‘I now have a newfound appreciation for Olympic archers!’
Sharon Bowen from Llangennech in Wales was keen to try archery for the first time – and discovered there is a lot more to it than she expected.
Over 10 years ago, my husband, Alwyn, bought me a Wii for Christmas and I loved playing the games with our family. I was particularly good at beating them all at archery, and it became a bit of a joke that if I had a few lessons, I could reach the Olympics. The joke would crop up every year and eventually I decided I wanted to see if they were right.
I felt a bit apprehensive when I arrived at Wye Valley Archery Centre. I knew these were real weapons, and I didn’t know how I would do. After handing me a bow, a protective armguard and quiver with arrows, Lee Palmer, my instructor, talked me through a long list of instructions, and I quickly realised that safety was the most important thing about archery.
At the range, Lee showed me how to stand, fit the arrow on to the bow, aim, and, finally, shoot. I was amazed at how hard it really was. At first, it felt strange in my hands because I had never handled anything like it and you had to hold a certain position; elbow straight and hands steady. I love watching archery during the Olympics, but they make it look so easy. Lee showed me how far back Olympic archers stand to shoot, up to 70 metres, which seemed impossible to me.
I had quite a lot of practice at just shooting the arrows before even aiming at the targets. Lee told me that it takes about 50 tries to relax and get into the swing of it, and the more you think about it, the worse the shot usually is. After shooting what seemed like hundreds of arrows, I finally hit the target a few times, so I was really pleased.
I loved the discipline of it. There were so many things you needed to think about all at once, from being able to hold good form and pull the string back to your nose, to focusing on the target and knowing what’s happening around you. Coordination and multitasking are essential.
Later, we moved to woodland, where targets were strategically placed among the trees. With the ‘dead ground’ (uneven rolling terrain) and obstacles around the targets, I felt like Robin Hood!
The best bit was how enthusiastic and passionate Lee was about archery. You could tell he knew exactly what he was doing, especially by the number of times he reminded me to balance my weight equally on both legs rather than putting more weight on one.
You would think archery isn’t too exhausting, but I was surprised how tired I was after the lesson. My arm was aching the next day, but it was worth it.
It was such a lovely day and I enjoyed every second. I’m grateful to Lee for finally helping me answer the question of whether I could reach the Olympics, and the answer, of course, is not yet!
For more information, visit wyevalleyarchery.com