HotLInk Index:

3-spot Targets Anchor Point Archers Paradox Arrow materials Arrow Pinch Arrow Spine Arrow Size Barebow BEST Biomechanically Efficient Shooting Technique Bow Length Bow Types Button Choosing a compound  bow compound bow cushion Draw Weight Dry Fire Ends GeeGaws Fletching Vanes Vanes FITA Olympic Rounds (FOR) Grouping Handedness (Left or Right)

Indoor Outdoor Tournaments JOAD Distances/Target Sizes JOAD Divisions Left Handedness Olympian Scores Olympic (aka recurve) Over-bowing Pain Personal Best Pins of Achievement Plunger Recurve(aka Olympic) Releases Right Handedness Robin Hoods Rounds Explanations Rounds Safety Scoring Spinwings compared to Feathers Sydney Olympic Scores Target Panic Target Faces Tournaments Tournament Description Tuning

Safety First 
The NAA JOAD program has a tried and proven method of teaching children, young gentlemen and ladies, the sport of archery in a way that is SAFE for all.  It is the responsibility of not just the JOAD coach, but of you, your young archer, and of every adult present at the archery range, to insure that the safety rules are followed.  Keep that in mind when you are watching your child and others shooting, and do help the JOAD coach anytime it is appropriate.  And insure that your archer understands the importance of this anytime s/he is shooting or is around someone else that is shooting.

What's a JOAD and what's a FITA?  (no, it's not a drink and a foreign sandwich)
"FITA"  is both the name (acronym/initials) of the leading organization on archery standards for the world (Federation Internationale Tir l'Arc) as well as the type of archery round shot in the NAA (National Archery Association) tournaments. Click on this link to go to the FITA website.  

JOAD is separate from FITA, it is a USA-only category of youth archers, the JUNIOR OLYMPIC ARCHERY DEVELOPMENT (JOAD) program.  JOAD was created and designed  by the US National Archery Association (NAA) to promote the development of Olympic archers.    FITA has both adult and youth divisions, while JOAD is for youth archers only.  JOAD allows archers to shoot fewer arrows per tournament at a larger target.  JOAD Instructors and Coaches must go through training and testing to be certified by the NAA.

In order for our archers to compare and compete with other nationalities, the NAA adheres to the FITA standard for adult archers and has recently (2001) altered the JOAD program divisions to resemble the FITA divisions.     Youth archers are free to shoot in both FITA and JOAD tournaments.

RIGHT HAND/LEFT HAND
In the NAA JOAD system, the eye dominance of the archer is what decides which side of the bow the arrow should be placed on, and which hand the archer uses to draw the bowstring.

A "Right Hand" bow means that the archer DRAWS the string with the right hand (and is usually right-eye dominant).  Some archers are left handed but are right-hand archers, and vice versa.  It all depends on eye dominance.   The JOAD coach will verify eye dominance as one of the first things done with each new archer.  You can check your own eye-dominance this way:   Hold both hands out in front of you at arms' length and make a small circle with your hands, that you can see through.  Now focus on a point (say a picture on the wall, or the TV)  with this "peepsite" and keep looking at that point as you move your hands towards you.  As the hands approach your face, you will discover that the peepsite has gone to one side/eye or the other.  The eye you kept using as the hands drew near your face is your dominant eye. This technique is useful for coaches trying to assess a new archer, since the coach can see which eye the hands went to.   Another method: Instead of moving the hands towards the face, after you sight in on something through the peephole, simply close first one eye, and the open it and close the other.  The object you have sighted in on will not move when you close your dominant eye.  If the object disappears (your hands appear to jump to one side) then you have just closed your DOMINANT eye.  Try it and see! (but don't do it around your kids - they probably think you are weird enough as it is.)

The importance of eye dominance is to develop the archer's ultimate potential. An archer can shoot with using the non-dominant eye to sight in with but it may require a patch, a squinted eye, or some other trick to help aiming.  All these tricks ultimately handicap the archer from achieving the potential that would be possible if they used their dominant eye. Just as having the wrong eyeglass prescription can interfere with the best performance in school, using the weaker eye to sight with may prevent the archer from having the best success s/he is possible of attaining.

By the way, cross dominance is more prevalent in the ladies than in the men.  A Field and Stream article a few years back talked about shotgun shooting and this situation.  Also, very young archers (6-8 years) may not have settled on a dominant eye yet and may switch from week to week.

Sometime a coach may have the archer use a non-dominant eye when the parents have shelled out the money for equipment already just because they assumed that since she was right-handed that she would also shoot right-handed.   It is indeed possible for an archer who has spent months using the weak eye to SWITCH to the dominant eye/stance, but it always causes a temporary decrease in score which cause psychological problems for the youth, ranging from mild irritation to completely giving up on the sport.  Once the mind accepts the changeover, the archer will usually go on to achieve new personal bests.  It is not unusual, by the way, for the archer's score to DECREASE when a new piece of equipment is added or when a technique is radically changed. 

Also, the Koreans have decided to use the ARM dominance of the archer to determine which bow riser (left or right) to use, and the Italians are also trying it out.   Just another example that in archery there are very few total absolutes. 

