LAC LA BICHE, Canada – Team USA made a strong start over two days of qualification at the 2019 World Archery 3D Championships. 3D Archery is a subset of field archery, where archers shoot at life-size three dimensional shaped targets placed in dynamic settings at varying distances. Lac la Biche, or “Lake of the Elk” features over 100 lakes in 100 miles and poses a beautiful backdrop for this prestigious biennial event.
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.
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.
Heather Gore leads the compound women’s field, topping the bracket with a 972 over the past two days. Natalie Brockman also qualified 7th in the division and Dalton Richardson was 9th for the compound men.
World Archery Field Silver Medalist Fawn Girard finished first for the barebow women with an 891, 33 points clear the rest of her division. Martin Dewayne, who just made it to the quarterfinals at the 2017 edition of this event, led the USA barebow men, qualifying 7th with an 894.
Calvin Smock, who was USA’s only other competitor to compete in the quarterfinals in 2017, qualified 2nd with a 796, just ahead of teammate Timothy Johnson, who was 5th with 778. Amber Yott was Team USA’s most successful longbow woman, ranking 8th with 620.
Kenneth Rienas led the charge for the instinctive men, locking up the top seed with an 857.The World Archery 3D Championships team competition features the top eight teams each comprised of one compound, one longbow, and one either instinctive or barebow athlete on each team. Team USA’s Richardson, Dewayne and Smock are the defending world champions and seeded 2nd behind Italy for a shot to return to the top of the podium. The women’s team qualified solidly in 1st and will also look to bring home hardware.
In what is likely to be USA’s best showing at the World Archery 3D Championships to date, competition for the rest of the week promises great excitement. Matches are contested in a “shoot up” format from pools created from qualification seeds. Top qualifiers are pre-seeded into the semifinals, so Girard, Gore and Rienas are already guaranteed medal match appearances. Matches will be contested over the next two days through the semifinals, with medal matches on Saturday.
Complete results from the event are available here. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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