ATA 2021 Online is now more fully flushed out and with the holidays are upon us, you may have some downtime to peruse all they have to offer. ATA 2021 Online will take place virtually Jan. 11-15, 2021. (Note that it is a week later than what the in-person show would have been.) ATA members do not need to register to attend ATA 2021 online virtually. Plus, all exhibitors who planned to attend the in-person event will have the opportunity to opt into ATA 2021 Online with a basic online exhibitor profile at no cost. Everything related to the virtual Trade Show can be accessed through your MyATA member dashboard closer to Jan. 11. ATA recommends ensuring you are up-to-date on your membership and to log in and renew now to ensure you can access ATA 2021 Online.

However, there are both paid and free educational courses ATA would like you to register for, such as the Masterclass. Let’s connect with Kurt Smith, the one heading up the educational opportunities for the Archery Trade Association, to learn a bit more about the offerings and why you need to virtually attend.

Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire.

Q1: Kurt, I am most interested in this Masterclass you are offering for $79 for members over the course of TWO days – that’s a lot of material! Can you share a bit more about the four tracks offered, and who should attend these sessions?

Kurt: It is a ton of material! We wanted to create a resource for anyone involved in the business of archery and bowhunting. The four tracks are Business, Archery Tech, Coaching, and Marketing. To compile all of this, we brought in experts and industry veterans to share their knowledge. While much of the content is geared toward our retail members, it’s really applicable to any business type. Our Business track offers actionable steps for establishing your core business culture, giving excellent customer service, improving profitability, and a bunch more. The Archery Tech track covers foundational concepts of setting up and working on compounds, Olympic recurves/barebow, and crossbows. Our Coaching track will focus on helping archers overcome target panic and gain control of their shot. The Marketing track will discuss using social media effectively while also creating a solid marketing strategy for any business type.

Q2: How are folks able to get their questions in to the Masterclass trainers? Will the sessions be available to watch later if they can’t make it on January 11 or 12?

A2: Each of the tracks will have foundational content that is pre-recorded and available to those who purchase the course. If they have questions, there is a discussion feature in each presentation where questions can be entered. Attendees can also participate in the live presentations in January and type in questions for the Masterclass presenters to answer via webinar. If you watch the pre-recorded content and come to the live sessions with questions, you can really make the most out of this course. But if you can’t make those sessions, we will have recordings available. This is also a great option if you attend a session but want to share it with one of your staff members at a later time.

Q3: I understand you are also offering free classes during ATA 2021 Online. Can you expand more on that, such as topics?

A3: Yes! Our members have always been great at sharing their knowledge and expertise with their peers, and we’re happy to be able to facilitate that in a virtual format this year. Some of these presentations will be pre-recorded and available on our MyATA Learning Center prior to and during the show dates. Some of these include, effectively using a point-of-sale system in your business, engaging women hunters, and how excise tax dollars are being put to work to preserve game populations. There will also be free live sessions January 13-15th. Members will be able to watch presentations and ask questions in a webinar format. Some topics being covered in live sessions include, helping your customers build arrows for increased accuracy and success, how manufacturers can avoid legal issues with product liability, and growing your Instagram presence. Complete lists of educational sessions can be found on our website, and you can go ahead and register now for live sessions through the MyATA Learning Center.

Q4: Many of us have been taking virtual classes/seminars for the past eight months and we may be a little “zoomed out,” as they say. How do you hope to keep these online classes fresh and interesting for ATA Members? And let’s flip that, any tips for members who are taking virtual classes maybe for the first time?

A4: I’m among those who are “zoomed out”! We are doing a few things to try to alleviate that issue:

• We are creating pre-recorded content. Not only does this make educational sessions available sooner, but it also gives members the “final product” without any of the technical difficulties or delays that are always a possibility with live sessions.
• We are limiting our live sessions to about four per day. We know our members are busy working in their businesses, so we don’t expect them to sit at a computer for five days straight.
• We are using additional software to add visual appeal to our presentations. You won’t be listening to someone talk and staring at the same slide for 20 minutes…this might be a small detail, but it can have a big impact on how enjoyable the presentation is for the audience.

Above all, we want to make this virtual event EASY for our members. While all of this is exclusively available to ATA members, you won’t need to create a new login or visit a whole new web portal. Members can log in once using their standard ATA credentials and gain access to everything. Even registering for live educational sessions can be done in just one click! For anyone who is new to virtual classes or webinars, I’d recommend looking at our MyATA Learning Center prior to the show dates. When you register for a live event, you’ll get an email with detailed instructions and how to access it. You can even do a “test run” to make sure you have the necessary applications installed on your computer or mobile device. When it’s time for the event, just go back to that email or visit the event on the MyATA Learning Center and click “join”. If you have any difficulties, our trade show and membership teams are ready to help you out!