Week 6 -30 July - Bear Archery Deluxe Longbow Case

Bear Archery Deluxe Longbow Case - 32% off, now at £61.20! Merlin Archery.

At £61.20 this would make a great present for your fellow longbow archer. Don't let the cat chew the strings, keep your bow safe with this deluxe Bear Archery case! Zip up case with sturdy handle and identification window. Nylon exterior case with internal padding. This case will fit all Bear longbows and many other longbow types, with outer dimensions of approx 69" by 5". Also on sale is a similar case suitable for recurve bows. 

Olympic Archery Diary Day 3 - 29 July 2012

The 1/8 eliminators started at 9pm and resulted in GB, India, Italy and the Ukraine knocked out in the early stages of the competition. Although Italy and Denmark progressed to the quarter finals by a one point win, Japan and Russia beat their opponents Ukraine and GB, respectively, with several points to spare. The Ukraine shot poorly, but had been unlucky with their clothing after being told they could not shoot with a sleeveless kit and their alternative kit had too many logos on, resulting in lots of tape to cover them up! It just wasn't  their day, as the Ukrainians went on to shoot a 3 and a 4 scoring arrows, the lowest I think we've seen so far.   

After shooting well in the 1/8 eliminators Denmark followed with a poor round in the quarter finals, loosing to Korea 11 points behind. Japan and China made it into the semi finals by beating their competitors Mexico and the US, respectively. The closest match of the quarter finals was Taipei vs Russia where a 3 arrow shoot off was required, but Russia shot well under pressure to take the shoot off by 2 points. 

In the semi finals Japan and Russia lost their matches leaving them to go head to head for the bronze medal. Russia lost out on their chance for a medal by 2 points, earning the Japanese team their bronze medal.

The finals saw China against Korea. Although the final result was no surprise, with Korea taking gold and China silver, the match was close, with Korea winning gold by a single point keeping the audience poised down to the last arrow. This is the 7th consecutive gold medal for the women's Korean team and China also bagged a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Final Results = Korea - Gold, China - Silver, Japan - Bronze

For up-to-date and live results see the Olympic archery results page 

Olympic Archery Diary Day 2 - 28 July 2012

On Saturday the men team events took place, with medals awarded later on that day. The 1/8 eliminators kicked off at 9 am and rapidly saw GB, Taipei and Malaysia knocked out. India also narrowly lost out on a place in the quarterfinals to Japan after initially drawing and Japan taking the lead after a 3 arrow shoot off.  

After qualifying for the quarterfinals following a 3 arrow shoot off, Japan lost out to any further progression after loosing to America by one point, despite Americas initial slow start. Korea won their place in the semi finals against Ukraine and shot the highest scoring match of the day. In the third quarterfinal match China was off to a good start with a 10, but Italy won the patch 4 points ahead. Last of the quarterfinals, Mexico vs France and this was the most surprising event of these 4 matches. France just couldn't keep their cool and an arrow of 6 within the first 3 arrows was a bad start and Mexico shot well scoring 220 to give them a place in the semi finals.   

The biggest surprise of the day was Korea's loss to the USA, meaning no gold medal for Korea in the men team event! After Mexico's defeat by the Italy, they went on to play Korea for the bronze medal. The Korean team held it together, despite their earlier defeat, and went on to win the bronze medal.  

This left the USA vs Italy for the finals. Italy held a two end lead and then the USA caught up resulting in a nail biting ending. Final scores of 218 and 219 resulted in a 1 point win for Italy! 

End result : Italy - Gold, USA - Silver, Korea - Bronze

The competitions were close and a few surprising disappointing shoots from the Korean's and France. Throughout the day there were 5 dead center shoots and shooting out 5 cameras! A handy Italian trick was to add a piece of string to your bow to allow you to see the direction of the wind - but who knows what their secret to success is.

For all official results see the Olympic schedule 

Olympic Archery Diary Day 1 27 July 2012

On the day of the Olympic ceremony archers took their place on the line to shoot the  ranking round. Unfortunately, this initial round was not open to the public and there have been reports of disappointed spectators being turned away after purchase of fake tickets (liveolympictickets.com, reported as one of these fraudulent sited).