LEFT HAND RISER	RIGHT HAND RISER
Pull the string with your left hand.	Pull the string with your right hand
Archer's perspective	Archer's perspective
Hold the bow with your right	Hold the bow with your left

PERSONAL BEST?  (Do you really have to get personal?)
Each archer progresses and improves at her or his own rate.  One of the primary goals of the JOAD coach (after safety) is to provide positive reinforcement - never negative!  On any given day an archer will shoot either better or worse than the last time - this is natural and the coach teaches that this is inevitable.  So it's more important for the archer to compete  against his or her "best" score ever shot rather than just against other archers.  This is the "personal best" (PB), and each archer keeps track of the personal best and shoots to "best" it. It has been said that the most worthy opponent is one's self and this holds true in archery as well. 

What's the difference between bows: Compound, Recurve, Olympic, Barebow (so many choices!)
The barebow is the closest to the original bow when you think of "bows and arrows".  It is archery in it's simplest form - a bow, some arrows, no sight, no pulleys, no add-on equipment aside from an arrow rest.  The appeal of barebow is that it takes a lot of effort to get reasonably good with one, yet archers can be remarkably accurate with one.  The simplicity of the bow keeps costs down as well.  

Generally, archers must invest much more time to be "good" with a barebow, the least time/effort to be "good" with a compound bow, and somewhere in the middle of those with the recurve bow.  Many times archers will start with a compound and end up shooting barebow for the "pure" nature of the barebow, and many archers will actually have two or even all three bow types just because it is fun!

A barebow consists of:

• the bow itself, made usually of wood, carbon, plastics, or a combination
• string - a single length of specially-designed synthetic materials, such as "fast-flight", "Dyneema", "Dacron", "BCY", "Kevlar", approximately 50 feet in length, looped around multiple times into one single length of around 5 to 6 feet (depending on the length of the bow).   Bow material determines what kind of string material is appropriate. Bowstrings appear to be made up of 14 to 20 strands of this string material, but there usually is only one beginning and one end, both covered by the serving.
• serving - a similar string material that  is wrapped around the bowstring to hold it together and protect it from abrasion at the points where the string is mounted on the bow.  Also used at the middle of the string where the arrow is nocked onto the string to protect the string there as well from abrasion by the nock and the archer's hand. (drawing the bow)
• nocking point - string, metal, or plastic material - the place on the bow where the nock (back end) of the arrow is fastened prior to shooting is very important.  If it is too high or too low the arrow will miss the target.  
• nock - while not part of the bow, the nock is integral to the nocking point - made of plastic, it is the notch in the back end of the arrow that "clicks" onto the serving.
• arrow rest - plastic, metal device that the arrow rests on prior to release, and then folds out of the way as the arrow accelerates towards the target.

Barebow archers (and all other archers) are allowed to use:

• an arm guard - plastic, cloth, leather material - to protect their arm from the bowstring and prevent string/arrow deflection during release,
• a finger protector - plastic,metal,leather material - protects the fingers that draw the bowstring back to shoot the bow.  A very "personal" piece of equipment.
• a fingersling/wristsling - if the hand holding the bow grips the bow tightly, the arrow will not fly true because tension in the hand affects the bow.  If the archer correctly holds the bow with a relaxed hand, the bow actually will leap forward out of the hand. To prevent it from falling to the ground the archer will use a length of string or cloth or leather to encircle the bow grip loosely.  This catches the bow after the arrow has left and before the bow hits the ground.
• chest protector - cloth or plastic, this resembles 1/4 of a vest, with straps to hold it in place on the side of the chest closest to the bow.  It provides a smooth, low-friction surface so that as the bowstring moves forward on arrow release, it does not snag painfully in the archer's shirt or chest.  For men as well as (more obviously) women.
• Barebows may NOT have sights, stabilizers, doinkers, electronics.

Everything permitted or found on the barebow is also available for the Recurve/Olympic and Compound bows.

Recurve or "Olympic" bows (the names are interchangeable) start with the same shape of  bow as the barebow.  "Olympic" because this is the only style of bow allowed at the Olympics.  Barebows do not provide a level of accuracy sufficient to be competitive at the 70 meter Olympic distance. "Recurve" because the bow actually has a middle curve and then a second curve, a recurve, at the tips of the bow, are allowed to have many more enhancements to the basic barebow, such as:

• A kisser button is a plastic button that mounts on the bowstring above the nocking point, and is adjusted to touch the upper lip when the bow is drawn.  This helps in forming a stable anchor point. It is a reference point used to provide an additional touch point for the anchor, like the hand on the jaw bone, or the string on the end of the nose. 
• sight - an adjustable plastic, metal, or carbon device that provides better accuracy without the use of magnifying optics or electronic enhancements
• aperture - the opening on the sight through which the archer aims at the target. (no magnification or electronics allowed)
• clicker - a metal tab that makes a clicking noise when the arrow is drawn to a precise point. Advanced archers have trained themselves into a reflexive release of the arrow when the click is heard.
• stabilizer(s) - plastic, metal, rubber, or carbon rods that attach to various points on the bow to help the bow remain still (stable) on arrow release.  Vibrations are absorbed by stabilizer components as well.
• doinkers/silencers - rubber, metal devices that attach to the bow and absorb vibrations and reduce shock on arrow release
• plunger/button - a metal and plastic device that mounts through the riser of the bow to touch the arrow while it is on the bow that helps tune the bow.  See PLUNGER below
• Recurve archers draw the bowstring back using their hand (and fingertab) just like barebow archers.  This creates archer's paradox.

