Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Olympic Games And Archery

By Leslie Shaba

In the first ever Olympics held in Greece, the name of archery never featured as a sports event. It is highly likely though that during the course of 1000 years that the Olympics have been held, this could be a sport event which featured there. Years when archery started to get included as a sport event in the Olympics were 1900 for men and 1904 for women.

However there was hardly any parity in the Olympics rules those days and after 1920, archery was dropped as an event. It took many years before all countries accepted the international rules for competition, but archery was able to return as an Olympic sport to the 1972 Munich Games. The event included team as well as individual participation from 1988.

Since 1992, the structure of the game is head-to-head competition amongst 64 top players. Individual for men, individual for women, team for men and team for women are the four events in archery. Individual competitors (men and women) shoot 72 arrows at a 'bulls-eye' target from a distance of 70 meters (229 feet, 8 inches). One shot must follow the other in a matter of 40 seconds and the ideal score is 720 with a 'sudden death' overtime shot which happens when there is a tie.

The team events comprise of 3 archers making a team and there are 16 such teams where each archer has to shoot 72 arrows and the distance covered is 70 meters like the individual events. In a tie score, each team member will shoot one arrow and the arrow closest to the center of the target determines the winner. The scoring in this game is according to where the arrow hits the target, which consists of 10 rings so if the arrow hits the outermost ring, the archer gets 1 point, 2 points for the next ring and finally 10 if the center of the target is hit.

Olympic archery events involve using a recurve bow which enables the arrow to traverse at the speed of 150 mph. These specialized bows are made from wood, fiberglass and graphite which stabilize the direction of the arrow which goes in a straight line and helps in specific target aiming. The equipment is costly and can go beyond 00 the reason being strings made from hydrocarbon or from Kelvar and the arrows from aluminum or carbon graphite.

Olympic archery competitors have normally been training for at least ten years. One should be in impeccable form to participate. A superb trainer as well as the perfect equipment is essential too. Archery by any standards is less pricey than other sports and that is good news. To master the art, you should get coaching, study and talk to other archers and then gradually develop expertise from local and national events but never forget to practice diligently.

Archery is a sport accessible to many disabled athletes. For instance Neroli Fairhall was the first woman paraplegic who not only competed in the Olympics but this New Zealander also won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. This is also a sport that people can continue with for much of their lives and enjoy with their families.

About the Author:

0 comments:

Post a Comment