ON-TARGET NEWS

Hello my name is Matt Dworak and for the past season I’ve been serving as Vice President for the FCAA. I’m a native Coloradoan and moved here from Lakewood about 15 years ago to attend CSU. One of the first things I discovered upon my arrival was the great archery range we have and I couldn’t believe that it’s totally free to the public. Since serving as VP I’ve really come to appreciate all the hard work of the many dedicated members that make it all happen. This summer I was fortunate enough to participate in the first annual Archery Day. I found it a great opportunity to introduce some youngsters to the world of archery, which was great practice for the day I teach my 5-month-old son how to shoot a bow.

I’m not exactly sure when I started shooting a bow but I’m guessing I was between 4 and 5 years-old and I’ve been hooked ever since. Although I’ve always enjoyed all things outdoors, my true addiction is chasing elk with a bow and arrow… as my very understanding wife and boss can attest. One of my personal goals in life is to someday harvest all eight of Colorado’s big game species. So far I’m half way there.

Another hobby of mine is woodworking, in particular turning duck, goose and coyote calls on my wood lathe. I’ve also recently started experimenting with building bows, mainly laminated wood bows. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make bows and have been intrigued with the idea of harvesting a big game animal using equipment that I made with my own hands. I was lucky enough to meet a couple individuals a few years ago that were willing to teach me some of their trade secrets. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to be satisfied with any of my own creations to trust under actual hunting conditions. I’ve had to resort to store bought bows, although hopefully I’ll be shooting one of my own next fall.

I hope to see you all out at the range this year!

Note from the Prez

We’ve had time to reflect on our archery successes last season, and now is the time to plan to make this season even more enjoyable. I look forward to every opportunity for shooting with you on the range or in the field this season. It will be a time to share our life experiences in the field as we participate in activities centered around our growing sport. As you review our 2007 event schedule, I hope you will plan to participate in events and to invest in our sport. Again this year I ask you to identify where you will be helping the club. With approximately 180 family memberships, when everyone helps with one event again this year, we will always have enough support so that the work is not burdensome to anyone… and it is fun to make new friends while sharing the workload. Also, if you are interested in becoming a board member to help direct the club, please contact me or any director.

In the same spirit of cooperation and full participation, this season we will ensure that the 3D league shoots conclude each week while daylight ensures safe shooting and high scores. And with every activity, we will strive to provide you with the best shooting experience possible at our range and at off site events as well. I urge you to fully experience what FCAA offers, “Get out and get involved.�? I’ll see you on the range!

Michel “Longshot�? Magers

Arctic Shoot Coming!

The FCAA annual Arctic Shoot will be held Saturday, Feb. 3, come rain, sun, or snow (or any combination of these)! This is a great event and a chance to limber up in the middle of winter. You should start practicing now to shoot from dog sleds, skis, and snow shoes! It is a great time so be sure to join us at the archery range. The cost is $12 with a 50% payback (kids under 17 are free but no payback). You don’t have to be a member to participate. Registration is 8:30–9:45 am with a shotgun start at 10:00.

Lunch is included - chili really hits the spot during these shoots! Bring the family and join in the fun.

Membership Shoot

Also be sure to mark April 21 on your calendar! That is the date of our annual membership shoot. It is open to members only and is a great time to renew your membership. A 3D fun shoot will be offered followed by lunch (provided by the club) and a club meeting. Registration is from 8:30-9:30 with a shotgun start at 10:00. The club officers for this coming year are elected during the meeting so don’t miss it.

After lunch the range will be open until 2:00. There will also be fun shoots and door prizes! Don’t be surprised to find swinging chickens and other “interesting�? challenges. The cost is $20 and includes your yearly membership dues (free if you have already renewed). Plan ahead - don’t wait until Wednesday Night Leagues to join!

Wednesday Night Leagues

The club’s Wednesday night 3D league is always popular with members. Last year we had from 218-294 people at each session. For session 4, that averages out to about 73 people per night.

The 3D League will start on May 2 and run for 16 weeks ending Aug. 22 (skipping July 4). Each session consists of 4 weeks with the best three scores being counted.

Last year we tried to start leagues earlier in the evening during the first session due to lack of daylight. In looking at this again, the Board decided that we really hadn’t done everything possible to make the 6:30 time work during short days, and that 6:00 was too early for the set up team and for some shooters.

This year we are going to use the following rules to make sure everyone gets to shoot in the light:

1. Registration cutoff: 6:15

2. Shooter briefing: 6:20

3. Start time: 6:30 on the stake (for all 16 weeks)

4. Limit group size (4 or 5 at discretion of Registration, and depending on total number of shooters)

5. Post sunset time on bulletin board

6. Setup during times of limited daylight

i. Shorter distances and maybe not so spread out on the course

ii. Targets in front of butts

iii. Not obscured by brush & shadows

iv. No tree stand shots

However, along with the rules, everyone needs to make a conscious effort to keep things moving. Please spend a very limited time looking for arrows and move shooters up to the stakes quickly. If you see open targets in front of you, you can have some shooters start on the next target before everyone is done with the current one. We want the shoot to be enjoyable, but safe.

A lot of work goes into making these leagues work and we want to thank all those who helped set up and take down the range each night. For those of you who didn’t get involved last year, please think about helping out this year. If you can come out early or stay late, your help would be greatly appreciated! And if you are one of those setting up, you have a chance to influence how the targets are arranged.

Electronic Newsletter

In order to reduce our mailing costs (as well as kill less trees), we would like to offer our members the opportunity to get this newsletter electronically. When you fill out your membership form this year, there will be a place to indicate you want to receive your newsletter by email. It will be a Microsoft Word document that will be attached to an email. The newsletter can be anywhere from 2-4 Mb. in size, so you might want to think about how fast you can download files considering your Internet connection speed.

If you are interested, be sure and indicate that on your membership form!

News from Your Membership Coordinator

I just wanted to say how great it is to see more women coming to shoot leagues on Wednesday nights. I know when I joined the club several years ago, there were not very many women shooting in the leagues. We received some great feedback about starting a Women’s Unlimited group for this summer. This would be the only competitive women’s group as there are only two Limited women shooters currently. We need to have three or more for a group for payback.

I would also like to throw out a helpful hint. Last summer during leagues we were having to repeat the scores to our scorekeeper several times while pulling arrows, so we suggested that the scorekeeper stand behind the target so they could here the arrow puller better. This may sound simple but it works and helps with some time issues.

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season and you are ready for the upcoming shoots. I would like to thank everyone for your memberships this past year and the continued support for the FCAA.

Marci Riddle