Declining attendance at 3D shoots

[Bldtrailer]

This just my slant >>>-->  most clubs setup for compounders/xbows , they just don't have  trad in put and  rather brag about how far the shot was , not becoming a better hunter/getting  in danger close . ( the youth would also benefit from shorter distances) and want a clear shot ( if you want to hear them scream just put a branch/tree across the 12 ring).   
  The best way to get more Trad guys is having the wheel bow gang try the REAL bows and discovering the joy of the flight of the arrow, not the joy of the next fastest/newest thing. I quit compounds do to being to easy and tech heavy.
   It takes some imagination to come up with new target ideals (  spinning turkey heads a real big hit) but most clubs have little time and a set routine target 1 goes 20yrs, 4 goes 30 etc.….. never changing the course,  not have the time to change things ...gets to be boring.   You need the wow target
Sadly & lastly more people work nontraditional work weeks and simply don't have the day off. more after work day shoots might work .
 Some clubs are pricing $$ themselves out, kids  should shoot free

[mcgroundstalker]

When you think about it, it's up to us to do something about that... Share your ideas with club members and their organizers when you attend... I know sometimes trad archers are not taken seriously... Ever hear, "I had a bow like that when I was a kid." Or, "Why should we have a Traditional Shoot when less than 10% of archers use recurves or longbows?"

Well, don't we all travel many, many miles to get together? Explain that to right person and get involved somehow....... I did and won't surrender to the other 90%...

... mike ...

[Bchunter1]

At our club we put out 3 stakes  pretty  easy , kids stake , trad stake longest shot is around 35 yards at big targets. And then the compound guys stake . Everyone is pretty much in there preferred distance .


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[BAK]

Maybe it's just that too many folks have too much money.

Yeah, you heard right; Used to be if your hobby was archery that is what you spent your "extra" cash on.

Now folks are buying into private pay to play sports clubs for their kids, they have their snowmobiles, their dirt bikes, their ATV's, their bass boats, jet skis, Harley's, etc.

And to paraphrase: if your gonna play with everything your not really gonna be good at anything.

[GCook]

Of the TBOT shoots I've been to in Texas the clubs have done a great job of setting up shots I'm mostly capable of at least hitting the target.   A buffalo target at fifty yards is a long shot, but also a big chance of at least hitting the foam.
I'm obviously not that top 5%.   Shooting without a focused aiming system (instinctive/ intuitive) has me more capable at 20 yards and in and after that it gets less likely I'll score well.
From what I've seen the traditional tournaments are more laid back and less intense than the ones I shot years ago.   I'm there for reasons other than seriously competing but still hope to turn in a respectable score. 
The drive has kept me from several.  Since I'm not an overly  "competitive" individual anymore it's difficult to be motivated to get up early on a Saturday morning and drive two to four hours to a shoot where I'm done in an hour and thirty minutes then drive home.
Hopefully I can overcome that obstacle this year and will compete in longbow and recurve divisions to at least have more range time, as well as time to spend around other traditional archers, and make the drives a bit more worth while.
I think the post about people having more busy schedules is valid as well.  Even for me I have had to come to the decision to let go of some things that tie up weekends.  I have even let my hunting lease go so I can focus more on my own property as well as free up some weekend time to go to more shoots.
Life is busy and we have to choose what we spend time on.  With younger folks with kids in ball, cheer and what not I can see why the choice isn't always a tournament.

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[Bldtrailer]

demo for youth

and targets for them

[Bldtrailer]

running rabbits  and teaching the next generation

[Hud]

I agree with most comments.  I would recommend separating compound and trad shooters either on separate courses, alternating weekends, or different days. Stakes should be color coded for Men, Women and children.  Compound shoot black, and any of the lesser distances.  Trad shooters Red, Green and White.  If a man wants to shoot closer, fine. People that start on white should stay on white, etc. because the course is usually a challenge for most, as skill levels vary.  A handicap system works for golf and might work here too.

I use to shoot the North American Longbow Safari. Their courses are usually tough, not all, but most. There were usually a couple different stakes. There were many lost arrows in groups I shot with, including my own. Too many targets were at long distances, over water, in water, trees, down steep hillsides, or up. Targets in brush and behind trees, generally took their toll on arrows.  I remember a cougar on a rock wall, it looked like 90% the arrows shot there were still on the ground, broken.  Another was a steel bear at about 35 - 40 yds with a hole the size of an apple.  Unless you missed your arrow didn't survive. I thought people really enjoyed the running deer, and aerial targets as much or more than most of the course. I am sure most got the arrows back after they were picked up.

If you want to increase attendance, it has to fun for all and not a survival course.