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| Physically disabled athletes have
been testing their accuracy and precision in archery
competitions for over 50 years. The Stoke Mandeville
Games in England in 1948 were the first organized games.
There are both standing and wheelchair athletes who
compete in both men’s and women’s competitions.
These athletes display outstanding strength and
concentration in all competitions. The Paralympics
includes singles, doubles, and team events with the
competition and scoring procedures identical to the
Olympic Games. Paralympic archery has been in every International Wheelchair Games since Rome in 1960. It received international fame as a paralympic sport when at the 1992 Barcelona Games, Paralympian Antonio Rebollo lit the Olympic and Paralympic flames with an arrow. The archery competition for teams or individuals can be performed in a standing position or from a wheelchair. There are three archery classifications: ARST – Archery Standing, ARW1 – Archery Wheelchair 1, and ARW2 – Archery Wheelchair 2. In ARST, the standing archers have no disabilities in the arms while the legs show some degree of loss of muscle strength, coordination and/or joint mobility. In the ARW1 class compete from a wheelchair and the archers have disabilities in their arms and legs. They have limitations in range of movement, strength and control of arms and poor or nonexisting control of the legs. Archers in ARW2 are paralyzed in the lower part of the body and compete in a wheelchair. 2000 U.S. Paralympic Archery Team |
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