However, media coverage of today's event is keeping the excited friends, families and fans up-to-date one the latest nail biting events so far. Although it is only the qualifying rounds Im Dong-hyun has already broken a world record by scoring 696 with 72 arrows, beating his previous record of 693. One record wasn't enough apparently, and the Korean team (Im Dong-hyun, Kim Budmin and Oh Jin-hyek) went on to score 2087 from 216 arrows, breaking yet another world record!

It is then no surprise that the 3 Korean competitors currently sit at the top of the men individual table. Also in the top 10 men individual category are archers from GB, Japan, France, China, Canada and the USA. In the team events Korea is currently followed by France, China, USA and Japan, with India in 12 (last) place.  

For the individual women archery event Korea again are top, taking both first and second position. Other countries with arechers in the women individual event include Taipei, USA, Japan, Denmark, India and Mexico. Again for the women team event Korea are top and are followed by the USA, Taipei, Mexico and Japan, to make up the top 5 countries in the archery women team event.   

With 2 new records shot in one day, viewers will be glued to their TV in anticipation of greater scores as the competition mounts. Stay tuned to see if Korea continue to lead the way. For full rankings and results take a look at the London2012 web site. 

Unusual Archery types - Popinjay

There are a few unusual, slightly odd, less practised, less practical, forms of archery types that I didn't include in my overview of different archery types. I felt that some of these archery types, such as popinjay, flight and horseback archery deserved their own blog. However, don't expect to be able to pop down to your local archery club to practice these types of archery, some are just far to impractical for most archery grounds and possibly not for the feint hearted!

What is popinjay?

Merlin Archery 

Although uncommon, the popinjay is a fun and different way to enjoy archery and is also known as Papingo. The aim is to shoot vertically at a bird (targets, not real birds!!!) from a post often 100 ft high. Somewhat similar to practising shooting birds, but using targets like field archery, so not quite like hunting where your prey will actually move (thankfully!). Although, you can imagine this was a sport derived from something a little harder, such as actually shooting at live birds. The winner is the first to get he bird of its perch. 

Popinjay can be shot using all bow types (compound, recurve and longbow) but is not just for archers, this round is also enjoyed by gun and crossbow shooters. 

It is a great alternative to target archery, though can be somewhat labour-intensive getting the bird targets up on their posts in the first place! Depending on the event the birds can be made from various materials including wood, pipe cleaners and more recently a synthetic material, with various feather additions. 

History

Popinjay is another word for parrot, from the French papegai.  In Germany, bird shooting from a perch is known as Vogelschießen and done typically with a rifle (also in Denmark) or crossbow, and in Canada popinjay is known simply as pole archery. Archery popinjay is a popular round in Belgium (more so than any other country), but sights and any mechanical aids are not permitted (such as compound and cross bows). Kilwinning is England's oldest archery club and has run this since the 15th C, with the first competition record in 1483. Kilwinning is one of the few, possibly only, UK club known to run popinjay competitions.


There are some rumours of a popinjay festival that takes place every year on the first Sunday in May. However, I'm not sure how often the winner gets called "Captain popinjay" or if this is some sort of internet joke - but pictures are most welcome!


Rules

Rules tend to vary as this is such a rare form of archery. Archers are required to use blunt ended arrows (for safety) and to ensure a means of keeping your arrow on your rest when shooting upwards. 

Merlin Archery 

Kilwinning Annual Open and Club, "dingin doun the doo" Competition, Scotland 

A butt shoot can be used to determine the order of shooting (6 dozen arrows at 30 yds 3 ring, 9" target) and the first to shoot the bird of its perch is the winner. The birds wings are loosened and awards are given to those knocking off the wings. At this shoot archers shoot at one bird target 126 ft at the top of the cathedral from the cathedral step. 

