The World Archery 3D Championships began today in Robion, France with the first round of qualification. USA Archery fielded a large team to compete and many are poised for high ranks after today's competition.
There are four bow types competing at this event: compound, barebow, longbow and instinctive bow. Basically, the instinctive bow category allows a bow made of a riser (no shoot-through) and two limbs, made of a natural or resin based material such as wood, bamboo, or fiberglass. The longbow has length requirements and all bows must meet the typical shape of a longbow where the string only touches the bow at the two string nocks. In both divisions, sights, sight marks, or any device used for aiming is strictly prohibited, and string and face walking are also not allowed as aiming techniques.
There is only one age class per division at this event, and many of the U.S. athletes are young up and coming archers shooting with the adults for great international competition experience.
The competition is shot in a beautiful wooded terrain with archers traveling to the different targets, much like a round of golf or field archery. World Archery 3D rules vary from the rules generally shot in U.S. national competitions. In qualification, archers each shoot 2 arrows per target and the scores are calculated based on concentric rings on each target. The targets are shaped like animals and the rings correspond to where vital organs would be. The smallest circles on the target are each worth 10 and 11 points respectively.
For the compound men, Dalton Richardson was the U.S.'s top scorer, with a 470, just 15 points off of first, and just behind was Gaius Carter with 465. 53rd was Gabriel Crenshaw with 531. The U.S. compound women, Traci Taylor, Hala Skelton and Lesley Winker are currently sitting 24th, 26th and 27th respectively.
Calvin Smock also made the top 16 after today, ranking 7th for the longbow men's division with a 347, 29 points out of first. Teammates Paul McHargue and John Winker were 24th and 34th with scores of 295 and 249. Laura Hughes ranked 25th for the women.
Instinctive men's shooters Mark Hodges, Daniel Haire and Allen Hughes are hovering at 17th, 22nd and 40th. Hodges' 356 puts him just two points behind the cut for eliminations. Leanna Chadwell is currently 27th for the instinctive women's division.
The U.S. barebow women were close in qualification as Fawn Girard, Jenifer Stoner, and Joella Bates qualified 17th, 21st and 23rd with 324, 320 and 314. Currently, 329 is the cutoff score for eliminations, so all are well in contention to make the cut to continue after tomorrow. Dewayne Martin is 18th after today with 392 while teammates Matthew Potter and Erik Schwartz are 27th and 44th.
Archers also qualify as teams, with one compound, one longbow athlete, and one either instinctive or barebow athlete on each team. The USA's men's team of Smock, Richardson and Martin are currently 8th, while the women's team of Girard, Hughes and Taylor are 10th.
Competition resumes tomorrow with the second round of qualification on a different course than each division competed on today. Then, the following day starts elimination matches. The top 16 athletes in each category qualify for the first elimination round. Complete rules on World Archery 3D events can be found here. Results from the competition are available here. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photo: Skelton Shots - Amy Skelton
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