What’s The Deal With Blind Archery
Most people think of archery as a sport that requires sight, but this is not true. Blind archers can represent their country on the international Olympic team. People who are blind may purchase standard equipment that will allow them to pursue archery as a sport at either indoor or outdoor ranges.
Blind Archery competitions were first organized in 1972 for blind and visually impaired athletes by the National Sports Organization for the Physically Disabled. Nowadays, it’s one of the most popular Paralympic sports worldwide! The goal of the game is similar to traditional target shooting and the goal is to hit the target and score as many points as possible.
They can also choose to purchase and use specialized equipment and tactile site lines so they can feel where the arrows go and receive extra hints from judges and coaches during competition.
What Do Blind Archers Need?
Blind archers use a long cane or walking stick to find their way around, but some people find it easier to shoot without one. For those who can’t see well enough to judge distances, site lines with bright colors and contrasting patterns may be painted on the ground at specific distances. Site lines can also be made from rubber mats, wooden planks, or communication cable that is strung between posts.
When standing behind an archer who has a long cane, it’s important to avoid standing too close because the cane may hit other people or objects. Blind archers need a number of tools to practice and compete. Standard bows come in different sizes, but they are all adjusted for the height of an average person.
The handles, or bows, can be as long as 72 inches from tip to tip. Short bows have a handle that measures between 48 and 72 inches while bow lengths for tall people are between 60 and 72 inches. Since blind archers can’t see the target, they may purchase special bows that have a device to indicate where the arrow lands.
Blind archers also need arrows with vibrating fletching or metal balls attached near the end of the feathers to make a sound as it moves through the air. These devices help the archer learn how far and fast their arrow moves.
There is a notch in the sight of bows that allows an archer to shoot straight. Some blind archers use site lines or other equipment to help them aim at targets. Others use electronic machines with sound signals that tell them when they are in position and when it’s time to release the arrow..
People who compete in these events wear belt kits that have a device attached to the archer’s back that vibrates when an arrow is released. Competing in the W1 class means that a competitor must use a device with 25 meters of wire, but in W2 they can choose from two different types of devices: 50 and 75 meters.
Blind Archers Who Defeated the Odds to Become the Greatest of the Sport
Archery is a sport of focus, concentration, and control. It involves intense mental discipline that’s not easily mastered by the blind but not for these three highly talented archers who have beaten the odds and gone on to become some of the greatest in their field. They are living proof that nothing is impossible when you refuse to give up or accept failure as an option.
Janice Walth
Janice Walth is one of the most accomplished blind archers in America. Janice has climbed to the top of her game and she’s not done yet. Her goal is to win gold in the 2020 Olympic games for blind archery. She was born completely blind, but she had always loved participating in sports so her parents did not discourage her from playing soccer when she was little.
Her school offered no sports programs, so when Janice turned 16, she bought a bow and arrow with money she earned from working at a grocery store. Janice practiced every day with determination until she got good enough to start competing against sighted opponents at 17 years old.
Janice Walth won the World Archery Indoor Championship for blind archers in 2012 and she is number one on the US team for both national championships and regional rankings. She is determined to win gold at the 2020 Olympics and she has been training for this since 2005.
Janice is a very driven and determined woman who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She may be blind, but because of that, she has had to learn how to work harder than many people in order to accomplish her goals. Janice has also learned how to market herself and win over sponsors, which have been very helpful. In this way, Janice is a unique individual who uses her disability as a strength instead of a weakness.
Steve Prowse
Born in 1954, Steve Prowse from England is a world-record-holding blind archer. He was born with no sight and only spent the first few years of his life living at home with his family. The family moved to a small village outside of Chester called Tarporley and Steve attended a local school for blind children. Once he finished high school, he started to move on to other activities such as going to college and playing sports. His mother encouraged him by providing him with a tutor to help get him involved in activities that were led by other people.
In 1973, Prowse was invited to participate in the Blind Olympics being hosted in Mexico City that year. He had been interested in archery for many years and had been a regular at a local archery club in his free time. He visited the club and was introduced to their coach, who invited him to come out for a round of practice with the team.
