EVERYTHING YOU NEVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ARCHERY:
Q: Ah, who cares? Nobody gives a toss about archery any more, do they? Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves was so Barcelona ’92.
A: Au contraire my friend. Haven’t you heard of The Hunger Games? Archery is going to be huge at these Olympics. Your 13-year-old will be sitting cross-legged in front of it from early morning. And she’ll be bugging you for a bow and arrow by lunchtime.
Q: Oh come on. Archery is just darts for people who are too snooty for pubs.
A: Yeah, so?
Q: Well it’s not really a sport, is it? Stand up, pull the string, hit the bullseye.
A: It’s not a bullseye.
Q: What do you mean it’s not a bullseye?
A: It’s not a bullseye. Calling it the bullseye is a big no-no in the archery community. It’s called the gold. It’s 12.2cm in diameter and the archers have to hit it from a distance of 70 metres away. Hit the gold and you get 10 points. Those points decrease the further you deviate from the middle of the board, out as far as one point for the outer ring.
Q: So gold gets the gold. I see what they did there. How is it scored?
A: You get three arrows per set and the top score takes the set, earning two points. A drawn set earns a point each. There are five sets in total and first to six points wins. If it ends 5-5, there’s a tie-break.
Q: That’s when they bring out the apple, right?
A: Har-har.
Q: Who should we be looking out for so?
A: The South Koreans are the Kilkenny here. They’ve been dominant in both men’s and women’s team events for the last few Olympics. The men’s individual battle will be between rising American star Brady Ellison and legally blind Korean double gold medal-winner Im Dong-hyun. In the women’s individual, the number-one ranked archer is India’s Deepika Kumari. Her biggest foes in London will be the Korean pair of Ki Bo Bae and Lee Sung-Jin.
QUICK NOTES
Top-spoofing factoid:The little notch at the end of the arrow that fits into the bow is called the nock.
Do say:The South Koreans have really pushed the boundaries in this sport since it came back into the Olympics in 1972
Don't say:The North Koreans prefer a different kind of missile.
When:Competition begins today. Team finals on July 28th/29th, individual finals on August 2nd/3rd.
