1. Introduction

This Handbook is meant to be used in conjunction with the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) Target Archery Handbook, October 2003 Edition. All Equipment Standards, Range Safety and additional recommendations are to be taken from that document and the provisions of this handbook. These rules are valid only in the Kingdom of Drachenwald. In addition to the SCA Archery Rules, all mundane legal requirements for archery must be followed in full. In order to avoid trouble, you should review and follow all local laws regarding archery and projectile weaponry. For example, in some countries you may need a licence to transport or own a crossbow or there can be rules regarding where you can set up a shooting range.

Always be aware that bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons are weapons not toys. The bow is one of the oldest weapons known to mankind and has been used both for hunting and as a weapon of war for thousands of years. Archery is a lot of fun, but it should be taken seriously.

1.1 Target Archery

Target archery is concerned with the use of all forms of live missile weapons, as well as the arts and sciences related to it. This includes shooting at the mark, shooting for distance or clout shooting with bow and arrows.

All target archery is organized through the office of the Captain General of Archers of the Kingdom of Drachenwald. Throughout this publication the word Archer shall be used as a general term for any gentle using a missile weapon, regardless of the actual type of the missile. Also, Archer and all Archery Officer functions shall be used regardless of gender.

1.2 Combat Archery

Combat archery is the use of missile weapons in SCA heavy combat. It is a combat activity and is organized by the Kingdom Deputy Earl Marshal for Combat Archery. The rules for combat archery are laid down in the Missile Combat Rules section of the Kingdom of Drachenwald combat regulations. It is possible for one person to serve as an officer for both target and combat archery systems for both target and combat archery systems as long as they are authorized and warranted appropriately in both systems. All Target Archery offices are under the jurisdiction of the Captain General of Archers. All Combat Archery offices are under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom Deputy for Combat Archery.

1.3 Thrown Weapons

Thrown weapons such as axes, knives and javelins are described in SCA Thrown Weapons Handbook, October 2016 Edition.

In Drachenwald, Warranting Target Archery Marshals are also responsible for the warranting of new Thrown Weapons Marshals. Therefore, all Warranting Target Archery Marshals must know and understand all elements and rules regarding archery and thrown weapons. Exception to this is Deputy of Thrown weapons who has warranting rights only to thrown weapons. In Drachenwald, Marshals-in-Training can warrant exclusively as Thrown Weapons Marshals, without the requirement to also warrant as Target Archery Marshals. Marshals-in-Training may choose whether they also want to be examined as target archery marshals. Target archery marshals who have been authorized before July 2019 may personally inform to captain general of archers that they have enough knowledge of thrown weapons to keep their thrown weapons marshal authorization. This notification must be done before October 2019.

2. Archery Officers

2.1 Captain General of Archers

The Captain General of Archers is responsible for all target archery activities in the Kingdom of Drachenwald. By kingdom law, it is a lesser office of state under the direction of the Earl Marshal.

The Captain General of Archers;

  • Shall oversee and encourage the study of period archery and thrown weapons styles and equipment
  • Shall set and enforce safety standards
  • Shall make available regulations and information regarding target archery
  • Shall oversee archery and competitions
  • Shall warrant Regional Target Archery Marshals, Captains of Archers, Archery Marshals and Thrown weapons marshals.
  • Shall be responsible for such reports as may be required by the Crown, Kingdom Earl Marshal or Society Marshals deputy for Archery
  • Must hold membership in the Society
  • Must have immediate access to the Dragon’s Tale.

2.2 Regional Target Archery Marshals

A Regional Target Archery Marshals acts as a regional deputy to the Captain General of Archers. The Captain General may appoint an experienced Archery Marshal as a Deputy for a certain area of the Kingdom to give the archers of that regional direct point of contact.

Regional Target Archery Marshals:

  • Shall be the main point of contact for the archers in their region of the kingdom.
  • Shall maintain communication with the Captain General of Archers and report on scores and activities within their region as well as on their own marsahllate activities.
  • Shall notify the Captain General of Archers of those that have been warranted to be included on the Drachenwald log of warranted marshals.
  • Shall oversee and encourage the study of period archery styles and equipment.
  • Shall instruct and enforce the current Kingdom safety standards.
  • Shall oversee archery competitions.
  • Shall warrant Archery Marshals.
  • Must hold membership in the Society

2.3 Warranting Target Archery Marshal

A Warranting Target Archery Marshal can authorize new Archery and Thrown weapons Marshals. The Captain General and regional marshals are warranting marshals; the Captain General may appoint additional authorizing marshals as local need dictates (for example in remote areas).

