Safety Regulations
The following guidelines are the basic safety principles that any archer (or adult supervising a child 12 years old or younger) must follow. The Club reserves the right to exclude any member who contravenes these regulations. The Club’s purpose is to promote the safety of its members during its activities.
1. A round (French: ‘volée’) is three arrows or less.
2. Arm guards are mandatory. They prevent painful injuries to the forearm. Your stance should take into account the path of the bow’s string to further avoid possible injuries. Loose clothing should also be avoided.
3. Never pull a bow’s string back and let it go without an arrow nocked on the string. This can damage the bow and cause serious injury.
4. Do not use inappropriate or damaged equipment (eg. Arrows that are too short, frayed string, broken arrow rest, etc.). This could result in serious injury.
5. It is prohibited to use any device that can distract others or disrupt the shooting environment (eg. cellular phones, music players, tablets, headsets, smart devices, etc.).
6. Children 12 years of age and under must be accompanied and under the responsibility of an adult at all times (shooting, recovering arrows, etc.).
7. All archers must always stand on the same single firing line when shooting.
8. In order to support concentration, shooting is done silently. Instructors and safety officers may provide tips to beginners.
9. Respect all signals (ie. whistle) or verbal instructions:
- 2 whistles: Take position on the firing line;
- 3rd whistle: Authorization to arm the bow and begin shooting;
- 4th whistle: End of shooting round. Archers can recover their arrows.
10. After each round, archers must move behind the firing line and place their bow on the rack. Archers are to stay behind the firing line until otherwise instructed.
11. When behind the firing line, an archer may hold their bow in hand, but cannot touch any arrows.
12. Never nock an arrow or shoot until everyone is behind the firing line.
13. Never nock an arrow until the shooting range is empty of people and the range officer has correctly signaled a new round is to begin.
14. Never walk in front of a line of archers.
15. Do not place any personal items between the firing line and the target.
16. Never fire or aim a bow, even without an arrow, except when standing at the firing line and pointing towards a target.
17. If an arrow is dropped in front of the firing line, it is considered lost. Trying to recover it can put you in danger. Archers must wait for the round to finish to recover the arrow.
18. Do not run, especially with a quiver full of arrows.
19. Always keep sufficient distance from other archers when shooting to avoid disturbing them during their shot.
20. Never touch a bow when in the shooting position.
21. Never touch another archer’s bow, or their equipment, without permission.
22. Never point a bow at someone, with or without an arrow.
23. Aiming a bow upward is prohibited.
24. When recovering arrows:
- Do not go directly to the center of the target, but rather to one side to avoid accidentally hitting an arrow.
- Do not stand directly in front of a target when removing arrows. Stand to the side to avoid accidentally being stabbed by an arrow being removed from a target. This is especially important for children.
25. For compound bows: It is recommended to use a “puller” or other aid when removing arrows from targets to protect the archer's hand.
26. Do not use a bow that is too heavy.
27. Never participate in archery under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
28. Beginners must start at the shortest distance available. Archers can move to greater distances when they are achieving satisfactory target groups (red and yellow). In order to shoot at longer distances, archers must request permission from a range officer.
29. In the event of an accident, stop shooting immediately and inform the range officer.
The premises of our club must remain clean: All garbage is to be put in the trash. Food is not allowed on the premises.