The club operates a badge system, which can be dated back to 2004. It aims to recognize achievement, encourage archers to set personal goals and decorate otherwise plain archery kit bags and quivers.
How does it work?
As of 2010/11 there are 3 different kinds of badges:
The first is the time honored Competition Badge. This badge system offers 11 different badges awarded for achieving certain scores in official Competitions. These badges are split into “half” and “full” categories with designs following the colours of the target face from the novice (read Beginner) attainable “Half White” to the glory of the “Full Gold” and finally, for achieving a score higher than the personal best of an Irish National Team Member, the regal “Full Purple”. A detailed list of the scores needed for each of these badges in any given round can be found in Badges Scores.
The next kind of badge is the Achievement Badge. These are being introduced this year to recognize some of the outstanding shooting that goes on in the club, but which may not end up in high competition scores. For instance a novice getting every arrow they shoot in one go into the central sections of the target, pulling a “Robin Hood” (destroying one arrow with another) or breaking a Club Record.
Finally the most fun new kind of badge, the League Badge. This year our Records Officer, has volunteered himself for the daunting task of running a Ladder League. The rules allow challenges to be made to the person place above you in the league to shoot any kind of target the club has, including fun targets such as Dartchery or Hit and Miss. Badges will then be awarded for the best archers and those who progress the most over the duration of the competition. At the beginning of the year this will just be for the seniors to challenge each other to find out how their skills compare to each other’s but once the novices have a few competitions under their belt a separate league will be set up for them too.
How do I get a badge?
All maters to do with Badges will be dealt with by our Records Officer.
For Competition Badges, when the club takes part in any qualifying match (this included all SEAL matches, BUCS competitions and other competitions agreed by the Records Officer), the Records Officer will invite our competitors to nominate for a specific Competition Badge. Once your nomination is confirmed, all you have to do is to shoot above the minimum score for the nominated badge. For the first Competition of the year EVERYONE (yes including seniors this time) will receive an open nomination, meaning you will automatically receive the highest badge possible for your score (unless as a senior you know you already have it)
For Achievement badges the Records officer or a member of the committee will need to be informed immediately of what’s happened and the Badge will be made for you. While the scores of any league matches must also be brought to the Records Officer so that the league may be updated every week and Badges redistributed.
FAQs
Q: I am a novice but I did not manage to receive any badge at my first competition. Will I be granted a second open nomination at my next competition?
A: Unfortunately no. You will have to nominate yourself if you want to receive a badge.
Q: Am I obliged to nominate for the next level badge from the one I have?
A: Although this is the usual practice, you are not obliged to nominate for the next level badge. For example, if you currently hold a half gold badge, you could choose to go straight to full black badge (but this is usually very ambitious!).
Q: Can I nominate for a lower level badge then the highest level one I have?
A: No. You must always nominate a higher level badge than the highest level badge you already have. For example, if your highest level badge is full white, then you will not be allowed to nominate for any of the half badges.
Q: Do I need to shoot enough hits, golds on top of the required scores to get a badge?
A: No. As long as you shoot above the required score, you will get the badge.
Q: I nominated for a specific badge at a competition, but shot a score good enough for a even higher badge. Which will I get?
A: The badge you originally nominated. As long as you shoot above the required score, you will receive the badge you nominated for, irrespective of the score you physically shot. The reason for this is to encourage archers to be confident and sensible about their goals.
Q: Who is the person to speak to about the badge system?
A: The Records Officer maintains the badge system. The current Records Officer is Adam Holliday. He can be contacted through email at adam.holliday10@imperial.ac.uk.