2.4 Captain of Archers

Any branch of the Kingdom of Drachenwald may appoint a Captain of Archers. To register this office an email of application should be sent to the Captain General of Archers from the branch Seneschal. The Captain of Archers should ideally be an Archery Marshal, but this is not required. The capacity is an administrative function, and does not require archery skills.

A Captain of Archers;

  • Shall serve as the point of contact to Barony, Principality or Kingdom superiors.
  • Shall spread information about target archery in the branch
  • Shall organize target archery activities in their branch. (Archery activities require the presence of an Archery Marshal.)
  • Shall report quarterly to their Kingdom or Regional superior using the report engine in Drachenwald web pages.
  • Must hold membership in the Society

2.5 Archery Marshal

The Captain General of Archers or a Regional Target Archery Marshal may authorise archery marshals. Authorisations are valid for two years or as long as the Archery Marshal remains a member of the Society and resides in the Kingdom of Drachenwald. Marshals will be issued an authorisation card stating the expiry date of their current warrant. A new card will be automatically issued when their current warrant expires so long as they have met the reporting, membership requirements and have been active as an archery marshal within the previous two years. If you have not been active as a marshal for two years, you will need to retake the marshal’s test before being issued a new warrant.

An Archery Marshal must:

  • Be a paid member of the Society. If your membership lapses, your authorisation will become invalid until you have renewed your membership and sent confirmation of renewal to the Kingdom Archery Marshal.
  • Be 18 years of age or older.
  • Report quarterly as required.
  • Own a complete set of archery equipment (At least a bow and one complete set of six arrows).
  • Demonstrate familiarity with current SCA and Kingdom target archery and thrown weapons conventions and rules.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with current mundane legal requirements for archery in the country or countries in which they are active.
  • Demonstrate the ability to safely run an archery shoot.
  • Demonstrate the ability to teach a beginner to use equipment safely.

An Archery Marshal may become warranted:

  • By personally demonstrating their ability to the Captain General of Archers, Regional Target Archery Marshal or a warranting Target Archery Marshal that they meet all the requirements to be a marshal as listed in Kingdom law.
  • When the above is not possible; by sending a letter of application to the Captain General of Archers, signed by at least two warranted archery marshals who attest that the applicant fulfils the above requirements.
  • In the absence of feasible ways to ensure that the above requirements are met, the Captain General of the Archers may appoint archery marshals on their own recognizance.

When a potential new target archery marshal is being trained by an Archery Marshal, the pupil is called Marshal in Training (MIT). A Marshal in Training cannot be a Marshal-in-Charge, however they are encouraged to deputy in the post under the direct supervision of a fully authorised marshal.

For more detailed guidance on become a marshal, please see the ‘Becoming a Marshal’ section later in this document.

2.6 Archery Marshal-in-Charge

  • An Archery Marshal who has the responsibility for archery activities at a particular event.
  • Must issue a report to their Regional Marshal (Marshal-in-charge reports are due no later than 1 week after the event), as well as reporting to the Marshal-in-Charge for the event.
  • An archery marshal-in-charge may also serve at the ‘Marshal-in-Charge’ for an event, in which case they must also coordinate with the other marshals i.e. fencing and heavy marshals and submit any required reports.

2.7 Marshals who have authorized in other Kingdoms

Due to the variety of mundane jurisdictions covered by Drachenwald, we do not issue temporary warrants to visiting marshals. All visiting marshals must take the Drachenwald TAM test in order to marshal in this kingdom.

Once visiting marshals have familiarized themselves with Drachenwald Target Archery rules, they should approach their Regional TAM or the Kingdom TAM to arrange the test.

Please see section 7 of this handbook for further details.

3. Children on the line

Children and minors (those under 18 years of age) may participate in archery or thrown weapons activities with the following restrictions:

  • Children 12 years and older may participate in target archery or in thrown weapons activities without parental supervision;
  • Children under the age of 12 must have a parent or designated guardian on or behind the archery line within arm’s reach; in thrown weapons activities the parent or designated guardian must be beside the child on the line (not behind them).