Archer's Paradox?  you shoot, it goes, what's the paradox?
This term is subject to some interpretation and argument.  Essentially, when an archer uses her fingers to pull the string back, no matter how fast and cleanly she tries to release, the bowstring will always slide sideways off of the fingertips, putting sideways thrust on the tail end of the arrow.  No matter what the arrow shaft is constructed of and no matter how much spine (stiffness) the arrow has, it will bend in the middle as the back end starts to accelerate and the front of the arrow  resists the change from "at rest" to "in motion".  As a result of this bending the arrow does some uniform distorting which can be clearly seen when viewed in ultra-slow-motion video.  Check the high speed video link at the top of the photographs index page of the TSAA website.  I feel tht the "paradox" comes from the fact that the arrow is not pointed straight at the target during the aiming portion of the shot, but is actually pointing off to the side in anticipation of this distortion.  If you want to hit the target you would expect to point the arrow directly at the bullseye, and since you don't, that is a paradox.  Compound archers typically use a mechanical release,  which is a device that an archer holds in the string hand, that in turn holds the bowstring and reduces drastically or even eliminates Archer's Paradox.

PLUNGER, CUSHION, BUTTON - gee whiz! just how many terms are there to know for archery
As mentioned above the arrow is going through some distortion during release, acceleration, and flight.  Ever held a long thin stick in the middle, and "wobbled" it back and forth, so that the ends flop up and down or back and forth in unison?  The ends of the stick will continue to wobble even when you stop push-pulling on the middle.  An arrow in flight shot from a finger-release will have these same oscillations as it goes from the bow to the target.  Under the worst circumstances, that wobbling might make the tip of the arrow land well off of the bullseye.  So the cushion plunger was created to act as a bumper and tuning aid.  Essentially it is a spring-loaded plastic stick attached to the bow such that it holds the arrow at just the right angle OFF to the side of the target to allow for the archer's paradox.  It also has an adjustable spring that will push back against the arrow as the arrow starts to bend, in the first few instants of time after release.  This dampens those wobbles, those oscillations that might make the shot less accurate.

TUNING?  Is the bowstring supposed to make a particular musical note when shot?
The recurve bow is like a musical instrument - the better it is in tune, the better it will play.  Tuning is the process of adjusting the various parts - the string, limbs, rest, plunger, arrow, and archer so that they all work together in balance and harmony.  It takes a lot of experience and understanding of the mechanics of archery before one can tune a bow effectively.  The string must be the right number of strands for the weight of the bow.  The arrow must have the right SPINE for the bow weight.  The nocking point must be at the right place on the string for the diameter of the arrow.  The plunger must be set in coordination with the arrow rest, the nocking point, the spine of the arrow, and the technique of the archer's release.  Moving one component has effects on the other parts!  Tuning has many methods - check the TSAA website under Documents for several guides.  Compound bows are typically shot with a mechanical release so archer's paradox is not a factor, and no cushion plunger is needed either.  Tuning a compound bow involves more absolute measurements of string length, pulley timing, arrow rest adjustment, etc. and is generally more of a science and less of an art (the way it is with a recurve).  And no, there is no specific note that the bow should make when shot, but many archers will add or subtract twists in the bowstring (thereby making the string longer or shorter) so that the bow will "sound" better to their ear, as part of the tune process.   

Why is a stable ANCHOR POINT important?
Success in archery depends on consistency.  The archer will be taught to bring the bowstring close to the side of the jaw just before releasing the arrow.  The ANCHOR POINT is the place on the face where the stringhand comes to rest on the archers jaw.  Hopefully it will be the same place for each and every shot.  Even very small variations in the anchor point between shots can mean the difference between a 10 and a 5 (or even a miss!)  You may hear the phrase "bone on bone"  -  where the knuckle of the index finger is FIRMLY against the underside of the jawbone.

Compound bows
Compound bows are a product of modern knowledge and technology.  Their appearance readily shows that there are major design differences from the recurve bow.  One or two wheels are used to use leverage to make the bow easier to shoot than the recurve, and to make the arrow go faster.  They are typically shorter than recurves, so they are useful in hunting blinds.  They are able to shoot the arrow faster, flatter, so knowing the distance to the target becomes less crucial.  Another benefit to the arrow delivery is that it will shoot it faster so that in hunting, the game target will have less time to react to the sound of the shot and move.   With eccentrically-shaped wheels on the bow that provide "letoff" the archer doesn't have to hold as much weight while aiming to shoot the bow.  The mechanical release that compound bow rules permit reduce archer's paradox (see AP below).  Letof means that while the bow requires

The rules for compound bows permits the sight to actually have a scope (optical magnification) so the target is magnified.  The sight can also have electronics, such as lights, to illuminate the crosshairs in sunset/sunrise lowlight hunting conditions.  At longer distances, the bow must be held in a consistently vertical position for arrow accuracy.  Barebows and recurves are not allowed to have "bubble levels" which compound sights routinely employ.  All of these modern enhancements contribute to making the compound bow potentially much more accurate and easy to learn and shoot than the other two styles described above.  

