1200 Round + PBs(personal bests)

Now the 1200 rounds.  Called 1200 rounds only because the max amount of points you can get is 1200.  Coincidence, I think not.  Most round names are made by the max number of points you can achieve.  But unlike all the outdoor tournaments shooting at long distances.  Every archer shoots the same distance no matter the age.  Also unlike the outdoor tournaments shot on 122cm targets, the indoor target faces are 40cm.  1200 rounds are shot with three arrows an end and ten ends.  that equals max points of 300 so you repeat that scoring process four times.  My pb (personal best) at this distance is 1107.  That's an average of 277 per 300 arrow scoring, and an average of 9.2 per arrow.  This is the score that got me third in indoor nationals for cub.  My pb for only one 300 round is 295.  That's only missing the bulls eye five times.  If I shoot like that every time, that guarantees me a spot on the USAA World Archery Team.  That's my dream, making the USAA World Teams and going to the Olympics.

Preparation

This week I have been preparing for a very special event.  This event will take place from November 17-21st.  I was selected to go and shoot at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) to try out to make the JDT team.  This JDT team is the Junior Dream Team, where the national and Olympic coaches watch and train the kids.  Head coach Kisik Lee has selected 50 of the top archers to participate and compete for the open spots.  To be eligible you have to shoot a minimum qualifying score (1250 out of 1440) at the distances required (50, 60, 70 meters).  With that you have to have attended at least 4 national tournaments and write an essay.  Once you have met these requirements and you are selected, you will go a week to Chula Vista the Olympic Training Center and train.  You will have to run, essay writing, SPT's (standard-physical-training), do push-ups ( 60+ in 2 minutes), sit-ups (80+ in 2 minutes), and most of all shoot.  I have been training hard and want to accomplish my goal of becoming a JDT member.  Come back next week to see how it went and my experience at the camp.

Fita Rounds

Sorry for the delay, now I will finally tell you about the regular fita round.  For this round you shoot 72 arrows for the day, and the next day is a different type of round like ORs, or Elimination.  These rounds are normally used for big national events so you can do all the different events in one week.  This part is usually for the placing in the second part so it doesn't count toward your rank as much.   You shoot two rounds the day of the fita, both consisting of 36 arrows, and there is a lunch break in between.  This event usually takes between 6-8 hours depending on the archers speed.  This is including the hour lunch break.  During this lunch break archers like to talk to each other and find each others score.  Knowing each others score shows the archers where they are placed and how much better they have to do so they can rank up.  This tournament is not really for the placing but more so you can strategically place yourself for the next days event. 

Halloween Special

Sorry again for not being able to talk about the fita Rounds, but this week has a very special event.  Halloween,  so my club "Vanguard Archers" decided to host a special event.  All the participants had to wear there costume to shoot.  It was a three in one event, best target decorator, best score, and best costume.  All my friends we there and the costumes and food was amazing.  I dressed as Dracula and ended up getting 2nd for best costume.  Me and my partner also got fourth for target decorating, but we didn't get a prize for that. Once the Halloween part was all settled it was time for scoring.  We had 10 ends of three arrows.  Since I wore a costume I got to shoot a mulligan arrow.  A mulligan arrow is an arrow you can make up if you shoot a low score.  I ended in first place, but in the end it was more for fun than for score. 

My Experience

Last week I talked about the archery competition double fitas.  This week I was supposed to talk about the regular Fita but this weekend I competed in long beach called the duel in the desert.  This tournament was a mix of the fita and the 900 round.  This weekend (10/24/15) California's top 6 picked archers competed against Arizona and Baja California (Mexico).  During the tournament I shot a score of 306 out of 360 on the first round, which put me in second place.  Then on the second round I shot a 314 which is a total of 620.  This put me in first to bring California's victory for day 1 of the tournament.

Compatitions

There are six basic types of tournaments.  The double fita, fita, 1200 round, and the 900 round.  These types of tournaments are the tournament where its the archer vs. every other archer.  The other two types of tournaments are team rounds and OR's (Olympic Rounds).   These are the tournaments where one or a group archers go head to head with another.  Lets start with the one vs. all tournaments.  The double fita is a scoring system where each archer shoots six arrows six times, each once at one of the four distances you shoot.  Lets break this down a little more.  Each arrow has a max value of 10 points, which after six arrows accumulates to 60 points.  There are then six ends in every round so you can get a max score of 360.  You shoot this at your to farthest distances the first day.  The second day, you shoot three arrows twelve time, which accumulates also to 360.  Again you shoot this twice the second day.  If you do the math or 360 times four is 1440.  This double fita round is also referred to as a fourteen forty round, because of the max possible score.  Come back next week to learn about the next type of tournament the regular fita. 