The coach said he would be happy to take Prowse through his paces but wasn’t sure if he would be able to hit the target at all, considering he had no sight. Prowse was confident that his years of experience in archery would be enough to get him started and the coach arranged for Prowse to come out for an official tryout the next week.
His first competition was a resounding success! His unique style of shooting – half-kneeling off his right knee – caught the attention of many people and he won his first gold medal. That was only the beginning.
Steve went on to win 12 medals in various categories at the Blind Olympics, including a few golds for archery. It wasn’t long after these successes that Prowse started getting invitations from other countries to come out and demonstrate his skills. He accepted invitations from many countries and became a sort of celebrity over time.
Steve continues to give demonstrations across the globe and has been a huge inspiration for people with disabilities everywhere who have been interested in blind archery. He also founded the British Blind Sport Archery Association to promote the sport of archery to people with disabilities in Great Britain.
Im Dong Hyun
Im Dong Hyun is a professional South Korean archer who started to shoot when he was 16 years old. He became blind due to a degenerative eye disease at the age of 4, but never let his blindness get in the way of his goals. In Rio 2016 Olympics, Im Dong Hyun became popular for being one of the first-ever Paralympians in South Korea. His popular nickname is “King Shoto.”
He’s a world-class athlete and an inspiration for millions of people around the world. Im Dong Hyun also set out to do what very few had done before him, which is to compete in any field that wasn’t specifically designed for someone with disabilities. And he did it with such grace and dignity.
These three archers are just some of the many blind archers out there who do not only bring pride to their country but also give inspiration to others who have the same condition. For all of these incredible blind archers, blindness is not an excuse for failure; it’s just another way to see things!
How Does the Blind Archery Paralympics Work?
The Archery Paralympics is an event where archers compete without the use of sight. The competition has been held since the 1960s and is open to all athletes with a physical disability.
Participants are not allowed to use any type of sight equipment, including binoculars or telescopes. They are also not allowed to use any type of audio equipment, such as microphones or headphones. This includes communication devices for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, such as text telephones and sign language interpreters.
The competition takes place over two days – one day for qualification round and another for final round. The qualification round consists of 10 rounds in which each competitor shoots 24 arrows at a target 10 meters away from them with five minutes between each round.
Competitors are given two seconds to prepare their shot and then only three seconds to release it. The score is calculated by the total of arrows hit in target divided by the total number of arrows shot over 10 rounds.
What You Need to Know About Using Safe and Professional Blind Archery Equipment
Blind archers use a variety of equipment to shoot their arrows. These include bows, sights, and arrows. The most common is the bow. It comes in two forms – recurve and compound. The recurve bow is the type used by most competitive archers who are visually impaired while the compound bow is more commonly used by hunters or recreational archers who are not competing in tournaments.
There are three categories of sights. The first kind is called a mechanical sight. This includes a bolt that has an adjustment knob, which allows the archer to aim their bow from the far end of the bowstring and pull back on it gently until the arrow is placed at their desired target.
The second category is called a telescopic sight, and it is used as an optical sight that can be attached to the back of the bow. There are also red dots and holographic sights, which are smaller and can be mounted on either side of a bow.
When shooting with a compound bow, the archer stands sideways in front of their target and faces it by turning their shoulders away from the target. This stance allows the archer to use the power of the limbs and draw back on the bow without any rotation of their body.
The last category is called a recurve bow, which is much like a traditional longbow in that it has cambered limbs. The difference between these two types of bows is that they have a curved rather than straight limb, which changes both how the bow works and how the archer should hold it. .
Importance of Archery to Blind
Archery helps the blind individuals to be involved with a physical activity that is non-competitive and offers the opportunity for socializing with friends. Blind archery has become so popular that, along with blind golf, it’s an official Paralympic event. It provides many other benefits aside from the obvious fun factor. It offers self-confidence, self-esteem and it can even be therapeutic for people who have an illness or injury that has caused blindness to occur. This also helps improve hand-eye coordination, balance and general physical fitness.