Only recurve bows are allowed in the Olympics, but currently there are many tournaments for compound archers that offer sizeable money awards.  There is also a friendly (usually) rivalry between the three disciplines, but at the end of the tournament all are still friends and archers.  The typical barebow archer will haughtily observe that everyone else's bows are loaded down with junk, recurve archers will likewise point out that compound archers need training wheels, and compound archers, well, they have their disparaging remarks to make as well, but it is the humor of compatriots and is usually good natured.

What length bow should I buy?
The preferred length of a recurve or barebow partially depends upon the draw length of the archer. The following table is a good initial guide for recurve/Olympic bows but the JOAD Coach will be able to provide a more accurate suggestion to start with.

Source: Archery Instruction Manual, 4^th Edition, p. 39.

Why is the length of the bow important?  (one hand on the bow, one on the string, what more do I need?)
A recurve bow has a curve near the tip of the bow, both top and bottom, that is sometimes called the "deflex" or "recurve".  Without going into a physics discourse about it all, properly using this curved part of the bow is very important in making the arrow "go".   If the bow is too long, the archer will not be able to stress the recurve section during a shot and the arrows won't go as far (that's "cast").

Also, the arrows will be more difficult to choose and the bow more difficult to tune, since the arrow spine charts are based on the expectation of the archer choosing the right length bow.  If the bow is too short, the deflex will be completely stressed, but then the lower, thicker, heavier part of the limbs will also be stressed (too much), and as they are stressed the resistance of the bow climbs, resulting in "stacking" which interferes with the archer making a good shot.  Stacking is where the bow increases in draw weight as the length of the arrow/draw length increases.  As an extreme example, I have a 32inch draw length which causes a pair of limbs rated at 34 pounds to stack up to 42# at click.  So I have to draw more and more poundage as I get closer to the end of the arrow, which makes it much harder to be smooth and consistent.  Stacking also varies depending on the way the limbs are made - modern limbs have, generally, much less stacking than the older, less exotic wooden limbs. 

A last problem with having the bow length too small is that the string fingers will be "scrunched" together more because of the angle of the limbs causing the angle of the string at the arrow nock to be more acute.  This is known as arrow pinch, and makes an archer VERY inconsistent.  The fingers should NOT be touching the arrow's nock, but with a too-short bow (or one with too much poundage) this becomes hard to avoid since the sharp angle of the string literally squeezes the fingers into the arrow nock.

CHOOSING A COMPOUND BOW
Compound bows require careful measurement since they do not have the flexible range of draw that a recurve typically has.  This is best done at a good archery shop, by an experienced archer/salesperson.  This usually excludes the department store sporting goods bargain outlet.  You may find cheaper bows there, but will quickly lose the price advantage when you end up with the wrong bow.  Caveat Emptor.

An important point on the compound bow is that in most cases they are for a narrow range of draw length, so for a youngster, every 6-12 months as they grow they may need a new bow. If you are in an area with lots of youth archers there is a pretty good resale market. But many times you can be stuck with a bow that a youngster has grown out of. (You can always check the TSAA's FOR RESALE page to look for bargains in second-hand equipment)

The simple recurves that JOAD clubs typically use will work for many kids of different draw lengths and for many years.  

Is a Dry Fire as good as a dry heat? 
NEVER ever should a bow be fired without an arrow (known as dry firing) - today's bows can be damaged, limbs shattered dangerously, by pulling back and letting go of the string if an arrow is not nocked.  In addition, the nocking point may actually fly off of the string, causing injury.  And that's not cool.

Should a youth archer shoot fingers or a release with a compound bow? (well, they don't actually shoot at fingers, that's actually "shoot with a finger release or a mechanical release" but any archer would understand the question)
This is one of the most frequently asked questions for the new compound archer and one of the most difficult to answer. In the long run an archer will be more accurate and the bow more forgiving with the archer using a release aid. It is very difficult to be competitive at state and national competitions using fingers with a compound bow. 
Besides, the youngster sees Mom, Dad and all the other compound shooters using the release aid and they believe they should use one also. Having said that, it is better for a young archer to start out shooting fingers. a good analogy is when a young person begins to move from a crawl to a walk. They don’t go directly from the crawl to a sprint. It is better to learn to walk before learning to run. In archery it is better to learn the proper form and technique by shooting with the fingers before advancing to the release aid. If the toddler went directly from the crawl to the sprint they would fall many times. The "falling" in archery is called trigger punching. What happens when the inexperienced youth archer starts out with the release aid is that as soon as they acquire the target with the sight through their peep site, they will punch the trigger, which spoils the aim and the shot. 
The punched trigger and the drive by shooting leaves an arrow pattern like it was shot from a shotgun. Once punching begins, it becomes subconscious and it is very difficult to rectify. 

