I was asked by some Maryland shooters why they should join MAA. This question and similar ones ("Why should I join any state or national organization?" Or "What does the state or national organization do for me?") are often asked. I would like to take a try at answering those questions.
State and national organizations set the rules, regulations and games that govern our sport. The NFAA (National Field Archery Association) organizes indoor, field and 3-D archery; the NAA (National Archery Association) organizes indoor and outdoor target archery and another field archery round; and IBO (International Bowhunters Organization) and ASA (Archery Shooters Association) organize still other 3-D archery rounds. These national groups also affiliate with international organizations to organize international competitions. Even if we never shoot a national tournament, we benefit from standard rules and rounds. Without standard national rules and games, each local club or group would have their own individual rules that we would have to learn before we could shoot there and things could get very confusing. Eventually, shooters would try to standardize or the sport would die. In fact, that is how the national organizations got started - shooters wanted to have some standards.
MAA (Maryland Archery Association) is the Maryland affiliate for both the NFAA and the NAA. In addition, some of our clubs also belong to the IBO. MAA officers and Directors have long tried to meet the desires of Maryland shooters. As a result, MAA provides some extra styles to our junior shooters (Young Adult, Youth, Cub and Pee Wee) that are not recognized for NFAA national level tournaments. For MAA shoots, juniors can compete in all of the bowhunter and traditional styles. At MAA FITA tournaments, shooters can shoot the compound fingers division, which is not recognized by the NAA for its national tournaments. In this way, the MAA tries to abide by the national standards while providing Maryland shooters the styles and divisions they want.
The MAA provides the basic organization for Maryland clubs. Clubs come together through their Directors to set the rules and guidelines for State competitions and an organized statewide schedule of shoots. With 16 clubs, there is some shoot or another, virtually every weekend. A great deal of effort goes into scheduling all of those shoots with minimal impact on other clubs. We publish an excellent archery guide available to all MAA members. In fact, one national editor said that our Maryland Archery Guide is the best state guide seen. The guide provides a wealth of information about Maryland Archery, including directions to all clubs, a complete statewide annual schedule, and a brief explanation of shooting rules. Also included are the past year's results and records.
MAA holds several state shoots throughout the year. They include the MAA Charity shoot, five NFAA style state championships and three FITA style state championships. The indoor championships are held in late Winter and the others are held from Spring through the Fall.
The officers of MAA are volunteers. They do it because they love our sport and want it to thrive in Maryland. They are committed to making MAA a great state archery organization. Join us and help make Maryland archery the best it can be.