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Archery
Photo from Mind, Body, Spirit:
Sydney
2000 Paralympic Games Official Souvenir Book (p. 6). Southbank,
Victoria: News Custom Publishing. |
|
Target archery is an official
sport for athletes with physical disabilities at the Paralympic Games.
|
Athlete Eligibility and Classification
Paralympic competition is limited to athletes with
physical disabilities, who compete in wheelchair and standing
classifications. The IPC archery classification system is described in
greater detail on the IPC web site at
http://www.paralympic.org. Click
on "sports," then "classification," then "archery."
 | Archery Standing (ARST
) - Archers in the standing class have no disabilities in the arms. The legs
show some degree of loss of muscle strength, coordination, and/or
joint mobility. |
| Archery Wheelchair 1 (ARW1) - Archers in the ARW1 class have disabilities in
arms and legs. They have limitations in range of movement, strength and control of
arms, and poor or non-existing control of the trunk. The legs are considered
nonfunctional due to amputations and/or similar limitations of
movement, strength, and control. They compete in a wheelchair. |
| Archery Wheelchair 2 (ARW2) - Archers in the ARW2 class have paralysis in the
lower part of the body, including the legs. They compete in a wheelchair.
|
Events
Paralympic Games archery events for both men and
women include the Olympic Round for the ARST, ARW1, and ARW2
classifications, and the Team Olympic
Round for open classification (ARST, ARW1, or ARW2). Paralympic
competition is conducted using the recurve bow. The IPC archery rules describe additional events which may be
held at other competitions. For more information, consult the IPC web
site at http://www.paralympic.org.
Click on "sports," then "sports," then "archery," then "rules."
| Olympic Round - A total of 64 athletes
may compete at the Paralympic Games. Separate events are held for men
and women.
 | Ranking/qualification round - Each
athlete shoots 12 ends of 6 arrows at 70m on a 122cm target face.
Athletes are ranked from 1 to 64 based upon the results of this
round. |
| Elimination rounds - Each match consists of 6
ends of 3 arrows at 70m on a 122cm target.
 | 1/32 eliminations - The top 64 archers are
grouped in pairs in a match play situation. The top-ranked archer
is paired with the 64th-ranked archer, #2 is matched with #63,
etc. The 32 winners progress to the 1/16 eliminations. |
| 1/16 eliminations - The 32 archers are
paired into 16 matches. The 16 winners progress to the 1/8
eliminations. |
| 1/8 eliminations - The 16 archers are
paired into 8 matches. The 8 winners progress to the finals round. |
|
| Finals round - Each match consists of 4 ends
of 3 arrows at 70m on a 122cm target.
| Quarterfinals - Four matches are held with
the winners progressing to the semifinals. |
| Semifinals - Two matches are held with the
winners progressing to the gold/silver medal match and the losers
progressing to the bronze medal match. |
| Gold /silver/bronze medal matches |
|
|
| Team Olympic Round - Each team consists
of 3 archers. A maximum of 16 teams may compete at the Paralympic
Games. A team match consists of 3 ends of 9 arrows (each archer on the
team shoots 3 arrows). The teams alternate shooting ends. Separate
team events are held for men and women.
| Team competition (1/8 eliminations) - The 16
teams are paired into 8 matches. The 8 winning teams progress to the
finals round. |
| Quarterfinals (1/4 eliminations) - The
8 remaining teams are paired into 4 matches. The four winning teams
progress to the semifinals. |
| Semifinals - The 4 remaining teams are paired
into two matches. The winners progress to the gold/silver medal
match and the losers progress to the bronze medal match. |
| Gold /silver/bronze medal matches |
|
Playing Area
In Paralympic competition, like Olympic
competition, the target is 70m away from the archer. The lanes are wider
in Paralympic competition, with at least 1.3m per archer (2.6m for
individual events, 3.9m for team events). The target is 122cm in
diameter, and is divided into 10 concentric rings with a golden
"bulls eye" or center ring. The scores associated
with each ring are illustrated in the following figure (figure is from
the U.S. National Archery Association
web site).
Rules
In archery, the athlete uses a bow to shoot arrows
at a circular target. The target has ten concentric circles which
designate scoring areas that range from 10 points (bullseye) to 1 point
(outermost circle). A score of zero is recorded if the arrow misses the
target.
Paralympic archery competition is conducted
according to the Federation Internationale de Tir
à L’Arc
(FITA) rules, which are posted on the FITA web site
at http://www.archery.org.
Paralympic archery rules (essentially the same as FITA rules) are posted
on the IPC web site at
http://www.paralympic.org. Click on "sports," then "archery," then
"rules."
Equipment
| Bow - There are three different
kinds of bows used in target archery:
recurve, compound
and bare bow.
Paralympic athletes use a recurve bow.
Recurves are made of wood, graphite, fiberglass, or carbon composites.
Bow lengths and weights vary considerably. Bow lengths vary from four
to six feet. |
| Arrows - Arrows are
made of either carbon graphite or aluminum.
The arrows of each archer must be marked on
the shaft with the archer's name or initials, and all arrows used for
the same end must have the same pattern and color(s) of fletching
necks and cresting. |
| Other equipment - finger
protectors/gloves, chest/arm guards, field glasses etc. for spotting
arrows. Sighting aids may be utilized if they comply with FITA rules on shooting at outdoor
archery targets. |
| Disability-specific equipment and
modifications
| Archers with significant upper extremity disability are allowed to utilize a device to
secure the bow to the hand. These devices may be as sophisticated as a universal cuff or
as simple as tying or bandaging the bow to the hand of the archer. |
| Persons
with significant upper extremity disability are also
allowed to have a person nock the arrow
onto the bow. However, this person may not give the archer any verbal advice or coaching
tips, nor may they in any way be disruptive to other competitors.
|
| Archers with poor trunk balance are allowed
to utilize strapping or body support systems.
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Links
Page prepared by Mary Lou Schilling and revised by
Gail Dummer |
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