Archery: Pair a genuine shot at Games gold

Archer Stephen Clifton couldn't miss after moving from goats to inanimate targets. Photo / Getty Images

For one, it was a spur of the moment decision at Auckland's Big Boys Toys exhibition. For the other, it was a logical step after hunting in the Dargaville district as a kid.

Both scenarios have played key roles developing two genuine medal contenders for New Zealand in archery at Delhi.

Shaun Teasdale went along as a curious 13-year-old to the annual male-oriented exhibition at the Alexandra Park showgrounds in 2002. He handed over $3 at an archery equipment stall and shot three arrows straight into the bullseye from 15m away. Teasdale then persuaded his dad to take him to a local club and eventually convinced his father to buy him a bow.

Now, at 21, he is the winner of the most recent of the four World Cups contested this year, held in Shanghai. He heads off for the World Cup final in Edinburgh on Tuesday, pitting this year's eight best archers against each other.

Stephen Clifton came from a background hunting goats and deer with his uncle as an eight-year-old. He struggled to miss once he transferred to an inanimate target. That culminated in the 23-year-old securing New Zealand's only medal at a world championship to date - a bronze in the compound discipline last year.

With Teasdale ranked sixth in the world and Clifton 13th, they are two of the top three ranked archers in the Commonwealth for their event.

The Delhi Games includes the compound and recurve disciplines of the sport. It is the first time archery has featured since 1982 and back then only the recurve was contested. The sport will not be on the programme at Glasgow in 2014.

The late Neroli Fairhall entered Kiwi folklore when she won gold as a paraplegic against able-bodied athletes using a recurve bow in Brisbane in 1982. She hit another target when a British journalist asked whether sitting down (in a wheelchair) to shoot helped her in the windy conditions. Fairhall replied, "I don't know, I've never shot standing up".

Teasdale and Clifton will shoot in the compound event. That bow is more technical than its recurve counterpart.

It has pulleys, a shorter body, a trigger and even a spirit level for added surety. The result sees each arrow travel the 70m towards the target at speeds of up to 300km/h.

"We can use anything that is not electronic," Teasdale says. "Compound archers do not have to hold the same number of pounds [of tension] when they draw back a bow."

Consequently, recurve archery is considered more difficult. It is the only form of the sport which features at the Olympics.

"The compound bow's pulley system means you're only holding 25-30 per cent of its maximum weight once you draw it back," Clifton explains. "If I'm shooting a 60-pound maximum weight then I'm probably only holding 17 pounds at full draw. The weight drops off dramatically which enables us to aim for around 10 seconds. With the recurve you're holding the maximum weight on your fingers until you let go.

"It is generally accepted you have to be holding at least 54 pounds on your bow, otherwise you start to suffer wind drift."

Having said that, there is little the pair can do fitness-wise other than to commit shooting patterns to muscle memory.

Clifton stresses duplication is the aim so he can keep in rhythm during competition. "I work on my back and shoulder muscles but the main thing is shot consistency - you've just got to shoot plenty of arrows. It's similar to golf or darts. Like anything, once you shoot thousands of arrows it starts to become second nature."

HOW THE MATCHES WORK
The best comparison is to a tennis match and tournament system.

Firstly, the archers complete a ranking session, firing 72 arrows for a score out of 720 - a bullseye is worth 10 points. Then they fire off in pairs (worst against best, etc) against a row of targets - so more than one match takes place at a time.

Players are awarded two points for an end and the first to four points (or the best of three ends) takes the match.

An end consists of each archer firing six arrows at the target. If a match is tied 3-3, the competitors fire one further arrow and the match is decided by whoever measures closest to the target. Once competitors reach the quarter-finals that system changes to the best of five sets, with just three arrows per set.

Invercargill's Tony Waddick will join Teasdale and Clifton in the men's team event.

New Zealand have also entered a women's team of Stephanie Croskery, Elizabeth Mitchell and Amanda McGregor. Each team shoots 24 arrows (four ends of six). They have two minutes to shoot each set of six arrows.