FREE ESSAY ON TARGET ARCHERY

TARGET ARCHERY

The National Archery Association of the United States had its origin as a result of our
own country's history. After the Civil War, Confederate soldiers were not allowed to own
firearms. Two brothers, J. Maurice and William H. Thompson, learned to hunt with the bow
and arrow and became accomplished archers. They were both founding members of the N.A.A.
in 1879 at Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Archery tournaments, as we know them today, can also be traced back to England.
Competitions were held as part of community festivals as early as the 17th century.
Archery became an official event in the modern Olympic Games in 1900 and was also
featured in 1904, 1908 and 1920. International rules had not yet been developed, though,
and each host country used its own rules and format. Because of the confusion, the sport
was eliminated from the Olympic program until 1972.
Target archery competition centers around specific distances, usually from 20 to 90
meters or yards, with target faces of various sizes and center-scoring rings marked off
in centimeters. A game in archery is called a round. Examples in target archery are the
600 Round and the 900 Round, named for potential perfect scores. Up to four archers may
shoot at the same target in a given round, each using his/her own distinguishable arrows.
An end makes up the number of arrows shot in a row before a score is recorded and the
arrows are pulled. In target shooting an end may be from three to six arrows, depending
upon the size target and the distance involved.
One archery game that is growing in popularity is a spin-off of the rifle and handgun
game silhouette. In archery silhouette, however, foam plastic targets replace the
metallic version used with firearms. The silhouette target shapes are the same as those
used in the original game chicken, pig, turkey and ram, but the actual contest has an
additional challenge that makes it even more attractive to archers. Targets are placed at
various distances in-groups of three. The first target in each group is positioned at a
known distance, from 25 meters for the chicken, out to 70 meters for the ram. The
remaining two targets in each group may be put at varying distances up to but not beyond
the next set, forcing the shooter to estimate the distance to the target. To score a hit,
a target must be completely toppled.
While this game is ideal for the bow hunter armed with a high tech compound bow, the bare
bow archer is also equipped to handle the course of fire. In some archery silhouette
events, an added challenge is a timed match, whereby the shooter may have just two
minutes to get off 36 arrows. This type game all but eliminates the use of fancy or
sophisticated sighting devices. Most shooters use a bow with a draw weight of at least 40
pounds and draw weights in excess of 70 pounds, capable of dropping the ram target at 75
yards, are not uncommon.
In standard FAA events, equipment is divided into four categories: bare bow, freestyle,
competitive bow hunter and competitive freestyle bow hunter. In bare bow there are no
sights or sight-marking devices of any kind or mechanical release devices. In freestyle,
practically any sighting or release device, stabilizer or arrow rest is allowed. 
There is a variety of archery equipment available today from ancient wooden bows and
arrows to sophisticated compound bows and carbon-graphite arrows. Most archers take
advantage of technical advances in equipment. This includes the latest in compound bows
in various arrangements and components of glues, carbon and graphite. Steel cables are
fixed in different ways over off-center wheels to permit easy holding at full draw.
Better string material, sighting aids, draw stops, vibration dampeners, overdraws, arrow
rests and stabilizers are some of the improvements added to the bow to make them more
effective for those who can use their advantages. Arrows are available in wood, plastic,
aluminum alloys and carbon-graphites. The points of the arrow have evolved from the
famous flint arrowheads of the Indians to the modern screw-on replaceable heads used
today.
There are other popular games in archery such as the Clout, where arrows are lobbed long
distances (150 yards and more) at a single target. The Wand shoot is where a thin
vertical stick of wood or reed serves as a target, which is a carryover from ancient
times. Both the National Archery Association (NAA) and Field Archery Association (FAA)
shoot similar games. The first, however, is more closely concerned with excellence on the
target line and is the sponsoring organization for Olympic Shooting in the United States.
National Field Archery Association deals with the hunting scene, with targets simulating
actual field shooting situations. The NAA, in addition to its role as Olympic governing
body, also implements a youth archery-training program, Junior Olympic Archery
Development (JOAD), which exposes thousands to the sport. Internationally, Federation
Internationale de Tir A L'arc (FITA) sets the rules for target archery for member
nations, including the United States; The World Archery Center teaches various levels of
learners and instructors from many nations.
Bibliography
sources: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sedm0127/archery.html
http://www.worldsport.com/worldsport/sports/archery/home.html
http://www.dellarco.com/ontarget/