Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who practices archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite or a marksman.
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows).
At the 1900 Summer Olympics, seven of the archery events that took place in Paris, France, are considered to be "Olympic" by Olympic historians, with 153 archers competing in them. The identities of 17 of those archers are known, though a number of those are known only by their surnames. In total 1400 archers to over 1500 archers participated in the archery competitions. It was the first time that archery was featured in the Olympics. All seven events were for men. Only France, Belgium, and the Netherlands sent archers. Six Dutch archers competed; none qualified for any of the individual event finals.
Archery had its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 16 Olympiads. Eighty-four nations have competed in the Olympic archery events, with France appearing the most often at 31 times. The most noticeable trend has been the excellence of South Korean archers, who have won 27 out of 39 gold medals in events since 1984. It is governed by the World Archery Federation. Recurve archery is the only discipline of archery featured at the Olympic Games. Archery is also an event at the Summer Paralympics.
Archery, or the use of bow and arrows, was probably developed in Africa by the later Middle Stone Age. It had been an important military and hunting tactic throughout history, and figures prominently in the mythologies of many cultures. Archers, whether on foot, in chariots or mounted on horses were a major part of most military forces for many years.
Field archery is any archery discipline that involves shooting at outdoor targets of varying and often unmarked distance, typically in woodland and rough terrain.
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, for protecting the herds, and for war. It was a defining characteristic of the Eurasian nomads during antiquity and the medieval period, as well as the Iranian peoples, and Indians in antiquity, and by the Hungarians, Mongols, Chinese, and the Turkic peoples during the Middle Ages. By the expansion of these peoples, the practice also spread to Eastern Europe, Mesopotamia, and East Asia. In East Asia, horse archery came to be particularly honored in the samurai tradition of Japan, where horse archery is called Yabusame.
The Archery World Cup is a competition, started in 2006, organized by the World Archery Federation, where the archers compete in four stages in four countries and the best eight archers of each category advance to an additional stage to contest the Archery World Cup Final. This form of competition was introduced following the success of the 2003 World Archery Championships in New York and the 2004 Summer Olympics with the intent of making the sport more popular and attractive to spectators, with the matches being held in 'spectacular' locations and the final matches being broadcast online. It has received plaudits for its innovative approach to the sport, raising its profile and reach.
The archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were held over a seven-day period from 6 to 12 August. Four events took place, all were staged at the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí.
The archery events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in Yumenoshima Park. Five events were planned with a mixed team event staged for the first time.
The men's team archery event was one of 4 archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The women's team archery event was one of 4 archery events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Shaun Teasdale is a New Zealand male compound archer and part of the national team. The left handed archer has participated in the individual event at the 2015 World Archery Championships in Copenhagen. He has won a gold medal in the individual event at Shanghai World Cup 2010.
The European Para-Archery Championships is a competition for European disabled archers.
Muskan Kirar is an Indian archer. She won the gold medal in the women's compound final event at the Archery Asia Cup, stage-1 competition in Bangkok on March 7, 2018. She beat Malaysian archer Sazatul Nadhirah Zakaria by 139-136. Muskan was trained by Richpal Singh Salaria at the Madhya Pradesh Archery Academy in Bhopal.
The mixed team recurve archery competition at the 2018 Asian Games was held from 21 to 27 August at Gelora Bung Karno Archery Field.
The mixed team compound archery competition at the 2018 Asian Games was held from 22 to 27 August at Gelora Bung Karno Archery Field.
Morley Field Sports Complex is a sports complex in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The sports complex was named after John Morley, who served as a park superintendent in Balboa Park from 1911 to 1939.
The girls' individual archery event at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics was held from 12 to 16 October 2018 at the Parque Sarmiento in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One of three recurve archery events which comprised the archery programme, it was the third time the girls' individual discipline had been contested at Summer Youth Olympics. Thirty-two archers from thirty-two countries entered the competition, which was open to female archers born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2003. The defending champion was China's Li Jiaman, who was unable to defend her title due to the age limitations imposed on the event.
