Archery is one of the oldest arts which emerged as a popular sport in modern times. It was practiced since ancient times. From its first development until the 1500s, the bow was man’s constant tool and has been the most widely used of all weapons in recorded history. The bow allowed the prehistoric human to become the most efficient hunter on the planet earth. It helped him as a most used tool in providing safety, food, and raw materials such as bone, sinew, and hide. From that time on, archery has played an important role in many of the world’s civilizations.
The development of Archery followed a course of main innovations by many historical cultures. The most celebrated archer in all of Hinduism is Arjuna, a central character in the epic poem of Mahabharata. He was given the gift of a magical golden bow called Gandiva and with two quivers that never run out of arrows. About 3500 B.C., Egyptian pharaohs used bows that were as tall as they were. The arrowheads which they used were constructed of flint and were later made of bronze.
Almost 2000 years later, the Assyrians shot their bows from chariots, becoming fearsome opponents in battle. They made their bows with tendon, horn, and wood and also developed a new re-curved shape, which provided more power and easier handling. In about 1200 B.C., the Hittites advanced the skill of shooting from moving chariots. In 500 A.D., the Romans, started to draw the arrow to the face rather than the chest, giving the shot more accuracy and speed made it a lot easier to handle for an archer on horseback.
After a few centuries, some of the recorded archery tournaments were during the era of the Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1027- 256 BC) in China. Such events were attended by the Chinese
nobility. After that, English writers honored the longbow for famous contributions to their country’s victories in the battles of Crecy, Agincourt, and Poitiers.
The oldest known evidence of arrows comes from the South African site of Sibudu Cave, where the remains of bones and stones of arrowheads have been founded dating approximately 60,000-70,000 years ago.
THE MOST DECORATED ARCHER
Archery first appeared in the Olympic Games in the year 1900, it was contested again in 1904, 1908, and 1920, then again. The most decorated archer in Olympic history is Hubert Van Innis of Belgium who competed in 1900 and 1920, secured six gold medals and three silver medals.
MODERN EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES
BOWS
Modern archery equipment and accessories are the evolution of the bows and arrows used by many players around in the millennia world. World Archery recognizes some equipment disciplines, or bow styles, including the re-curved bow, which is used in the Olympics, and the compound bow to use at World Archery Championships.
The re-curved bow consists of a riser and two limbs that curve back away from the archer, linked by a bowstring that is drawn with the fingers. They are used in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, at World Archery Championships.
ARROWS
Modern competition arrows are usually made of carbon or aluminum or a combination of both, which provides better aerodynamic and projectile qualities. It travels at a speed in the region of 200m/s, arrows are quite efficient and accurately made instruments. The components of an arrow include the point, which is the metal tip at the front of the arrow that pierces the target, the shaft, fletching, and nock.
Fletchings, or vanes, are the plastic or synthetic feathers that stabilize an arrow in flight, while the nock is a small plastic U-shaped component that clips to the bowstring between the nocking points.
Stabilizers are a rod and weight system mounted to the bow to balance it during aim and absorb vibration during release. A device called “Sight” is present onto the bow with which the archer aims. It has a block that is moveable up-and-down and left-to-right. An archer using a compound bow may have a magnifying lens and leveling bubble. Archer using re-curve is not allowed to use any of them.
Re-curve archers use a leather tab to protect their fingers from the bowstring when drawing the bow. Used with compound bows release aids are mechanical, hand-held devices that draw and release the bowstring, attaching via a D-loop, which minimizes inconsistencies.
Archers also tie a quiver around their waist to hold their arrows. Armguards protect the arm from the string when an arrow is released; they are made of plastic (or leather) and are worn on the inside of the forearm. A chest guard covers the side of the archer’s chest closest to the bow, keeping clothes out of the path of the bowstring.
Additional accessories include plunger buttons, rests, dampers, sight pins, peep sights, and finger slings.
The World Archery Championships were held at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands from June 10 to June 16, 2019. This event served as a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, with each men’s and women’s team that made the quarter-finals earning three quota places for the respective teams. There are 128 qualifying places available for archery at the 2020 Summer Olympics: 64 for men and 64 for women. The qualification standards were released by World Archery in March 2018.