If it is absolutely imperative that a youngster shoots a release aid (Mom or Dad said so), then ensure that it is one especially designed for youth archers. Also, the release hand should be relaxed, the archer should pull with their back, and a large percentage of the practice is done up close to learn the proper way to activate the trigger. Shooting the release aid will ultimately help them become a more accurate archer, but they must walk before they can run. 

How much weight should the bow have?
By "weight" we mean the resistance to drawing, not the number on the bathroom scale when you put the bow on it. (Although for JOADs, lighter would be better for that kind of "weight").    The weight of the bow is rated in pounds of bowstring resistance.  It is usually measured by hooking the bowstring onto a hanging scale, and pulling down on the bow until the distance from arrow rest to string is 28 inches. (the standard distance used by bow manufacturers for this rating system).   Most JOADs will NOT be drawing their bow back 28 inches, depending on their physical size.  

Most numbers in archery bowkits are not absolutes, but rather approximations.  Your  7 year old archer may be able to press 200 pounds, in which case a larger draw weight would be in order.  A rule of thumb that Tom Barker likes to use for selecting the right draw weight TO TRY OUT for a JOAD kid is to take the age times 2, e.g. an 8 year old times 2 is 16 so a 15 lb bow is about right to start with. This works for recurves only. On older kids obviously the curve flattens out, and common sense must rule. (He would not, for example, recommend a 40 lb bow for a beginning 20 year old.) JOAD Ladies may be a little less than 2 and some JOAD Gentlemen may have a multiplier factor a little more than 2.

As for the weight of the bow itself - this is important for beginner archers as there is a wide range in the weight of the riser.  23" risers are lighter than the adult size (25"). 

OVERBOWING!   What's a good bow?  How strong should it be?
For JOAD archers, less is better.  Perhaps the single biggest mistake for a parent is in providing a bow that is too heavy for the young, growing archer.  Also known as "overbowing" , too heavy in this case means having too large of a draw weight.   In many cases it's very obvious when a youth has to wildly arch his or her back and struggle to get the bow drawn, and it is also very dangerous to other archers and bystanders if the archer cannot control the bow's direction during this struggle to draw the bow. It may not be quite as obvious in some cases - if your archer cannot draw and hold the bow for 10 to 20 seconds or so without severe trembling then the bow is likely to be too heavy.   It is important that the bow have enough weight to get the arrow to the target but any more than that is not necessarily better and in the case of growing kids with open growth plates may actually cause harm to their bones. Youth archers will typically start with 15 to 25 pounds using a recurve bow.  

It is important that the under-16 archer NOT start lifting weights in an effort to make himself stronger unless it is done under the supervision of a qualified expert  such as a sports physiotherapist.  It can cause permanent damage and stunted growth, and is not necessary.  Shooting a properly weighted bow will be great exercise in and of itself.  My own 15 y.o. daughter's got a set of biceps now that puts many of her non-archer male classmates to shame, simply due to a high number of reps with a low weight bow.

On this subject, it's important that the archer always take time to stretch and warm up and stretch again before actually starting to shoot each time.  MANY injuries are caused by inadequate preparation just before the sport.  Bungee cords, elastic bands, small weights, and various motions can prepare the muscles and body for shooting in just a few minutes and prevent long-term problems.  EVERY top archer stretches and warms up, and young archers should imitate them!  
Also, see "Pinching" for another problem associated with overbowing.

IF IT HURTS, don't do it!
There is nothing intelligent about "playing through the pain" when it comes to the sport of archery.  If injury is suspected, STOP IMMEDIATELY!  Injuries must be allowed to fully heal and the cause properly diagnosed.  The archer must be able to be completely calm and under control when releasing an arrow, and if s/he knows that it's going to cause a stab of pain to release the shot, the shot will not be good and frustration will mount.  Also, if it hurts to shoot a bow then the archer is likely doing something wrong that a coach can help correct.

Grown men will typically use a recurve bow weight of between 40 and 50 pounds, and grown women from 30 to 45 pounds.   For most of these male archers and perhaps some women, they are using a bow that is heavier than they really need.  Denise Parker, a well-known (now adult) recurve female archer, won her first national adult title using a 28 pound bow shooting  at up to 70 meters distance!  The arrows may have flown like a mortar round, but technique trumped power without a doubt.

Women, shooting less weight, are able to score as good as (yes, and better) than men, even when shooting in less than ideal conditions such as the occasional high winds seen at Sydney.    Consider this recent example, using the top ten male and female archers in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.   Note that women (in PINK) and Men (in BLUE) are very evenly distributed based on their actual scores but that women are the more consistent performers overall.  This makes a very good point about how much bow weight is actually needed by anyone.  It also reinforces the earlier statement about archery being a truly "equal" sport for both women and men.

