The Northern Cape (Kimberley) is about to experience a Sporting event that is often only watched on TV.

ON 23 JULY, 48 of Africa Genesis Archery, South Africa’s top Archers will get together in the Mittah Seperepere Convention centre Kimberley, to compete virtually against 144 archers (of Namibia, Zambia & Botswana. They will compete in a Bull’s Eye competition and a 3D Competition. The latter two competitions requires different skills from each archer. The event kicks off on Saturday morning at 7 am with a Grand Opening Parade. It runs over the weekend and finishes with a Medal Ceremony on Sunday Afternoon at 2:30pm. Tickets available online at Quicket. co.za (Search: Archery Kimberley)

Bullseye shooting is a category of shooting sport disciplines where the objective is to score points with carefully placed precision fire by hitting a target as close to its centre as possible. The name refers to the target centre’s nickname — the “bull’s eye”

At a 3D archery event, archers shoot at 3 dimensional foam animal targets that are set to mimic real life hunting experiences. Target manufacturers, like Wild Crete 3D Targets South Africa, have a range of animal targets such as Kudu, Baboon, Crocodile, and much more.

AGA Northern Cape, who is hosting this years event, was kickstarted by a donation of archery equipment from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in October last year. Since then it has grown with leaps and bounds, with a membership total of just over 70, including family members and individuals ranging in age between 7 – 70 yrs. At a recent International virtual championship between Canada and Namibia,

Kimberley Archers brought home 9 Medals.

The sport of archery requires precision, control, focus, physical ability and determination. Top athletes train daily, and for hours at a time, but even recreational archery can carry huge benefits to your health. Whether practised indoors or out, competitively or socially – and despite often being perceived as stationary – archery gets you active, burning calories and in a better state of mind.

Eight reasons why Archery

Exercise

Archery is a sport that can be practised by all, no matter age, gender or ability. While physically drawing a bow does expend energy, so does walking to the target end on end to collect arrows.

On their way to topping the Olympic podium, a male archer burns an estimated 1,084 calories – only 747 calories less than women in marathon but more than 1,054 than the 100 metres’ sprint men. (Yes, the timeframes are different - but the point is valid!)

Strength

As an exercise that requires short bursts of energy from core muscles, the act of drawing a bow puts tension in the chest, hands, arm and large upper back muscles, and non-core areas of your anatomy like the rotator cuffs, which support your shoulders. The correct and continuous repetition of this movement strengthens these tissues.

Control

Archers learn to maintain focus on their shot routine, avoiding distractions like wind, distance, noise and their competitors to deliver the perfect arrow. That control is beneficial for other areas of life, too.

Coordination

The steps requires to create a good shot combine to form a high-precision routine that needs to be ingrained into an archer’s muscle memory and sub-conscious.

Patience

Archery’s easy to learn, but difficult to perfect. Although fun, it can be frustrating – and patience in practice is essential for a longer-term future in the sport. Having the determination to precisely repeat a technique makes you a better archer and, consequently, a better person!

Relax

Staying calm and accurate under pressure is an ability that archers develop by managing their breathing, concentration and nervousness. When you’re shooting well, hours can pass by in a blink of an eye – and, as much as the sport can be sociable, when you’re on the line, archery is only about you and your bow. The perfect time for some internal meditation

Self-confidence

Even in competition, an archer’s greatest opponent is himself. Identifying what to improve and setting clear goals is easy – after all, results are all based on easily-measurable scores. Progression breeds confidence, and there’s no better sport to measure that than archery

Socialize

There are very few sports in the world that allow the world’s best to compete on the target with someone fairly new. Tournaments in archery are, often, without barriers – and enable friendships between individuals from all walks of life. You never know who you’ll end up on a target with next