Program Variety in Archery Instruction

by Don Andersen

Don Anderson, currently District Coordinator of Physical Education for the Winnetka Public Schools, formerly served the Wilmette Park District as director of baseball schools and supervisor of an extensive basketball program. He holds two degrees from Northern Illinois University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Anderson has taught archery extensively in northern suburban school districts and private day camp.

Shooting an arrow accurately in archery is analogous to correctly swinging a golf club: the successful completion of the act is dependent upon the proper execution of several complex and seemingly unnatural preliminary actions. In both archery and golf success can only be achieved after considerable instruction followed by practice in attaining the correct execution. After mastery of the basic technique the analogy still applies—the newly acquired skills should be used in a recreational setting. In golf, given the use of a golf course, this is seldom a problem. Many programs of instructional archery fail to provide this recreational outlet during or after the tedium of instruction, however. The following archery enrichment activities are offered as either welcome breaks during the lengthy period of instruction, at the culmination of the instructional block, or, ideally, in combination.

Shooting for Score

The Camp Archery Association of the United States (4 Cambridge Court W., Old Saybrook, Conn., 06475) has an excellent program of archery advancement in which the archer begins shooting at a distance of 15 yards from the target and progresses through scoring increments up to 50 yards from shooting line to target. Attractive pins and brassards indicating the bowman's rank or degree of proficiency are available at nominal cost. The annual membership fee of fifteen dollars permits the use of the awards plus an endless supply of printed scoresheets. Archery equipment is also available through the Camp Archery Association.

Even with the challenge and continuing interest engendered by the Camp Archery Association method of scoring, advancement, and awards, additional archery program variations can prove to be a successful adjunct to any program.

Target Shooting Variations

Shoot a couple of ends (a series of six arrows) while reversing the value of the scoring rings on the target face, i.e., the yellow bulls-eye is only worth a single point instead of nine while the white outer ring is valued the maximum nine. The other three scoring rings are also appropriately reversed.

Shoot with the least preferred hand. For example, right handed shooters would now have their right side toward the target and they would draw the bow with their left hand.

Have three targets at different distances from the shooting line. Archers would shoot a six arrow end with two arrows directed at the 15 yard target, two at the 20 yard target, and the final two arrows shot at the target at 30 yards.

Balloon Burst

Long a popular event at carnivals and fairs, shooting at balloons

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is one of the most satisfying archery activity options—the archer both sees and hears the result of his/her shooting accuracy. One of any number of ways of utilizing balloons is to randomly place one on each target face. The person breaking the balloon gets to place the new balloon in a position of his/her choosing on that target.

Rovers

A large burlap potato sack filled with crumpled-up newspapers will provide a fine target for Rovers. From a common shooting-line the sack is placed on the ground at a random distance. The archer who hits the sack gets to reposition the sack at a place of his/her choosing for the next volley. One archery instructor created a spin-off of Rovers by sticking a couple of feathers into the burlap sack and calling it a Tree-Climbing Feathered Brontosaurus. This activity is run in much the same fashion as Rovers except the sack may be placed in bushes and low hanging tree branches—after all, it is a Tree-Climbing Brontosaurus.

Clout Shooting

By placing a target flat on the ground the archers are given a totally different shooting perspective. This is difficult shooting, however, and special scoring should be considered. One method is to have teams competing for points and the target inside a circle of flags (or a marked area). Any arrow landing within the circle counts as a point. Arrows hitting the target are given their face value plus a bonus of five points.

Apple Shoot

In an archery context an apple readily brings to mind the legend of the Swiss patriot, William Tell, who shot an apple from the top of his son's head (so what if it was a cross bowl). This story can provide both a history lesson and some archery fun. An apple can be strung so that it dangles down the front of a target face. The archer who is successful in hitting the apple wins the right to eat it. If apples are out of season or prohibitively expensive substitutes may be made from construction paper. The archer who hits the paper apple keeps it as a souvenir and places the next apple anywhere on the target.

Field Archery Variations

In field archery the archers progress over a course shooting at targets of varying distances and under different conditions. Bow hunting may be simulated by fixing animal silhouettes (either home-made or purchased commercially) to hay bales or targets. A much simpler and less expensive method of providing much the same type of shooting may be achieved by using plastic gallon milk jugs or bleach containers strung from the branches of bushes or low-growing trees.

Close counts—but not as much!

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Archery Golf

This is an excellent carry-over activity which combines an archery challenge with the rules, courtesies, and scoring of golf. A nine or eighteen hole course is laid out making use of the natural conditions of the archery range. Ideally there will be dog-legs, hazards (e.g., low-hanging branches, trees and bushes) and holes of varying distances. The "holes" are good size pieces of cardboard with the number of the hole clearly displayed and attached to a stake which is driven into the ground. To "hole out" an archer must get the point of his/her arrow within an arrow-length of the pin. The tee-off areas may be designated by stakes with an attached cloth streamer. Archers must take their tee-shot from within a bow-length of the tee-stake. Archery golfers may compete as two-somes, threesomes, or four-somes. By staggering the starting places of the class over the entire course long waits are avoided. Golf score cards can be obtained from nearby golf courses and this provides a particular significance to the activity. Blunted arrows—arrows with the tops broken off and covered with tape—should be used in Archery Golf.

Archery Baseball

This is a partner activity conducted from a stationary shooting-line to a target readily reached by both archers. They are given a pencil and sheet of paper containing the rules for Archery Baseball and line-score for keeping track of runs scored.

RULES FOR ARCHERY BASEBALL

White: Base On Balls
Black: Single
Blue: Two-Base Hit
Red: Three-Base Hit
Yellow: Home Run
Bounce-Off: Sacrifice (if no runners on base count as an out)
Miss: Strike Out Hit
Tripod: Double Play

—Each archer shoots until 3 outs or 7 runs (Slaughter Rule)

—Base runners advance only when "pushed" by subsequent base runners to the next base

The teaching of archery is a serious and potentially dangerous endeavor. However, after the instructional tone has been established and a certain degree of proficiency achieved attention should be given to putting that which was learned into practice in a recreational context. This, after all, is why the person chose to take up archery—for the challenge and to have fun!

Illinois Parks and Recreation 34 March/April 1981