In addition, as of this writing (2/2006), the world's highest score to have ever been shot in a FITA round is 1405, shot by a female Korean archer.  Yes, a woman holds the highest score record ever shot with a recurve bow: 1405 out of a possible (perfect) 1440! In fact, she, Sung-Hyun Park, has had a great year or two:

(From the FITA page:)

PARK, Sung-Hyun:
144 Arr. FITA Round  PARK, Sung-Hyun    KOR  1405 10/10/2004   Cheongju, KOR
70mPARK, Sung-Hyun  KOR 351  10/09/2004  Cheongju, KOR
50m PARK, Seong-Hyun    KOR 350  345  03/12/2003 Yecheon, KOR
70m Round (72 Arr.)PARK, Sung Hyun  KOR 682  08/12/2004  Athens, GRE   

OLYMPICS SYDNEY 2000

FINAL RANKING   

WHY  IS THAT KID'S BOW SO FANCY? 
The hardware described in the bow description above:  Front stabilizers, side stabilizers, clickers, wrist slings, finger slings, doinkers, kisser buttons, etc. are all important components that help a better archer shoot a little better once their form has developed to where they can take advantage of these tools. In the beginning, a JOAD archer needs only a bow with arrow rest, arrows, finger tab, arm guard, and perhaps a chest protector (esp. for ladies).  Adding a sight is the first logical enhancement, and many others can follow.

Another important consideration is the psychological effect of new tools. The young archer sees the other archers with a long stabilizer and THINKS it will help them shoot better. When they try one and scores improve, are they shooting better because of the new piece of equipment or is it psychological? 

This uniquely human phenomenon is called the Pygmalion Effect. It is a persistently held belief in another person (or yourself) such that the belief becomes a reality. The person believed in, being believed, becomes the person whom they are perceived to be. It's the self-fulfilling prophecy, for real.

Because the effect may be psychological, there sometimes is an advantage of not adding all the auxiliary equipment at once. Maximum benefit can be obtained from spreading these additions out over time.  Parents have been known to actually use these add-on pieces of equipment as "carrots" to lead the archer into doing chores, homework, or the like.

One important consideration is that the bow is already fairly heavy.  Adding these extra hardwares can be very counter-productive for the young archer.  It's important that once you find the good basic bow for your archer, any and all changes are made in small, minimal steps so that the archer doesn't suffer a depression of ability because of the distortion caused by excessive changes.  

What is the best material for a bow riser(handle)? 
There are currently four materials listed in order of cost that the modern bow handle is made of; wood, aluminum/magnesium, machined aluminum, and composites (carbon or ceramic). Wood is what most youth archers start with because it is the least expensive and some of the laminated wood bows will last a long time. Wood is very good choice for the beginner and allows for the development of the proper form. It is also good as an initial bow until the parent decides if the youth archer is going to stay with archery or not. But wood is usually not seen at the more competitive levels in target archery. The grip on a wood bow is substantially thicker than the other materials dues to the strength of the materials. The fragile wood does not have the strength to stand up to the rigors of the job if it were whittled down to a narrow width. Wood also changes its physical properties with temperature and humidity. 

Cast risers of aluminum/magnesium is the next step up. This adds much more strength than wood and has been well adopted into archery competition. However at higher poundages and the demands put on modern equipment of reduced weight, higher strength, etc. manufacturing flaws inherent in the casting process can lead to catastrophic failure. 

The next riser generation is machined aluminum which is made from a solid piece of aluminum. This makes the handle much stronger than the cast or wood risers and can be made much smaller in the grip area. Additional features such as adjustable limb pockets, stabilizer bushings, center shot design, dovetailed rest plates, etc. can be economically added to the handle. A recent upgrade of this design is the isogrid or "tech" seen in the Hoyt bows to take out weight and improve shootability. 

There are all carbon and ceramic risers out there but they tend to be quite expensive and have not demonstrated a competitive advantage over the machined aluminum handle. For a much more detailed view of riser material and a glimpse into the riser of the future, George Tekmitchov from Hoyt wrote an in-depth piece in the May/June 2000 "Archery Focus" magazine.

Should I use wood, aluminum or carbon arrows?
Before making an educated choice on arrow shafts, you need to know what the choices are. 

For the beginning JOAD archer, especially at scout camp or the local YMCA, wood (or even fiberglass) arrows are used because of their low cost.  Wood and fiberglass are quite sufficient for beginners and work well.  It's only after the archer has begun to group well that s/he will need "better" arrows.

Better arrows are made from aluminum or carbon/graphite, or both.  Usually archers use aluminum arrows indoors, because crosswind is not a factor and scores often are closer to perfection (making each point count more).     Outdoors, carbon arrows are smaller in diameter and therefore less affected by winds and air resistance, able to fly further.  On average carbon arrows are more expensive.  If your young archer is not sooting really well, it is hard to justify purchasing carbon arrows that are "above" the archer's ability to score good shots.

What's so good about "GROUPING"? (My kid's an individual!)
When an end of arrows is shot, they will typically make a pattern on the target.  The pattern for a beginner is naturally going to be pretty "all-over".  The "grouping" of the arrows is very low.  An expert archer will have a group of arrows that is much closer.  So there is actually two ways of judging an archer's performance - the score of the arrows shotshot, naturally, but also the tightness of the "group".  It's very desirable for an archer to be consistent - and the grouping will reflect the consistency of the archer.  A very good group of 3 arrows shot indoors at 18 meters would be for them to be within 1 or 2 inches of each other - many times they may actually be touching each other!  

Enough about grouping, back to arrow materials:

Aluminum arrows are produced using different grades of alloys that feature various degrees of strength, straightness, and, of course, cost. To the naked eye all aluminum arrows appear to be perfectly straight, so how does one know which arrow to buy? Most JOAD Clubs will have the inexpensive (but quite good) Easton Jazz or Platinum aluminum shafts.  These are fine for Recurve bows.

