Rules and Regulations for Archery Olympics Competition

Archery Olympics

I�m going to start this archery web page a little differently by saying something my dad told me and I passed it on to my two boys. I�m sure this little bit of wisdom can be and is used by every Olympian team member in the Summer or Winter Olympics. It �s also good advice for each of us trying to accomplish so many things every day of our lives.A Positive Mental Attitude makes all things possible, all goals achievable, and our lives more successful and enjoyable. To think with a purpose and only recognize failure as a pathway to success. You must think strongly and fearlessly in order to accomplish masterfully. Whatsoever you desire that is deep in your heart you can do with a Positive Mental Attitude.

This positive attitude has got to be in each archer that has committed him or herself to this tremendous Archery Olympics achievement. And even though each individual cannot bring home the medals, they must have a real sense of accomplishment deep inside themselves. In the Archery Olympics they have to be the best of the best from each country.

Archery has been an Olympic sport since 1900 AD, along with a few interruptions. They were held in 1904, 1908, 1920 and not again until 1972, when the Federation International de Tir a l�Arc (FITA), the international governing body of sport was founded in 1931 and standardized the rules for all competitions. In 1972 after other countries adopted the new rules for archery, the games returned in Munich. In 1992 the rules changed from four events, Men�s individual, Women�s individual, Men�s team and Women�s team, to a head to head elimination for the top 64 competitors in Archery Olympics.

Individual Competition

* Men�s and women�s competition are equally the same. Ranking rounds first before the FITA Olympic rounds. * Archers in the ranking round shoot 72 arrows at a target 70 meters (229feet,8 inches) away. A perfect score is 720 points. Each individual shoots 12 ends of 6 arrows each. * The target, which is usually made of paper, is 122 centimeters or 4 feet across. The center of the target or the gold ring is 130 centimeters or 4 feet 3 inches off the ground. The target is divided into five colored rings with each ring divided in half. Each colored ring is 12.2centimeters (4.8 inches) wide, divided in half by a fine white or black line which measures 6.1 centimeters (2.4 inches)wide. * The inner gold circle worth 10 points, going to the outer white ring being worth one point. Colors are gold or the center two rings, followed by two red rings, two blue rings, two black rings and the outside two rings being white. An arrow when piercing or breaking the line will score the higher of the two. * The FITA Olympic round is divided into an elimination round and the final round. Six ends of three arrows or a total of 18 arrows are shot at the same distance with a forty second time limit per arrow. The 64 competitors which were seeded from the ranking rounds are now head to head style competition (64 vs. 1, 63 vs. 2 and so on) , until the field has been narrowed down to eight archers. *Then the final rounds begin, starting with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Then in the semifinals and finals, four ends of three arrows each or a total of 12 arrows at forty seconds time limit per arrow. * Winners of each match move on to the next round. The losers of the semifinals shoot in the bronze medal match and winners move to the gold competition final. * In case there is a tie it moves to a sudden death overtime. Each archer gets one shot and the one with the highest score wins. If there is another tie, a second arrow is shot for the highest score. Then if there is still a tie, a third arrow is shot and the closest to the center is the gold medalist.

Team Competition

* The same rules are in effect for team competition in Archery Olympics, except now it seeds down to 16 men and women teams from the rankings. If there are less than 16 teams, the top teams will be given byes. Each team consists of three archers. * In each event each archer shoots three arrows or a total of three ends or 9 arrows per team. One archer at a time is allowed until all three have shot, only then can they retrieve their arrows and score. * The first round consists of 16 teams. Second round is 8 teams and the semifinal round of 4 teams. The losers of the semifinal shoot for the bronze medal. * The winners shoot for the gold medal. * If tied, each archer from each team shoots one arrow. Only one archer from each team shoots at a time and the closest to the center from each team will compare to the other teams closest arrow. Closest to center wins the gold medal.

Archery Olympics Equipment

* Bows that are used for the Archery Olympics are recurve bows or compound bows. The recurve bow curves away from the archer to increase power. Normally the bow is constructed in three pieces. The handle and two limbs make up the bow. The handle is made up of aluminum and magnesium alloys which are machined to give them strength. The limbs are generally constructed of man made materials, such as fiberglass and other composite materials. The two different bows are put into separate divisions during competition. * Both divisions may use sights and stabilizers. The compound division may also use magnified scopes and levels. * Arrows must be smaller in diameter with field points so not to severely damage the target. Arrows are normally made of aluminum or carbon graphite or a combination of the two. * The bow string is made up of Fast Flight, kevlar or hydrocarbon product. * The cost of the equipment is usually around $1,000 or more.

Archery is fun and almost anyone can do it, but not everyone can compete in the Archery Olympics. This is for the best of the best.