A few words on Archery

Archery is a very  exciting  sport,  which gives the opportunity to males and females of any age to participate. Archery  clubs usually accept athletes aged 10 and over.

For the athletes who aim to compete at championship level, archery requires methodical training, stamina, strength and good psychology. It is a sport that demands mental and physical harmony.  It differs from other shooting sports in that it does not focus on aiming. The «posture» of the athlete on the shooting line, muscular control and the correct  execution of each shot are what matter the most.

Tournaments take place at an open field (outdoors), from Spring to Autumn, and in training halls (indoors) during the Winter. To give an example of how the tournaments take place, the archers shoot 144 arrows, from a fixed line, at four different  distances (36 arrows  in each distance). These are  90m-70m-50m-30m for the men and 70m-60m-50m-30m for the women. The diameter of the concentric circles differ depending on the distance of the target. According to the rules of the international federation (F.I.T.A.) the games continue with a new procedure, the Olympic Round, where the athletes compete in pairs only at the 70m distance, shooting a smaller amount of arrows. This is a nock out procedure and continues until there are two pairs  left, who will compete for the medals.

In the Indoor games the archers, men and women, shoot form a fixed line at an 18m distance. The diameter of the concentric circles are even smaller than the ones used in the outdoor tournaments. Here the athletes shoot two rounds of 30 arrows. Both the outdoor and indoor tournaments are directed by the director of shooting and a number of judges depending on the number of participants.

The Games organised by the Greek Archery Federation are held in fields that fulfil the requirements,  in or out of Attika, as there is no official archery field in Greece. The Archery teams have to find suitable facilities for their training, usually with the help of the local municipality. Quite often they share the same field with other sports.

Archery is a very interesting sport which anyone can begin with minimum expense. Usually the clubs provide beginners with a training bow and arrows until they are ready to buy their own equipment. There is a wide selection of equipment to buy depending on the needs and preference of each athlete.

In the Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens, the finals will be held at the Kallimarmaro Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held. Unfortunately  the site where the preliminary  round will take place has not been announced yet.

Archery  is a sport  which  will make spending your free time worthwhile.