Higher powered Compound bows normally need to use a more durable shaft.  For compounds, the least expensive arrow shaft produced by Easton (the leading manufacturer of aluminum arrows in the world) is the Eagle Hunter. Produced from the 6061 alloy, Eagle Hunter shafts offer a strength rating of 58,000 psi and a straightness factor of +/- .010 of an inch.

The next step up the ladder, Game Getter II arrows, are made from 7075 alloy (96,000 psi) and offer a straightness factor of +/- .003 of an inch. The popular XX75 shafts are also made from 7075 alloy and are straightened to +/- .002 of an inch for even better arrow flight and improved accuracy.

The new XX78 Super Slam is Easton's strongest, lightest, and straightest aluminum hunting shaft. Made from bend-resistant 7178 alloy (100,000 psi) these shafts feature an incredible straightness factor of +/- .0015 of an inch. These arrows also feature the Super Nock and Super Uni Bushing that allow the nock to be moved, making it easy to index arrows (adjust the nocks) to any arrow rest in seconds.

Easton also makes the X7 aluminum shaft which has a 105,000 psi tensile strength and a +/- 0.0001 straightness. These shafts are extremely hard and are prone to cracking.

Still reading?  Haven't run screaming from the room?   Good.  So what does this plethora of techno-babble mumbo jumbo about alloys and straightness factors mean? The straighter an arrow is made, the more accurately it can be shot from a bow. Archers should purchase the straightest arrows they can afford.  Most archers will find the aluminum XX75 or XX78 Super Slam series arrows offer the best performance and value for the money. 

XX75 shafts retail for around $40 a dozen (plus a few bucks more for feather fletching), and the XX78 Super Slam arrows average $50-$60 per dozen. (Arrows are often sold by archery shops in the "dozen").

If you're afraid to try carbon/graphite arrows, don't be.  A lot of false information about graphite arrow durability has been circulated leaving archers confused. Graphite arrows are among the most durable shafts available, and in fact they are far more durable than comparable aluminum shafts.

Carbon graphite shafts have some specific advantages over aluminum arrows. The durability factor already outlined is an important consideration for the target archer who shoots frequently.

The smaller diameter of graphite arrows also allows them to fly somewhat faster and with a flatter trajectory than comparable aluminum shafts. At 10, 15, or 20 meters the speed and trajectory advantages of graphite arrows aren't noticeable as compared to aluminum shafts. However, at the outdoor ranges from 25 meters to 90 meters graphite shafts provide the target shooter with a pronounced flatter arrow trajectory and superior long-range accuracy.  Since the graphite arrow has less of a profile they are less influenced by crosswinds.

Top-of-the-line graphite/aluminum arrows like the Easton ACE or X10 offer a straightness factor of +/- .0002 of an inch, making them comparable in straightness to the best aluminum shafts available. They have a weight tolerance of +/- 1.5 grains.  Virtually every archer at the last olympics used X-10 arrows.  On the bottom end of carbon-type arrows there are ACC shafts.  

Graphite arrows are more expensive than aluminum. Like aluminum arrows, carbon shafts are available in various straightness factors and price ranges. Graphite arrows require special nocks, point adapters, and arrow rests.

There are two major disadvantages to the carbon shafts other than the obvious cost factor. Most pure carbon shafts are not as straight as the comparable aluminum. Also, the all carbon shaft cannot be straightened if it is damaged/bent from striking a hard object.

The combination carbon/aluminum shaft mitigates this somewhat, but at an increase cost.

Most target archers use the larger diameter aluminum shafts indoors, but go to the faster, flatter trajectory carbon arrows outdoors.

SCORING by the rings
By shooting a fatter aluminum shaft indoors, the archer may make a slightly higher score.  This is because when an arrow comes to rest ON a line (breaks or cuts the line of a higher score color) of a target then the arrow is counted on the higher ring. This shot is called a "line cutter".   The score is determined where the arrow comes to rest, NOT where the hole is.  If the hole breaks the line, but the arrow shaft is actually NOT on or over the line, the lower score prevails.  Archers are limited now to arrows no wider in diameter than 9.3 mm.  On the other hand if an archer's arrow is fat then as the next arrow arrives it may be forced out to a lower score because  it glances off of the fatter arrows.   The best archers shoot smaller diameter arrows as technique will usually triumph guppies (huge arrows).

SPINE? (Is it bad when my arrows have a weak spine? are they cowards?)
Each arrow's backbone has a certain resistance to bending or flexing as it is shot.  This is determined by the thickness of the wall and the diameter of the shaft, as well as the material used in making the shaft relative to the weight of the bow (see tuning).   The more pounds of resistance in drawing the bow, the stiffer the arrow or the more spine it should have.   The arrow's behavior becomes less manageable when the spine doesn't match the bow.  There are charts provided by the manufacturer (Easton) to help the archer pick the appropriate spine/shaft to shoot.  It takes into account the variables of bow strength/weight, and arrow length (among others) to try to predict which shaft will give the most consistent and reliable performance.