Adults supervising a minor at the archery line may not be involved in any other activity at the same time. Children on the line must be supervised on a one-to-one ratio.

The marshal-in-charge may require adult supervision of children aged 12-17 at their discretion.

Children are expected to behave on the archery line with the same discipline as an adult archer.

4. Drachenwald Company of Archers

The Drachenwald Company of Archers is a guild within the kingdom designed to promote archery through recognition of archers of all levels of skill. To find out more about the Drachenwald Company of Archers please check out the target archery section on the Kingdom website.

5. Official competitions and practices

Archery events may include any form of safe competition you can imagine, in keeping with the overall spirit of recreating medieval archery. Many forms have been used in the Society over the years. Many authentic and creative styles of competitions have developed into standard shoots within the Society.
Only scores from official SCA events or practices may be submitted for Kingdom or Inter-Kingdom competitions or for membership in the Drachenwald Company of Archers. In order for a practice to qualify as an official SCA practice, it must be approved by the local Seneschal, run by an SCA Target Archery Marshal and must be open to all members of the SCA without requiring membership of another organization or payment of any fees barring venue hire.

5.1 The Drachenwald Round

The Drachenwald round has been devised in an attempt to provide a more authentic standard

competition for the Kingdom. This competition is intended to reward both shooting skill and the use of authentic equipment. It consists of three parts:

  • Clout. This is a long range, timed round which simulates military field archery. Arrows are shot into the target that represents a besieged castle or an element of enemy soldiers arrayed for battle. The target is a circle on the ground, 10 yards in diameter. It can be made of hay bales or other suitable materials. The shooting line should be 100 yards from the line to the centre of the target circle. If this distance is not feasible at the site, it may be reduced to a minimum of 80 yards, with a corresponding decrease in size of the target circle to 8 yards. Archers shoot an unlimited number of arrows for one full minute. Each arrow that falls inside the target circle scores 2 points.
  • Shooting at the mark. This is a short-range round based on precision, having more in common with hunting than with military archery. The target is a piece of paper 21 X 21 cm (8¼ x 8¼inches). This just happens to be what you get if you fold and cut square a sheet of standard European A4 stationary in half. The paper may be oriented any way you like. Archers shoot one round of 6 arrows each at 40, 30, and 20 yards without a time limit. Each arrow that hits the mark scores 2 points. This yields a maximum of 36 points.
  • Authenticity. The use and the construction of authentic equipment may also yield a competitor points. A maximum of 9 points may be scored without even hitting a target. The following is a breakdown of possible points
    1. Bow: 3 points are awarded to all archers who shoot an English longbow (D shaped without a sight window), a self bow or any other bow which can be documented to be more to the medieval period.
    2. Arrows: 3 points are awarded for using arrows with self nocks.
    3. Construction: 3 points are awarded to all archers who either 1. have built their bow themselves or 2. have built their period-style arrows (with self nocks and tied-on feathers)

5.2 Royal Round

The most common competition in the Society is the Royal Round. The Royal Round uses a standard 5-ringed 60 cm FITA target. The archers shoot one round of 6 arrows at 20, 30, and 40 yards, as well as, a timed round with unlimited arrows for 30 seconds at 20 yards. Points are counted from 1 to 10. At the beginning of the timed round archers may have their first arrow nocked, drawn and aimed. Should you loose an arrow early or late in the timed round you lose your highest scoring arrow for that round.

Children distances: Children 10 years of age and under which shoot 20, 15, 10yds

Youth distances: Children 13 years of age and under which shoot 30, 20, 10yds

In all of the Youth Divisions, the age of the child as of the start of the annual competition (Mid summer Coronation) is the age of record for that year’s competition.

