of Interest Form – Click Here
2021 International Competition Selection Policies
The continuing uncertainty over travel restrictions in 2021 means we cannot be sure that where teams are selected for international competitions, they will be able to travel and compete. The High Performance Committee will continue to select teams for all relevant international competitions however the final decision on whether the team will be able to compete will be made after consulting with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the Smartraveller website, the Archery Australia Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sherwin Goh and the AIS CMO Dr David Hughes, and of course with the athletes and staff selected for the relevant competition.
The ongoing situation regarding a lack of domestic competition over the last six months and uncertainty over when QRE’s will return for all states means that team selections for 2021 are likely to rely heavily on past results and include an element of subjectivity. While this is not an ideal situation we believe it is important to continue to select teams for future events.
Selection Policies for international events in 2021 will be made available on the Archery Australia website in the very near future.
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