GNAS Popinjay 

A popinjay round will include One cock, four hens and at least 24 chicks, with the highest (the cock) set at 90 ft. The size of all targets are 1.5" long and 3/4" wide and 3-12" tall, depending on the target. Chick perches should be 6" long and with 4" minimum separation, Hen perches a minimum of 8" apart and cock bird at least 30" above the top row. 5 points are given for hitting the cock, 3 for a hen and one point for a chick. For safety rigging around the targets should be covered with sponge/rubber and there must be a sheltered space for archers waiting to shoot (or be a good distance away).

Canadian Pole Shooting


The archer with the most points after one hour is the winner. Points are achieved by hitting birds on the 5 rows + 1 King Bird at the tip, with higher birds worth more points. Single birds located on rows 1-3 are worth 1 point, Kullas birds on row 4 worth 2 points and side birds on row 5 worth 3 points. The King bird at the top is worth the maximum, 4 points. The name of "King shooter" for the year is, you guessed it, the first archer to hit the king bird off the top.


Canadian Horizontal Indoor Perch

Shot from a distance of 65 ft at a horizontal perch indoors, generally without a sight. A high bird is worth 4 points, side bird (x2) worth 3, Kalle bird (x2) 2 and 30 small birds worth the least at one point each.  

Where to shoot

5th August 2012 - Medieval Merriment Popinjay competition, Castle Lodge, West Yorkshire, UK, WF8 1QH, £5 entry fee.  


Archery clubs throughout Belgium and Canada.

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Blogs on Horseback Archery and Flight archery coming soon!

Week 5 - 23 July 2012 - BowSports Deluxe Quiver

Bow Sports Delux Quiver - On offer at £16.99! Bow Sports

If you'r after a decent looking quiver without breaking the bank then this could be the bargain you'r looking for.  With a good range of colours (including red, blue, green, black, orange, pink, burgundy and purple) in both left and right handed options there's sure to be a quiver to match your colour scheme. This would make an ideal first quiver that does the job with 4 tubes and three pockets at an affordable price. * belt not provided

Top 10 tips - Preparing for your archery competition

This is a nice little check list you may find helpful when preparing your equipment the day before your competition. Top archers are able to shoot perfectly unaffected by distractions, but the last thing you want is to be worrying about something you forgot to pack or look up the day before! Below is a series of things to double check to make your competition stress free.

This isn't a blog about how to prepare your technique and coach your self for a tournament - that's a topic I'll save for another time! 

1. Know where the competition is and the time

Double check your shooting time with the target lists that are sent around. Take maps and directions along with the address and postcode for Sat Navs. Google street view the location so that you can recognize it easily and give plenty of travel time to allow for set up and relaxation before shooting starts. 

2. Take spare equipment

Essential spares include...

Fletches

Knocks

Piles

Complete arrows (minimum of one fully made arrow in practice another whole set of 6 arrows is best)

Arrow rest (recurve)

Tabs (recurve)

String (recurve)

Finger/wrist sling

Glasses/contact lenses for those of us that need them!

Ideally you would take two of everything you have - however, this is impractical & expensive for most archers! 

Other spares to consider include...

For compound archers -

     Scope lens

     Spirit level

     Release aid  

     D-loop

For recurve archers - 

     Knocking points

     Button  

Of course tools to fix your equipment is also helpful - often though you will find other archers with the right tools. 

Basic tool kits for archers include... 

Allenkeys 

Screwdrivers 

String wax 

Fletching rig 

Fletching glue 

Bracing height gauge 

Screw (to get out those stubborn broken knocks) 

Knock pliers

Tape (you never know when desperation calls upon creativity!)

Don't forget to call equipment failure if you need to change something (ie like your arrow rest falls off!!!). 

3. Be prepared with a range of Clothing

Weather can change rapidly (especially if it's anything like this years non existent UK summer) and it is idea to keep an "archery clothing set" in your bag at all times. Some ideas include...

Hat 

Sunscreen

Large umbrella

Sunglasses

Towel

Hair band for those windy days

Flat, even boots that you can shoot in any weather/amount of mud

Tight fitting T-Shirt and jumper (pref club cloths/colours)

Trousers that aren't camo colours or jeans (check your local/country rules)

4. Supplies

Don't rely on competition food. Take your own food that is easy to eat in a field, quick to eat and non sticky. Take water and energy drinks/coffee if this is your thing. Also painkillers can be handy if your unlucky enough to need them!

