Archer strings strength to his bow

Shaun Teasdale took up archery as a scrawny 13-year-old, after stumbling across a display at an expo.
``Most people think of archery as a piece of wood and a bent string,' says the 20-year-old Aucklander.
``That's what I thought too, until I saw the bow and arrows that look like souped-up sports cars.'
Since that day in 2002, Shaun hasn't looked back. Nowadays, his life more or less revolves around his bow and arrow. He is ranked 22nd in the world and has his sights set on the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
``It's the first time in nearly 30 years they'll actually have archery at the Commonwealth Games. I am well over the qualifying score of 1360, but will have to wait and see until November if I'm selected,' Shaun says.
And until then, it's all hard work and practise.
The ex-Massey High student competed in stage one of the Archery World Cup in the Dominican Republic this month. He placed 18th out of 120 competitors from around the globe. A satisfactory result? Not for this young man.
``If an archer is ever happy with what he's shooting, he's not shooting well enough. You have to constantly keep pushing the boundaries,' he says.
In his spare time, Shaun shoots targets at the Mountain Green Archery Club in Mt Albert or at his Massey home, where he has targets set up in the backyard.
To fund his overseas trips, he works at his father's West Auckland archery shop.
``Dad got into archery about the same time I did. He's now the president of Archery New Zealand.'
The coach representative for Archery NZ, Andrew Russell, puts Shaun's success down to hard work and determination.
``He attends a lot of tournaments here and overseas. His life revolves around archery.
``When he's not training up at Mountain Green, he's practising at home or helping out around the other clubs.
``If he's selected for the Commonwealth Games, he will represent New Zealand well. I have a lot of faith in him as an archer and as a person.'
Although the jetsetting lifestyle is taking its toll, the young archer says it's well worth it.
``Archery is it for me at the moment.
``It's the perfect time in my life to be doing it, until I decide what to study at university.'
But there's no rest for the ambitious - the North Island championships are next on the agenda, then it's off to Turkey for the next stage of the world cup.