Archery and the Commonwealth Games

This week the Commonwealth Games are taking place in New Delhi, India. I have a couple of fellow Ontarian archers competing including Crispin Duenas, Alana MacDougall and Kateri Vrakking.

CBC describes the difference between compound and recurve disciplines very well…

“What’s the difference between recurve and compound bows? Besides the shape (the tips of a recurve bow curl away from archer, while compound limbs bend back toward the archer) compound bows with levers and eccentric cams are more technologically advanced than the more traditional recurves. Compound bows are designed to reduce the force required to hold the string at full draw, allowing the archer more time to aim while exerting less effort.”

“In both disciplines, archers release their arrows toward the centre of a 10-ring target measuring 12 centimeters in diameter. Scoring is tabulated through a point system for piercing each of the 10 rings. The innermost ring — commonly called the bull’s-eye — is worth 10 points. Each subsequent ring is worth one point less, down to the single-point outer ring.”

CBC also provides an excellent description of the target from the view point of the archer…

From the regulation distance of 70 meters, the entire target in an archery competition appears to the archer’s eye to be about the size of a nickel held at arm’s length. The bull’s-eye appears to be about the size of the head of a pin held at arm’s length, and yet world-class archers routinely hit the bull’s-eye with four of every six arrows.

Check out archery at the Commonwealth Games by visiting CBC’s website to find out the latest results and next broadcast.