Paralympic Games 2012 - Archery

Where: The Royal Artillery Barracks
When: Thursday 30 Aug – Wednesday 5 Sept 2012
Medal Events: 9
Athletes: 140 (88 men, 52 women)

Although Paralympic Archery was originally developed as a means of rehabilitation and recreation for people with a physical disability, it rapidly evolved into a competitive sport.

At London 2012, athletes will compete in three classes: Standing (ST), Wheelchair 1 (W1) and Wheelchair 2 (W2), with W2 athletes’ impairments having less of an impact on their ability to compete at Archery than a W1 athlete. There are medal events for both the Compound and Recurve bow as well for individuals and teams.

The Basics
The object of the sport is simple: to shoot arrows as close to the centre of a target as possible. Paralympic Archery targets are 122 centimetres in diameter, with the gold ring at the centre (worth a maximum 10 points) measuring just 12.2cm. Archers shoot at the target from a distance of 70 metres.

At the Paralympic Games, the individual competitions will be played in a knockout format. Matches will be played over the best of five sets, with each set consisting of three arrows per archer. The winners of each match will qualify for the next round, until the last two archers go head to head in the gold medal match. A knockout format will also be used for the men’s and women’s team competitions, which features teams of three archers competing against each other in a best-of-24-arrows format.

Paralympic Archery – Past & Present
No sport has as great a Paralympic history as Archery. It featured at the first Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948, the direct precursor to the Paralympic Games, and has featured on every Paralympic programme since the first Games in 1960.
At London 2012, the Paralympic Archery competition will be held at a truly historic venue: The Royal Artillery Barracks. Its rich heritage dates back to 1716, when a Royal Warrant authorised the formation of two artillery companies at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. The current building was constructed between 1775 and 1802.

Jargon Buster
Boss: The target, usually a square black block made of compacted foam, to which the target face is attached.
Bowman: An archer.
Draw: The act of pulling back the bow string in preparation for shooting.
Nock: A notch at the end of an arrow that rests against the bow string.


Courtesy of http://www.london2012.com