The Evolution of Archery Game | All you need to know

Is Archery is the oldest art still practiced? History will take you through a journey on the evolution of archery sport, but also the history of mankind. Evidence of ancient archery has been found throughout the world and it has evolved since then. A person who participates in archery is called an archer or a marksman in ancient times

A brief history of Archery sport

The earliest evidence of archery dates around 10,000 BC, when the bows and arrows were used for hunting and warfare in Egyptian and Nubian cultures.

The oldest known evidence of arrows can be traced back to Sibudu Cave situated in South Africa, where the ruins of bone and stone arrowheads have been found, can be traced back to approximately 72,000-60,000 years ago.

The world has seen the archers of Classical civilizations like the Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Romans, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese who have a special place in history books

Archery was highly developed in Asia, especially in India. The Sanskrit term for archery, dhanurveda, refers to the study of archery. In East Asia, Goguryeo of Korea who hailed from one of the three kingdoms was world-famous for its regiments of exceptionally skilled archers.

The first known Archery competition was organized by England was held at Finsbury in 1583 and saw 3000 participants take part in the competition. With the invention of gunpowder, the bow was discarded pretty much.

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Archery sport mythology

In Indian mythology, we have heard various tales of legendary warriors and even gods like Karna, Abhimanyu, Eklavya, Arjuna, Bhishma, Drona, Rama, and Shiva who were known for their shooting skills. The famous archery competition of hitting the eye of a rotating fish while watching its reflection in the water bowl in the  Swayamvara of Drupada’s daughter Draupadi was one of the many archery skills depicted in the Mahabharata.

In Persian tales, Arash is considered as a fine archer & the same goes with Hercules in Greek mythology Archery who is considered to be a legendary warrior, also in Greek books, Odysseus is mentioned as being eminently skilled in the art of archery returns home in disguise of a shepherd after being absent for 20 years and then bests the suitors in an archery competition after hinting at his identity by stringing and drawing the great bow that only he can draw which was the challenge of his wife, Penelope. A similar tale can be found in the Turkic heroic poem Alpamysh.

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Archery as a modern sport

In the sport of archery, the archer uses a bow to propel arrows to hit the target from a particular distance. Derived from the Latin word ‘arcus’, it was only used for hunting in ancient times. But today both archery and crossbow have gained popularity among people.

Archery was approved as a Summer Olympics sport in the 1900 Paris Summer Olympics. The only type of archery featured at the Olympics was Recurve Archery – a type of Target Archery. Archery is now also a Summer Paralympics event.

Types of Archery sport

• Target Archery– The most basic form of archery. Target archery is the type of archery practiced at the Olympics. Archers shoot a set number of arrows at targets located at specified distances in indoor or outdoor premises.
• Field Archery–  A bit on the physical side, various targets are set in different terrains and woodlands, an archer has to hit a particular type of target with a specified number of arrows before moving onto the second one.
• Clout Archery– It was used as military training in the middle ages, the idea is derived from ancient archery. The target is a small flag on a vertical stick aka clout, buried in the ground and placed to a specific distance.
• Flight shooting– This form of archery simply consists of shooting an arrow over the longest possible distance.

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Equipment used in Archery sport

Rules of Archery

Athletes competing in archery at the Olympic Games have to use a recurve bow, arrows and the targets are set 70 meters away from the starting point. The target has 10 concentric scoring rings, separated into five colors according to which points are presented to the archer.

The inner gold color aka bullseye, scores 10 or 9 points. The red scores 8 or 7 points, blue 6 or 5 points, black 4 or 3 points, white 2 or 1 point.

Scoring and Winning

There are basically 2 types of scoring systems in the archery game. It depends on at what level the game is conducted. They are 5-zone and 10-zone scoring system

• 5-zone Scoring − In this scoring system the target is divided into 5 different colored zones, and points are awarded according to the level the arrow hits. This method is followed in GNAS rounds and the distances are measured in yards.
• 10-zone Scoring − In this scoring system, the target is divided into 10 scoring zones. Each color is split into two parts the inner ring and the outer ring. For world archery tournaments, the 10-zone scoring system is followed. This is used in most indoor archery and the length is measured in meters.

The scoring is done in even number order.

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INDIVIDUAL 

For the Ranking Round, the archers have to shoot 72 arrows and they are given 40 seconds for each shot. The total points at the end of the round decide the seedings.

If the match is tied in knockout stages, each player has to shoot 3 arrows which make up 1 set. Whoever has the most pts after the set is declared winner and is given two pts and the loser gets 0 pts.

TEAM 

The team events also work on a set system. However, instead of 3 arrows per set, there are now 6 arrows per set. Now the teams shoot the arrows in groups of 3. With each player of the team shooting 3 arrows each. After both the teams are done, the team with a higher score gets 2 set-points and the loser team gets zero points in the set. The team that has won 5 sets is considered to be the winner.

Archery sport dimensions

The commonly followed distance for shooting a target is between 20 to 80 yards. In Olympics, target archery has a length of 18 m, i.e., about 20 yards indoor and between 30 to 90 meters outdoors. It depends on the age of the archer and the style of equipment.

Archery terminologies

Before taking a bow into the hand and throwing an arrow towards the target, it’s mandatory to learn a few terms in the field of archery for grasping little knowledge about the game and its features.

Archery Facts

• Archery has been practiced for over 60,000 years.
• The first known use of arrows & bows was in 2340 B.C by the Babylonians.
• It is one of the oldest sports in the world.
• The word archery is derived from the word arcus. It is a Latin term that means bow and arrows.
• Archery has been an Olympic sport almost from the beginning. Its debut in the Summer Olympics occurred in 1900. In 1924 it was discontinued and it was reintroduced in 1972.
• In the 1900 Summer Olympics live pigeons were used as the target in the archery competition.
• Archery was the only women’s sport in the 1904 Olympics.
• Archery is the national sport of Bhutan.
• The first country with organized archery competitions was England in the 1500s.

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Benefits of Archery Sport

• No age limit. You can enjoy Archery at a young age of 8 & as elder as 80 can also play Archery.
• Archery can be played in almost all weather conditions.
• It increases concentration.
• Shooting on target builds confidence.
• Good exercise for the eye.
• Enhances mental strength & stamina.

Indian Archer’s Achievements

Source: Archery Association of India

Famous Indian Archery Players

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