Ron Damon
Whether it is for hunting, war or for sport, the goal of archery is always the same, to shoot arrows at a distant target and hit it. The bow and arrow originally began as a hunting weapon and then later (around 3000 B.C.) was used as a weapon of war. Its use for war continued until it became obsolete by the first firearms. It returned to fashion in the 19th century, was no longer used to do battle but to demonstrate ones skills at shooting a target. Archery was practiced mainly in Poland and France and they even gave it a try at the Olympics in the early 1900's but it didn't last too long. Archery seemed to really gain its popularity in the 1960's. In 1972 archery was again added to the Olympic Games. In competition archers must shoot their arrows as close as possible to the center of their target which is located at a set distance. The International Archery Federation has several different disciplines, of course each with its own rules, distances, number of arrows, the type of target and equipment used. As far as the Olympics are concerned archers will shoot a total of 144 arrows at 4 different distances. They will start with the longest distance and try and gain the maximum points of 1440. The 64 best archers will then shoot with 3 ends of 6 arrows. This leads to the 8 best archers from that bunch to the finals. In the finals those 8 will compete one on one with 4 ends of 3 arrows. The competition for the gold medal involves 2 archers alternately shooting 4 ends of 3 arrows. All ends are shot at a distance of 70 m. Time limits are indicated by colored lights and sound signals.
Utah archery tournament quadruples 2011?s number of competitors By Kathy Stephenson The Salt Lake Tribune Published Feb 11, 2012 07:45PM MDT If the aim of the National archery in the Schools program is to introduce students to this lifelong sport, then organizers were well on their way to hitting the target in Utah. On Saturday, more than 180 students from 10 schools participated in the 2012 ...
Youths participating in state archery meet learn patience, discipline By Kathy Stephenson The Salt Lake Tribune Published Feb 11, 2012 03:02PM MDT If the aim of the National archery in the Schools program is to introduce students to this lifelong sport, then organizers were well on their way to hitting the target in Utah. On Saturday, more than 180 students from 10 different schools participated ...
Carli Cochran stood poised, her compound bow drawn, harnessing concentration on a rainy afternoon in late January. In a moment of subtle elegance, she unleashed an arrow at the nickel-sized bull's-eye of a target 18 meters away, a shot punctuated with a resonating thunk at the indoor range of Lancas...