Archery Business Jan-Feb 2012
BETTER BOWHUNTING CONTESTS when hes sweating and cleaning up after filling a trailer with dead carp from a bowfishing contest The reason most places dont run bowhunting contests is that theyre a lot of work before during and after each event Weaver said We hold three bowfishing contests in summer so were dealing with high humidity 100 degree temperatures and lots of stinky fish Thats a lot of cleaning up after everyone leaves But nothing successful is ever easy and its a lot of fun for our customers Chance Clanahan manager of Paducah Shooters Supply in Paducah Kentucky echoes Weavers thoughts If you offer a contest you better have your ducks in a row because running a good one will give you headaches he said The only thing worse would be running a bad one Youd get a migraine Contests require a ton of work and dedication Your customers might not appreciate all the work you put into it but they will definitely notice if you 24 archeryBUSINESS January February 2012 Heres a typical bowfishing tournament crowd assembling outside Weavers Archery Store in Middleburg PA Owner Keith Weaver says hes noticed the start of his shops busy season has shifted from mid July back to June when the shop began hosting bowfishing tournaments give it a half hearted effort Everything will fall apart and hurt your credibility The upsides however are far ranging In some regions a well run contest can even generate news for local media Streiff Sporting Goods in Warroad Minnesota has been running big buck and bigdoe contests throughout autumn for nearly 20 years The store organizes separate contests for archery rifle and muzzleloading seasons with categories for adults and juniors As with other Northwoods regions across the Great Lakes states folks around Warroad commonly tune in radio programs for their local news Nick Marvin manager of Streiff Sporting Goods said radio stations regularly announce the leaders and the weights of their big buck or doe We have a form we fill out so we can fax updates to the radio stations Marvin said It gives us free advertising and attracts listeners for the radio station We also keep our leader board posted online and at the store so people can see whats coming in and where they stand We also get a lot of phone calls and people stopping in to check on the leaders Its a fun way to stay involved with customers Which Contests Work Organizing and operating fun fair and popular bowhunting contests requires planning preparation and ongoing evaluation One probability is that the contest you start today will look far different five years from now as conditions change and you tweak the contest to increase customer satisfaction Our contests have a hell of a following Brunett said The guy who won our first contest 30 years ago took first place with a spike horn Hes still coming in shooting bows entering the contests and shooting in our leagues He won a 109 bow that first year Since then weve given away about 250000 in prizes We give out an average of 7500 to 8000 a year in prizes in June July and August
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