5.3 IKAC

The IKAC (Inter-Kingdom Archery Competition) is a society-wide competition in which

competitors from all the Kingdoms of the Known World compete against each other. The IKAC consists of six Divisions: Open Hand bow, Open Crossbow, Period Hand bow, Period Crossbow, Children’s Division and Youth Division. The competition starts on 1 February and ends on December 1 and any archer can participate by shooting at either an official practice or an official event. The standard IKAC round is an extension of the Royal Round in which there are two rounds of 6 arrows and two timed rounds of 30 seconds (60 seconds for crossbows) at 20, 30, and 40 yards. The IKAC rules are subject to annual revision and changes and are therefore not printed here in full. The current IKAC rules are available from the coordinator at: http://www.scores-sca.org/ikac/

Children distances: Children 10 years of age and under which shoot 20, 15, 10yds

Youth distances: Children 13 years of age and under which shoot 30, 20, 10yds

5.4 Portsmouth

The most common indoor competition in Drachenwald.

  • The Portsmouth uses a standard 5-ringed 60 cm FITA target.
  • The archers shoot 10 ends of 6 arrows at 20 yards.
  • Points are counted from 1 (outer white) to 10 (inner gold).
  • All age groups shoot from the same distance.

6. Reports and lists

Reports are needed because they are the best way of the Kingdom and Society Officers to have knowledge of the development of the Target Archery in the region. Lists of currently active Archery Marshals are needed because target archery activities cannot take place without a target archery marshal present on the range. It is recommended that the list of available target archery marshals is easily accessible to event autocrats.

  • Target Archery Marshal’s reports are due quarterly on April 15th, July 15th, October 15th, and January 15th respectively. TAMs should report to their local Captain of Archers if they have one, or to their regional marshal if they do not. Archers in areas with no regional marshal should report directly to the Captain General.
  • Regional Target Archery Marshal’s reports are due quarterly on April 25th, July 25th, October 25th, and January 25th respectively.
  • Should you fail to report for a span of two years you will not be issued with a renewed marshal’s warrant.

Reporting forms are available on the kingdom website.

6.1 Captain of Archers Report

Information about Archery in your group:

  • Details of the Target Archery Marshals (TAM) within your Group.
  • Details of the Marshals in Training (MIT) within your Group.
  • Events, practices and demos have taken place in your Group.

6.2 Regional / Principality Archery Marshal Report

Information about groups:

  • Groups you are responsible for and who are their Captains of Archers (CoA), their Target Archery Marshals (TAM) & Marshals in Training (MIT).
  • Authorisations that you have undertaken and who you have authorised.

6.3 Target Archery Marshal/Marshals in Training Report

Please give a brief description of the type of archery tournaments that were organised or any practices, coaching, or archery A&S workshops given.

7. Becoming a marshal

If you would like to become a marshal, you should make sure you have a thorough understanding of the Target Archery & Thrown Weapons Rules. Then contact your local Captain of Archers (or if you don’t have one your closest Target Archery Marshal). You will become a Marshal-in-Training (MIT). [Note: A MIT is not a legal representative of the SCA, Inc. and has no greater authority than any other archer and must operate under the supervision of a Target Archery Marshal.]

7.1 Training as a MIT

As an MIT you should be trained in:

  • Knowledge of the current SCA and Kingdom target archery and/or thrown weapons rules.
  • Knowledge of the current mundane legal requirements for archery in your home country and/or any country where you are active as an MIT.
  • Range setup
  • Equipment inspections
  • Teaching/Instructing a Beginner
  • Marshalling the Line
  • Scoring of arrows
  • Collection of arrows
  • Knowledge of different formats of shoots
  • Knowledge of reporting requirements

Target Archery Marshals must own a complete set of archery equipment (a bow and a set of six arrows). Thrown weapons marshals are not required to own thrown weapons equipment.

No target archery activities are to take place at an event unless a target archery marshal is present on the range.

All Target Archery Marshals are officers of the SCA and shall maintain membership as required by the SCA Bylaws, and shall be warranted by their Kingdom as required by Corpora.

7.2 Testing

At the end of your period of training, a ‘Warranting Target Archery Marshal’ will test you. This test may involve detailed questions on the rules, and practical demonstration of setting up and running a shoot.

7.3 Issuing the Warrant

When the ‘Warranting Target Archery Marshal’ warrants a Target Archery Marshal, a report must be submitted to the Captain General of Archers. The form for this is available from the Kingdom website under the Target Archery section. Please follow the instructions on the form.

8.0 Change Control

Last update: October 2020

Updated by: Mícheál Breathnach

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