Archery is probably the oldest art of ancient times. It is still being practiced today. It was first developed in the 1500’s. The bow was a man’s companion. It was most widely used of all weapons throughout all of its time. The bow was used for various things. It provided a man with protection. Also, it made him one of the greatest hunters around, providing him with a great deal of food. From that point on, archery has played a great role in many of the world’s civilizations. Not only in the Olympics, but also in modern day life.
The Sport
Arrowheads were originally constructed from flint. They are now made of bronze. The bow was created out of wood and tightened string.
At the Olympics
Archery became an event in the Olympic Games in 1900 and was also featured in 1904, 1908 and 1920. However, international rules had not yet been developed and the resulting confusion caused the sport to be eliminated from the Olympic program until 1972.
Archery at the Olympic Games is outdoor target archery. Each target has 10 scoring zones, defined by the 10 rings. The highest score is 10 points for hitting the center circle, or bullseye, and each ring around it decreases in value by a point. The outer ring is worth one point.
There are, of course, other scoring rules for other possibilities such as: if an arrow is touching two rings, the ring with the higher point score is counted, if an arrow becomes embedded in another arrow, the score of the first arrow is taken. If an arrow misses the target, obviously, no points are scored.
Within the bullseye lies an inner circle called the X10, which can be used to decide ties. It still scores 10 points, but, if two archers tie, the one with the most arrows in the X10 gets the edge.
Accomplished Athletes
Karen Scavotto competed in the international Golden Arrow Tournament. Her partners were Janet Dykman and Denise Parker. However, on the first day of the singles event, Scavotto totally missed the target when facing off against Olga Moroz. However, she earned the bronze medal and was known as the youngest archer athlete to make it that far. To read more about this young athlete, visit the athletes page.
Accomplished Male Archers: Vic Wunderle, Justin Huish, and Butch Johnson
Accomplished Female Archers: Janet Dykman, Denise Parker, and Karen Scavotto
Accomplished Crossbow Athletes: Butch Miller, Carol Pelosi, Mike Gough, Patricia Copley, Jeff Copley, Diana Hoffarth, and Terry Butler
