In the picture, a bow and archery arrows.
SPORTS

Archery

Archery is a precision sport. Its practice requires a large concentration ability, skills and nerves of steel, where mental strength is key to victory. However we must not underestimate the physical training of archers.

The archery range where the competition is held is a flat surface, preferably grass in which the shooting line is marked, and ahead of it towards the target, parallel lines are placed.
The competition is performed in two modalities "recurve bow" that is shot from a 70 m distance for male and female with a 122 cm diameter and 10 rings target;
and compound bow, which is shot at a 50 m distance with an 80 cm and 6 rings target for both male and female. In #Santiago2023 this sport will be a qualifier for the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

A female archery athlete about to shoot.

History of this sport

The history of Archery tells the story that Egyptians were the first people in using bows. It is mentioned that they adopted the weapon to hunt and fight against ancient Persians, who were equipped with spears and slings. However, archery itself, is registered up to 10.000 years ago, when the first bows and arrows were used for war and hunting, thousands of years before they were used in a competitive activity in medieval England. There are variants, including Target Archery, where competitors shoot targets on a flat terrain; and field archery, which is performed by shooting targets at variable and often unknown distances, in uneven terrain, such as woods. Today, it is practiced in over 160 countries around the world.

Archery has been part of the Pan American Games since its 1979 edition in San Juan. The medal tally is led by the United States, a delegation that has won 55 gold medals.

A female archery athlete about to shoot.

How do you compete?

The archery competition starts with a preliminary competition, or qualification round on the Opening Ceremony day. Men and Women shoot 72 arrows each, placing in the ranking from first to last. Then, they face each other in competitions by couples depending on the qualification. In other words, the first faces the last, the second against the second last, and so on.

This elimination round makes the loser abandon the competition and the winner advance to the next phase, until two athletes are left to dispute the final round for the gold medal. Losers in the semi-finals compete for the bronze medal.

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Quiz

What do you call Target in Archery?

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Information for the community

If you’re asking yourself where could you buy sports equipment to practice this sport, you can find them in the mega sports store http://www.decathlon.cl a large variety with prices ranging from 1.400 (CLP) to 75.000 (CLP).

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