TARGET PANIC: (The targets do not shoot back; what is the deal?)
This is something I would rather not be able to write about from first-hand knowledge.  Target Panic afflicts most good archers at some point in their career.  It will help you to understand it BEFORE it happens to your archer, so that IF and WHEN you might see it in an archer you know or coach, you will understand just a *little* bit better.

Target Panic has a number of names, and it afflicts athletes in a number of sports.  Any sport where the athlete has at least a moment to THINK about an action is a candidate sport for the equivalent of Target Panic.   Essentially, the conscious mind steps in and interferes with what should be an almost-unconscious action of the body.  A baseball catcher stands to return the ball to the pitcher, and it sails into the infield over the pitcher's head.  A golfer tries to address the ball for a simple putt, or a drive, and completely flubs the shot.  An NBA star goes to make a free-throw shot, something he does thouands of times in practice, and it's a brick that thds on the rim before falling out of the hoop.

In golf it is called the yips.  In archery, target panic.   It only affects *good* archers.  New, basic, naive archers shoot without consciousness naturally but in the normal progression of excellence an athlete inevitably begins to ask "why" and "how", and their mind gets in the way of a perfectly simple process.  You cannot predict when nor why.  The archer may be asked to adopt a slight legitimate change in form by a completely legitimate and expert coach, only to affect the archer in a completely unexpected way.  Once it starts, it may cause only a mild perturbrance in the archer's path, or it may destroy an entire career, driving the athlete from the sport. 

Many "coaches" will make their entire career an effort to teach others how to NOT experience TP.  The problem as I see it is that every person finds their own particular way to establish panic in their mind about making a simple mechanical process with the upper body.  The disconnect has profound effects you will not even begin to appreciate until YOUR archer goes into that dark room.  First, accept that you may not be able to help your archer find a way out of that room.  That space.  That dark forboding hell.  Melodramatic?  no.  If you can put yourself into a space where you want to simply touch your nose with your eyes closed and cannot, then you may begin to understand how the simple art of shooting a bow is so difficult for someone with TP.  In one case, the archer has superb form during practice.  But when the tournament starts the archer performs 99.5% of an entire shot cycle but fail with the last 0.1mm of draw - the part that takes the tip of the arrow past click. Something in the archer's conscious mind simply intereferes with that unconscious process that the superb archer relies on.  Aiming is after all, best performed with total innocence and unconsciousness.  Once an archer starts down the road of "thinking" about how the shot is accomplished, many will be unable to continue improving.

When the archer has TP, he or she will become terribly frustrated.  A coach must be completely, completely non-judgmental about this.  You, the parent or the coach, cannot FORCE the archer to NOT HAVE TP.  It is just not that simple.  If it happens to your archer you need to be supportive, open to explanation, completely interested in *any* revealing emotions and thoughts the archer is willing to share with you. You can make suggestions, you can take "an attitude", but in 99+ % of the cases you will simplly help to destroy the athlete;'s future as an archer.

If you can regress the archer to before the point of the infection (and this is a viral infection of the mental sort) and help him or her to understand what is going on, the archer MAY be able to grow out of the hole.  You can HELP the archer, but you cannot FORCE the archer.  As much as you might wish to just MAKE the archer shoot as he or she did before, it likely will not happen.  You CAN MAKE IT WORSE if you are not careful.   My advice is to find a new coach, an HPP coach, that can introduce huge evolutionary changes in the archer's form that MAY help to actually distract the archer to the point of laying down a new mental track for shooting.

It can be a real bear.  I am sorry there is no one sure cure.  Do not believe anyone who says there is, he is only selling a snake-oil product that has little chance of success. (but not a 100% useless chance).

TARGET FACE DIFFERENCES: (The lore of the rings)

    JOAD - a US phenomena not used in other parts of the world - JOAD is a US style of youth archery that follows SOME of the "FITA" rules but not all.

• JOAD Recurve (Olympic-style Bow) archers use the 10 ring, 5 color, 60 cm size, FITA style target. Each color has two rings, each a different score.)
• JOAD Compound archers use the 10 ring, 5 color, 40 cm size, FITA style target.  NOTE that this target has an additional inner 10 ring as well as the regular/larger 10 ring.  The inner ring is also called the "X" ring.  JOAD compound archers in all divisions use the outer ten ring for scoring , except for the "Junior" division.  In this highest of JOAD divisions (the junior) the archers will score using the inner ten ring, the outer ten ring is ignored and arrows in this area are counted as nines.

    FITA - the target is the same but is usually smaller than the JOAD uses

• Youth Recurve archers competing in a FITA event will use a 10 ring, 5 color, 40 cm FITA style target face.  All recurve archers in FITA events score the outer ten ring.  Arrows which cut the line of the x ring or are within the inner ten ring are scored as "X's" which have a numerical value of 10.  Sort of an "A+" when a 10 is an "A", and is used to break ties.
• Youth Compound archers competing in a FITA event will use a 10 ring, 5 color, 40 cm FITA style target face.  All compound archers in FITA events score only the inner ten(aka "X") ring as a ten.  Arrows which cut the line or are within the inner ten ring are considered "10's".  There are no "X's" for compound archers.

ROU