The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.

By M S Nazki

A good archer is known not by his arrows but by his aim.” “Archery is like a journey, it begins with a love for shooting a bow and a passion for watching our arrows fly.” “Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or even advanced archer, Archery will give you something that’s almost impossible to find elsewhere.”

-Archery is one of the oldest arts still practised today.

-But as usual first the history!

-The history of the bow and arrow is entwined in the history of humanity. Archery initially emerged as a technique for hunting and then later for warfare.

-The earliest evidence of archery – arrowheads made of flint – dates back to around 20,000 BC. It’s possible that early humans were using bows and arrows even earlier.

-Distinctive styles of equipment and technique developed in almost every region of the world. In Asia, where warriors were often mounted on horseback, shorter composite bows became popular, while longbows made of yew made England a military power through much of the Middle Ages. Large communities of archers shooting traditional bows remain active today.

-Archery became obsolete in warfare with the advent of gunpowder and quickly developed into a sport.

-The first-known archery competition that we can relate to modern times was held in Finsbury, England, in 1583 and had 3000 participants.

-Archery first featured at the modern Olympic Games from 1900 to 1908 and in 1920. World Archery was founded in 1931 to secure a permanent place on the programme, which was achieved in 1972.

-The bow and arrow often symbolise control, precision, self-reliance and patience, qualities that have resonated in heroic characters – both fictional and real – for millennia. The legends of Odysseus, the Amazons, Arjuna, Ullr, Hou Yi and Nasu no Yoichi are linked by the values of the sport, despite coming from very different parts of the world.

-One of the best-known mythological archers is Robin Hood, a champion of the people who is famously said to have taken from the rich to give to the poor. The story originated in England in the Middle Ages and is still retold in modern films and television programmes today.

-More modern stories that include archers include The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Arrow and The Avengers. Katniss Everdeen, the main character in The Hunger Games, is credited with boosting archery’s recent popularity among young women.

-Archery at the Olympics, Paralympics and World Games

. Athletes compete in target archery events with recurve bows at the Olympics. The winningest archery Olympians are Hubert van Innis of Belgium, including results from the early era, and Kim Soo-Nyung of Korea. Darrell Pace of the USA is the only archer to have won the individual Olympic title twice. Korea is archery’s most successful archery nation at the Olympic Games.

“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.

-REGIONAL ARCHERY CHALLENGE 2024-25 Ladakh Scouts Battalion under the aegis of Fire and Fury Corps organised ‘Ladakh Regional Archery Competition 2024-25’ on 09 November at Phyang, Leh.

-11 Archery teams from various villages of Leh district participated in the competition. The Winner team and best archers were felicitated by Maj Gen DK Singh, SM, Chief of Staff, Fire and Fury Corps. The event reaffirms Indian Army’s role in nation building, boosting sporting culture and nurturing the aspirations of the local populace.

-This is just the beginning, obviously more would follow:

-Archery has featured on the programme of the Paralympic Games since its first edition in 1960 and is rooted in the history of the Paralympic movement, having been used by Dr. Ludwig Gutmann as a rehabilitation activity at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, where early versions of the event were held. Impaired athletes compete in para archery events with recurve and compound bows at the Paralympics.

-Archery has featured on the programme of the World Games since 1985. Recurve and barebow archers competed in field archery events until 1995, when the compound bow was added. In 2013, the compound competition was changed to the target archery discipline. Morgan Lundin is the winningest archer at the World Games, having won the compound men’s field archery event three times: in 1993, 1997 and 2005.

Modern competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy and precision from a set distance or distances. This is the most popular form of competitive archery worldwide and is called target archery. A form particularly popular in Europe, North America, and South America is field archery, shot at targets generally set at various distances in a wooded setting. There are also several other lesser-known and historical forms, as well as archery novelty games.

The World Archery Federation (WA, also and formerly known as FITA from the French Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc), composed of 156 national federations and other archery associations, is the governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Various other large organizations exist with different rules.

Modern competitive target archery is often governed by the World Archery Federation, abbreviated as WA (sometimes also referred to as FITA, from its former French name of Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc). Olympic rules are derived from WA rules.

Target archery competitions may be held indoors or outdoors. Indoor distances are 18 m (20 yards). Outdoor distances range from 25 to 90 m (27 to 98 yards). Competition is divided into 3 or 6 arrows. After each end, the competitors walk to the target to score and retrieve their arrows. Archers have a set time limit in which to shoot their arrows. 3 arrows are shot in 2 minutes, and 6 in 4 minutes.

Targets are marked with 10 evenly spaced concentric rings, which have score values from 1 through 10 assigned to them. In addition, there is an inner 10 ring, sometimes called the X ring. This becomes the 10 ring at indoor compound competitions. Outdoors, it serves as a tiebreaker with the archer scoring the most X’s winning. Archers score each end by summing the scores for their arrows. Line breakers, an arrow just touching a scoring boundary line, will be awarded the higher score.

In the past, most targets in competitive archery use some kind of stalks of grain or grass and may be constructed of marsh grass woven into a rope then wrapped around into a target.

However, in modern times, most archery targets are made of synthetic foam, or woven plastic bags stuffed with cloth.

Different rounds and distances use different size target faces. These range from 40 cm (16 in) (18 m [20 yd] WA Indoor) to 122 cm (48 in) (70 m [77 yd] and 90 m [98 yd] WA, used in Olympic competition).

Three common types of rounds (in the NFAA) are the field, hunter, and animal. A round consists of 28 targets in two units of 14 (until the early 60’s two rounds of 28 were shot for 56 targets). Field rounds are at ‘even’ distances up to 80 yards (73 m) (some of the shortest are measured in feet instead), using targets with a black bullseye (5 points), a white center (4) ring, and black outer (3) ring. Hunter rounds use ‘uneven’ distances up to 70 yards (64 m), and although scoring is identical to a field round, the target has an all-black face with a white bullseye. Children and youth positions for these two rounds are closer, no more than 30 and 50 yards (27 and 46 m), respectively. Animal rounds use life-size 2D animal targets with ‘uneven’ distances reminiscent of the hunter round. The rules and scoring are also significantly different. The archer begins at the first station of the target and shoots their first arrow. If it hits, they do not have to shoot again. If it misses, they advance to station two and shoot a second arrow, then to station three for a third if needed. Scoring areas are vital (20, 16, or 12) and nonvital (18, 14, or 10) with points awarded depending on which arrow scored first. Again, children and youth shoot from reduced range.

One goal of field archery is to improve the technique required for bowhunting in a more realistic outdoor setting, but without introducing the complication and guesswork of unknown distances. As with golf, fatigue can be an issue as the athlete walks the distance between targets across sometimes rough terrain.