Girl with Bow - Archery, a worthwhile aim

Girl with Bow

Every now and then archery enjoys a resurgence -- usually thanks to a blockbuster film or the Olympics. Such is the current case. For those who’ve never tried it, at least not in adulthood, you may be surprised at how enjoyable a sport it can be -- relaxing, precise, quiet, -- just you, your simple equipment, and all of nature’s glory.

The archers of the Americas were masters of the bow long before European cultures began to spread across the continents. In the open plains strong bows of great range were used and in the woodlands where stealth and cunning was needed, lighter bows were used. The final early bow was that of the Eskimos of the Western Hemisphere. The bow of the Eskimos, which was constructed out of spruce tree and sinew, was used for hunting, as well as, warfare. The arrows that they used were either one of two things, driftwood or splintered mammoth bones, held together with feathers from a ptarmigan. The arrows were then tipped with needle like Kiowa girl with bow & arrow bones. The Native Americans became proficient in both the wooden bow and the composite. The bow became such an important tool that it was regarded as a symbol of magic, power, or prowess.

Archery as a sport wasn’t really around in the United States until a group of Philadelphia gentlemen founded the United Bowmen in 1828, a club still in existence today. As the sport became more widely accepted, the National Archery Association was founded in 1879. Any further growth in archery was held back in the 1930s by the Depression. Yet, the sport was preserved by Howard Hill, an excellent bowman, who made short movies about bowhunting and trick shooting. Later, as the devastating effects of the Depression subsided, sportsmen began to take up archery once again.

Scientists began to take interest in the physics behind archery and established a criteria for the efficiency of bows and arrows. Later, scientist/ bowmakers began to experiment with a new material, fiberglass, in the design and manufacturing of bows.

Archery tournaments as we know them can be traced to England, where such events were part of grand community festivals since the seventeenth century. Target archery is perhaps one of the earliest forms of competition archery, which, besides England, is practiced in many other countries. The target archery field is level and clear, with targets of varying distance. Field archery is just like it sounds. A very irregular shooting ground which provides practical training for field hunters. It is an American sport and, since, very few other countries practice field archery, there is no international tournament.