The History of Archery in the Olympic Games

However there was hardly any parity in the Olympics rules those days and after 1920, archery was dropped as an event. While a lot of time went by before the international rules and guidelines of the Olympics was agreed upon by the participating countries, it took till 1972 when archery returned as a sport event during the Munich Olympics. 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 and team events for men and women are the four events in archery. Men and women in the individual events aim to hit the bull’s eye distance of 70 meters which is 229 feel and 8 inches and they throw 72 arrows. 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.

In the team events there are totally 16 teams where each team has 3 archers, who, like the individual game, have to throw 72 arrows from a distance of 70 meters. Each archer shoots an arrow and the arrow which gets closest to the target, wins the game. 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.

The bow used in Olympic archery event is recurve bow and any arrow shot from this type of bow gathers a speed of 150 mph. These technologically advanced bows are made from graphite, wood and fiberglass which stabilize the motion of the arrow which has to travel in a perfect straight line and helps the archer to aim perfect. The total cost of the equipment goes over 00 with strings made from hydrocarbon or from Kelvar and the arrows from aluminum or carbon graphite.

Athletes who participate in Olympics archery events would have gone through training for about 10 years. To compete in these games, the player has to be in top form. Then one has to have a good coach and the correct equipment. As luck would have it, archery is less costly than any other sports. 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.

This sport is open to even athletes suffering from some disabilities. A New Zealand woman, Neroli Fairhall, was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games and was a gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games. This game is such that you can enjoy it with all the members of your family and if you so desire, can go on playing it for the rest of your life.

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