Barebows

This week I will be telling you all about the Barebow.  While the Recurve and Compounds have sights and stability systems, Barebow shooters aren't allowed to have accessories.  Barebow means bare with no attachments, It's the kind of bow you think Indians use, and the one where people say, "archery is easy its a stick and a string." 

The old fashion bow, a stick and a string, now people use it for traditional shooting.  But you can still use a Barebow in a competitions.  The bow has to fit between a 12" ring unstrung (without the string).  Why the 12" ring, well if u put the accessory that stabilizes the bow it can only be 5" or the bow is considered Recurve. If u have a sight marking anywhere on the bow then it is also considered Recurve.  If you want to shoot traditionally this is the bow for you. 

P.S. Archery is not as easy as it looks.

Compound Bow Description

This week I will be telling you about Compound bows and their accessories.  I will also be telling you the differences between Compound and Recurve bows in competitions.

The Compound bow is mainly used for hunting, yet some people like to compete with them.  Since the bows cannot be used in the Olympics they get some slight modifications to their advantage.  On there sights they are allowed to have magnification, what Recurves and Barebows see at 70 meters they see at 35 meters.  They also all have a cam system which at full draw length reduces the poundage of the bow.  For example, on a Recurve bow if  you have 38 pounds its 38 pounds at full draw. For a compound bow at full draw to feel like 38 pounds, the actual bow poundage is 118 pounds.  They don't make 118 pound bows. They only make 70 pounds bow, therefore a Compound bow at full draw is only 15 pounds. What enables them to have this is the cams.  The pulley system reduces the weight on the string.  A Compound bow has the basic riser and limbs,  (Look on Archery Bow Types for further description). Compound bows have an arrow rest and the nock loop that ensures the arrow is in the same place every time.    In all, compound bows are more accurate but that doesn't mean tournaments are easy.  If you mess up when shooting a Compound its game over, at least with a Recurve you can catch up.  All in all its based on personal preference. 

Archery Bow Types

This week I will be telling you about Recurve bows and the accessories.  There are different kinds of bows, the three main types of bows are Recurve, Barebow, and Compound. 

The Recurve bow is the Olympic style bow in which you typically use sights, and stability systems. The bows come in left or right.  Below is a picture of Jake Kaminski an Olympic archer.   The riser is what you hold, which holds both the top and bottom limbs. In this picture it is designed to look like an American flag.  The limbs are what controls the poundage of the bow hence the distance you can shoot.  Here he is shooting 52 pounds and is shooting 70 meters equivalent to 229 feet.  There are two objects that are connected to the riser, the sight and the stabilizer set.  The sight in this picture is on the top and is blue and red to match the riser.  It is used to get a consistent aiming point, so it will hit the center more.  The stabilizer is the long rod on the bottom of the riser, and the v-bars are the same but shorter and pointing backwards.  At the far end of the stabilizer are silver disks.  They are used to weigh down the bow so you won't be blowing in the wind as much.  The v-bars are there for stability.  They help so you don't cant the bow left and right, and the weight helps to balance the weight of the sight.  Tune in next week to hear all about compound bows.

 

https://www.shootingcouncil.org is where this picture is located


 
In the picture above it shows the parts of a Recurve bow.

 The picture above shows the riser.

In the picture above it shows the hoyt Quattro limbs.

 
 
 

 

Traveling to Texas

Two weeks ago I was in Houston, Texas.  I went to the Texas A&M college campus.  I went for a week to shoot for the Olympic Trails for archery.  Before the tournament I had gotten an ear infection, and then I had to fly from California to Texas.  The day I arrived in Texas I got sick and couldn't help my grandparents with directions.  We got lost and couldn't find our way to the hotel.  I had to help them with the phones GPS while I was throwing up.  It was dreadful, and I had to shoot for a National Tournament the next day.  I had soup for dinner and when to bed.  I was going crazy because my ears were clogged the whole tournament.  I finished 2nd in the national tournament and for the Olympic trails I got 100th.  On the way back I didn't get sick and went to school the next day, and I turned in all my made up work.