Olympic Qualification Tournament for Europe: Places Awarded!

Vittel, France – 15 May 2008

Tears of joy and sheer frustration were shed on Thursday 15 May at the Continental Qualification Tournament for the Beijing Olympic. This event was held during the European Championships in Vittel, France.

Recurve Women

women had their chance to secure an Olympic spot for their country. The tension was on, as only the top 3 could win a ticket to Beijing 2008. These spots are on top of the ones won at the World Championships 2007 in Leipzig, Germany.


All athletes surpassed themselves, but in the end only three happy faces stepped onto the podium: Zekiye Keskin Satir (TUR) photo won Gold, while Sabrina Struyf (BEL) and Evangelia Psarra (GRE) took Silver and Bronze respectively.

Recurve Men

In the afternoon it was the men’s turn to be in a token appearance and try to qualify for the Games. Everyone was aware of what was at stake, which made it a very exciting competition not only for the athletes but for the crowd as well. Everyone was cheering for their favourite.

The three Frenchmen were in the running for Olympic tickets. However, in the end only home crowd favourite Romain Girouille photo prevailed taking the win and securing his spot for Beijing. Andrey Abramov from Russia took the second Olympic spot and Ron van der Hoff from the Netherlands took the third place.
For the complete results, please go to http://www.arc-vittel2008.com/.
Photos of the 6 qualified athletes
Current List of Olympic Quota Places

Dean Alberga
FITA Communication

- Article Source : http://www.archery.org/

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Archery For Relaxation And Sport

Archery is still a very popular sport with sportsmen. In fact contrary to what you might have thought the number of people taking up archery is actually growing each year. So why not learn the basics of archery? You never know you might just enjoy it!
So why is archery growing? Well most of us lead these busy hectic lives and escaping from that daily routine can often be found in taking up a sport or a pastime. Many have found just that relaxation in archery. There’s something about a bow and arrow that feels so primitive, so basic and fundamental, that it seems to drain the stress away from us.
Now many people enjoy hunting as well so they use a bow for hunting especially during deer season. But others have no interest in hunting and so they use their newly found skills in all kinds of target shoots or competitions that are held by Archery clubs.
It’s always important to choose the correct equipment. There are three types of bows to choose from, the compound bow, the cross bow, and the recurve bow.
The compound bow is the most popular because it is easier to handle, creates less arm fatigue, and it shoots much faster. The faster an arrow is during its flight the flatter its trajectory will be which leaves more room for error when you are judging the distance. There are many different compound bows available.
The recurve bow has been making a come back in recent years. The cross bow which is a cross between a rifle and a bow is actually banned in many states so check with your local officials before purchasing a crossbow.
Which ever type of bow you choose you will need to consider the weight of it. You should always choose a draw weight that you are comfortable with. The higher the draw weight the faster the arrow but the hard the bow is to handle.
You will also need to determine your individual draw length. To determine your personal draw length stand at a right angle to your wall, then place your knuckles on that wall. Now have someone measure the distance from the wall to the corner of your mouth. This will give you your draw length.
When you are ready to try shooting your bow and arrow you must first get your stance correct. You should stand perpendicular to your target with your feet a shoulder length apart straddling the shoot line. Use the balls of your feet to balance yourself, then stand tall but not stiffly with your knees slightly relaxed.
Now you need to pace the arrow nock onto the bowstring. The index feathers should point away from the bow. Lay the arrow on the arrow rest then snap the nock onto the bowstring.
If you grasp the bow exactly the same each time you will guarantee yourself a consistent draw which will help your accuracy. After the bow hand has been set you take the string in the first joint of the first 3 fingers of your shooting hand. Then raise the bow toward your target. Now lock your bow arm into position then push with the shoulder of your bow arm while pulling with the shoulder of your draw arm until the bowstring touches your nose. Aim carefully then release and follow through by continuing to pull your draw hand along the base of your neck.
That’s it. It may sound complicated on paper but the entire process is really not that difficult once you get the hang of it. You might want to consider taking a couple of archery lessons at a local club to get you started.
Archery is a relaxing sport and pastime so if you’re looking to try something new why not consider archery?
Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.

- Article Source : http://bee-sport.blogspot.com/2008/05/archery-for-relaxation-and-sport.html