Tag Archives: archer

Feb 15 2013

First shoot of year

Paget de Vasey  host their annual shoot this Sunday and it will be our first shoot for the 2013 season.  You can see a past shoot report from last years shoot here.

It will also be the first shoot Sharon will have competed at since recovering from breaking her finger. ( original post)

Sharons hand

Sharon’s hand, a few days after breaking finger.

As both a coach and husband I know how much this will mean to her. Sharon gets as much from archery as she puts in, and she puts in a lot of effort.

Sharon Shooting at wood

She also uses archery as a method of relaxing from the stresses and pressure of working life. So without archery she has been a little grumpy which is understandable and yes she would admit that. We’ve been very fortunate that Steve Parsons at our club (SVYF) lent her a lighter draw weight bow (30lb draw weight) which has helped her build the strength back. (Thanks Steve and Happy Birthday for Saturday)

Whether she wins a medal or not I am just hoping that she remembers to

  1.  Enjoys the day.
  2.  Doesn’t get frustrated if not shooting well.
  3. Remembers I love her.

Recovering from injury is not always easy and often we put additional pressure on ourselves concerning our own expectations of performance. We often think we can immediately go back to the level of performance we had previously.

Whilst in reality we need to take things slow and steady and you will then succeed.

If you push it too far or too fast, you run the risk of aggravating the injury or depress yourself as you aren’t performing at the level you feel you should.

You can say this is a normal thing for a coach to say, but it also something I have had to learn the hard way too. and is true of all sports and activities.

In my case with archery it was following a car accident that left me unable to shoot my bow for several months, but this is a lesson I have had to learn elsewhere too, but that’s another story for another day.

Thanks for reading and I’ll try to post a write-up of the shoot next week.

Feb 5 2013

Setting up a target boss

target boss in garden

Setting up a boss is a common activity, but requires some thought and care to ensure it is done correctly and safely whether this be on a course or as in this example in the garden. In this article I will try and cover some of the things to consider.

Target

Target set up and ready?

Here you can see a boss having been erected ready for practise. Looks good?

One commonly made mistake when setting up a boss is forgetting to check where the metal binding for the plastic strapping is located.

closeup

These should always be on the back of the boss and never facing the direction of the shot.

Why?

The binding can damage arrow tips if they are hit. I have also seen arrows shot from a compound bow hit one of these metal fastenings and bounce straight back some 15 yards landing at the archers feet.

You should also ensure the wood frame of the boss is always to the side and not on top or bottom.

Why?

If the arrow falls low, it will run the risk of hitting and embedding itself in the wooden frame, which is likely to  result in some work to extract.

If the arrow impacts at the top of the boss it runs the risk of deflecting off in any direction . So rotate the boss to ensure the wood frames are on the side of the boss.

Target Boss

Target Boss

Location, location, location – no not the property program commonly seen in UK.

Look at the space surrounding the boss – there appears to be a stile behind and to the right of the boss, does this mean there is a footpath?

What about the space behind the boss with regards to overshoot. A safe over shoot area is vital for any target positioning.

N.B. we own the field beyond the gate and the boss usually lives in the field.

Any  there any other risks?

Well yes there are. There is a building to the side so you wouldn’t be able to see people approaching from that direction.

The metal gate is also a risk as if an arrow misses the boss and hits the gate it is likely to deflect in any direction.

Securing the boss to the stakes is vital to ensure it doesn’t topple over when arrows are removed. It is worth considering whether the stakes need to be proud of the boss. Also try to put them to the side or rear of the boss frame so as to avoid or limit the number of arrows hitting them.

Those are a few thoughts and tips to consider when positioning practise bosses. Have you got any further advice or tips?

We are fortunate in owning the field and knowing there is no public access or routes to it other than via our boundary.

I hope you find this article of interest and if you have any comments let me know. Thanks for reading.

Jan 25 2013

Archery Panda – Eats shoots and leaves

I’m guessing most with not associate Pandas with Archery, but you might be surprised.

Pandas are not just a kung fu warriors

kung fu panda

Or symbol of world wildlife fund

WWF Logo

But I have heard the phrase Panda used to describe some archers. In respect to the exact phrase “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”  which comes from the book title Eats, Shoots & Leave: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation written by Lynne Truss

So what is an archery panda?

Well it is based round what some people see as a question of archery etiquette. I have little doubt that archery etiquette has been discussed at numerous clubs, events or gathering of archers. What is thought of as acceptable or unacceptable.

As I understand it the phrase describes  “an archer who turns up at a shoot ground, has a bite to eat before the start. Then he or she, shoots round the course and departs before any prize giving or results are announced.”

Eats,  Shoots and Leaves

So what’s wrong with this? If you know you’ve no medal chances why stick around?

From the discussion I have had or heard it is arguably an etiquette thing. You wouldn’t turn up at a friends house party, eat some food, have a brief chat then leave without saying goodbye. So why do it at a shoot?

The other thought is that you should stick around and show your support of other archers, especially the juniors. Added to this is the show of thanks to the organisers of the event.

Granted there are people who will have to leave early, due to work, or life commitments. There are also times when I’ve shot so badly the last  thing I want to do is stick around but it is something I do to show support for the archers there.

So what do people think? Have you come across archery Pandas?

Thanks for reading.