Bow International

time to celebrate?

Hello! And welcome to Bow’s 150th edition. You might even call it the sesquicentennial issue. Quite the milestone. For this one, I managed to round up all the previous editors who have sat in the hot seat at Bow Towers and asked them what they remember – the good, the bad, and the amazing. This will be my 28th outing at the helm of Bow, since I started in February 2018. During my time here, I’ve been lucky enough to speak to some of the world’s best athletes and interview some extraordinary people; I’ve had the chance to undertake some amazingly informative and interesting writing about the world’s greatest sport. It’s been a privilege. This month includes a series feature on archery photography, a subject very dear to the editor’s heart and…

pan-american championships see colombia triumph and olympic spots awarded

The Pan-American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, which were delayed by a year, were completed at the end of March 2021. Dominated by mostly youthful athletes from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, the event saw savage winds cause several upsets. Nora Valdez from Colombia took the women’s crown after beating compatriot, favourite and world number one Sara López, after López shot a miss in the second end. Daniel Muñoz, also of Colombia, took the men’s crown, beating Antonio Hildago of Mexico. In the recurve competition, 18-year-old Valentina Vazquez took the women’s title on her home turf, with relative newcomer Santiago Arcila of Colombia taking the men’s title from ‘Archery’s Neymar’ Marcus D’Almeida of Brazil. There was also a continental qualification tournament, which saw six countries win tickets to Tokyo 2020. Brazil, Canada and Ecuador won…

archery returns to the uk as ranges reopen

As Bow goes to press, sporting venues across the UK – including archery ranges – are reopening for business as outdoor lockdown restrictions are gradually relaxed. The arrangements come with a lengthy set of restrictions, which can be found on the Archery GB website. In England, bosses must have their centres spaced a minimum of 3.66m (12ft) apart, and up to two archers (or one household bubble) are allowed on each target, maintaining distancing. (Many clubs are taking this further and insisting on a ‘one boss per archer’ rule.) Coaching is permitted, as are beginners courses, but have-a-gos are still currently not permitted. Indoor club shooting facilities must remain closed for now (apart from toilets). In Wales, the maximum number of archers per range should be four from two households. Scottish Archery…

contributing to bow international

If you have an idea for an article for Bow, or think you might be able to write for the magazine, Bow International has now set up submission guidelines on its website. There has been a large increase in the number of unsolicited articles sent in recently. While we welcome both submissions and reader enthusiasm, most are not in a format that is publishable. As is usual with print publication, the normal way is to work with an editor on shaping an idea before it gets written. To this end, Bow has compiled a set of friendly guidelines that can be found here: www.bow-international.com/submissionguidelines It also includes details on the sort of articles we are looking for. Interested readers and writers are welcome to apply.…

chang hyejin out of tokyo

The notoriously unforgiving Korean Olympic selection process eliminated the defending Olympic champion, Chang Hyejin, at an early stage of the penultimate selection tournament in Nam-gu, South Korea, when she finished 18th in a field that was then cut to 16. Hyejin was previously eliminated from 2019’s selection process at an even earlier stage; however, after the postponement of Tokyo 2020, the Korea Archery Association reset its selection completely and she was allowed to compete in the trials again. The defending male champion, Ku Bonchan, was similarly eliminated early, which means that neither will be able to defend their Olympic titles. The Korean squad consists of eight men and eight women; a final Olympic selection is due in April. Despite many attempts, no archer in the history of the Olympics has ever defended an individual…

tokyo: 110 days to go

Olympics world is full steam ahead (unless you’ve bought tickets). Archery is in Olympic trials season, with ambitious archers gearing up around the world. Great Britain are apparently holding their final selection trials (very much behind closed doors) as Bow goes to press, but other international squads are already being named. JAPAN TEAM SELECTED Japan, uniquely among major archery nations, base their selection entirely on scores from 70m rounds – no head-to-heads are involved. They have named their squads for Tokyo. Ren Hayakawa, Miki Nakamura and Azusa Yamauchi will make up the women’s team, while Yuki Kawata, Takaharu Furukawa and Hiroki Muto will be taking on the men’s chores. Kawata and Yamauchi seem to be new to the international scene, Nakamura and Muto have been making a small dent in the past couple…