5. Creature comforts 

At the first competition I attended the first thing I noticed was all the tents! There were tents every where - you couldn't even see the registration table and had to smell your way to the food table. Then within a few competitions I quite rapidly realized how important they were. Tents provided the much needed shelter between showers (or even from the sun on those rare hot days) and give you somewhere to set up your bow out of the mud/keep your bow dry until you shoot. 

A ground sheet to go with the tent is some what obvious - but still handy.

A seat is also becoming a necessity for me. Archery isn't the most tiring of sports, but save your energy for shooting! Somewhat over thinking, but a seat that is mildly water proof (ie not cloth) might be a better buy or even one you can carry as a rucksack - as it's not as if we already have enough stuff to lug around! 

6. Know the rules

Tournament rules is a topic I'll save for another blog, but it is important to know some of the rules after all if you are new to archery the last thing you want is to be disqualified before you start!

Some key beginner tips include...

Clothing - there are rules on colours (ie no cammo and jeans), sponsor apparel and club colours that judges can choose  to enforce.

No touchy theee arrows! - point at your arrows as you call out your score, but don't touch until all scoring has been done. This is to make sure people don't push the arrow over into a higher scoring zone if it is close to the line. Also you can't write down your own scores.

Call fast if - an arrow is hanging off the target, someone/something is across the shooting line or someone has drawn their bow on the shooting line but has no arrow knocked. 

Get a judge if a score is incorrectly written down. Adding mistakes can be crossed out, but actual arrow score mistakes have to be checked and initialed by a judge.

On the day a judge will explain the whistles and how many arrows will be shot at a time along with any other key info - so insure you are there early to listen to this.

7. Know your round

Double check the day before what round you entered and how many arrows at what distance you will be shooting. If several archers and you begin to think the distance is wrong then say sooner than later as you can't start your shoot again. 

Also worth checking the county and national records for your round. You never know, you might just shoot that supper round & you need to point this out to the judge on the day.

8. Check your sight marks

Perhaps more important for new archers, but check your sight marks a few days before the competition. You never know what changes you have made to your bow you forgot about since you last got some sight marks and your technique may have changed.

Unless something is broken, don't fiddle with your bow after you got your sight marks!

9. Identification and membership details

If you wish to claim any records or your six gold end (for example) you will need to show your GNAS membership card (UK). Judges can also ask for membership details at any point throughout a competition so always have this handy.

10. Other helpful equipment

There were a few other helpful things I thought of but couldn't justify them having their own number so here is a random selection of tips...

Foot pins (daisy's get squished)

Scope to check your arrows as you shoot them 

Calculator in case you are the addddeeruppper :(

Pen 

Plastic bag to keep scores dry

Please feel free to leave a comment with any of your helpful competition preparations no matter how strange and crazy (tho not technique related as I will cover that another time).

Week 4 - 9 July 2012 - Shibuya Ultima CP Carbon Sight - Compound - Left Handed

Shibuya Ultima CP Carbon Sight - Left handed £197.38 down from £229.24. Merlin archery

Looking for a great left handed compound sight? - This ultra light carbon sight, weighing only 230g, currently has 14% off its typical price. As well as being super light, the carbon components absorb more energy reducing movement preventing parts becoming loose. Slightly out of the price range of most beginners, but a recognized manufacture of great sights is a bargain for mid level archers looking to upgrade.

Week 3 - 2 July 2012 - Samick Element Stabiliser - great stabiliser for beginner to mid level archers.

Samick Element Stabiliser £40.68, down from £58.91! Merlin archery

This weeks bargain is the Samick element stabiliser. Although stabilisers are not essential for beginners, if you do have a spare bit of cash then this is a great investment. For most archers, especially those who don't often compete or have only shot for a few seasons, there is no need to spend a fortune on a stabiliser. The cheapest one you can get will make the world of difference, if you have a decent technique. For beginners, I wouldn't normally recommend such an extravagent spend on a stabiliser, but I feel with 31% off this is a great price and worth consideration. Although the weights arent included in this price, you can attach some for customisation.