County Matches Reinstated for 2008

It has been a few years now since Kent has competed in what used to be the normal series of "friendly" matches against teams from neighbouring counties, but this year we are endeavouring to arrange a full program. Unfortunately a number of circumstances conspired together to prevent us from hosting matches in the last couple of years:

  • use of our traditional ground at Hadlow became prohibitively expensive, given that these matches cannot generate any income to pay for it;
  • the death of one committee member and the retirement due to ill-health of another had a serious impact on our ability to host matches, as both were not just administrators, but also heavily involved in the physical work of staging the home matches.
  • the lack of anyone prepared to stand for election to the post of County Captain at the county's AGM.

It became apparent when I visited a number of clubs during the last couple of years, that the county team is seen by many people as a necessary encouragement to stretch for higher performances. Well, this year we are trying to put on a full calendar of monthly matches, but this is still being worked on.

The first this year was the 4-way Indoor match against Essex, London and Middlesex held on Sunday, 30 March in Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex and results are available here. Congratulations to Jacqui Gould, Barry Baker, Mark Harris, Tim Mills, Paul Mulder and Matthew Slaney for their selection to represent us.

The remaining outdoor matches will be posted in the diary section as dates become known - provisional dates will be

d to give everyone the best possible notice to help them working out their calendar for this year. So far we have a provisional date for a match against Surrey on 11 May, to include teams for Compound Senior, Recurve Senior, Recurve Junior and Longbow Senior, with each team consisting of 6 archers, of which the top 5 will be
d in the team score. Senior teams must include a mix of ladies and gentlemen, but this requirement is waived for the junior team.

Remember, you cannot be considered for selection unless you provide your scores to the county Records Officer. If you are unsure whether your scores should be sent in, or if you have any doubt about whether they are being received, do not hesitate to contact the county Records Officer for advice.

Last, but by no means least, the county still has a vacancy for a team Captain - if you believe that you fit the bill and are interested in taking on this post, or even if you would just like more information about what is involved, please contact the county Secretary for more details.

We are in the process of drawing up full job descriptions for committee posts, but in the mean time the main responsibilities of the County Captain are:

  • assist with county team selection
  • provide support for the team at matches (6 per year)
  • work with the Invicta Coaching Group to create a framework for developing the county team
  • act as tournament organiser for the annual County Invitation Tournament

Please note that this post is on a volunteer basis and is subject to holding a current GNAS CRB check.