ARCHERY
MARCH 15, 2021
Art and tale of archery from time to time
Archery was one of the main military skills human used that has been around for over 60 thousand years ago.
The word Archery comes from the Latin arcus for bow. It is associated for art and sport of using a bow to shoot arrows. Archery has been used for hunting animals and combat equipment for thousand of years. An individual who involves in archery is called an archer and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is called a marksman. Now in modern times, it is a competitive sport branch and recreational activity.
Initially developed as a technique for hunting and then for warfare, the history of bow and arrows is closely helping to shape the history of human civilization. This is one of the oldest skill arts that still exist today
Some arrowheads made of flint was found to have dates back to around 20,000 BC. This was considered as the earliest evidence of archery. Some experts believes it is even possible that early humans were using bows and arrows earlier than that.
Every region of the world has their own styles of equipment and technique regarding archery. Warriors in Asia were using shorter composite bows while riding on the back of their horses, while England troopers used longbows made of yew through much of the Middle Ages. Today, large group of archers shooting using traditional bows still remain active.
The international governing body of archery is the World Archery Federation (WA), formerly known as Federation Internationale de Tir a l’Arc (FITA). Founded in 1931 the headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland and currently there are 156 national federations and other archery associations. WA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Archery became a regular event at the Summer Olympic Games from 1972. Before that it was first competed in 1900 Olympic Games and took a long hiatus from 1924. Team events were added in 1988. The only discipline competed at the Olympics is Recurve archery.
In 2006 the Archery World Cup was first held in Yucatan, Mexico and marked the event as an annual championship after that. It is designed to bring archery sport around the world in wider exposure.
The best individual and mixed team performers from 4 rounds across the world invited to compete in the World Cup Final at the end of the year.
In 2010-11 season, indoor World Cup was inaugurated where participants competed in 3 rounds and the final was held during the winter season.
We can find the popularity of archery in many mythologies and folklore, such as Robin Hood as the most famous one.
The official governing body for archery in Indonesia is PERPANI (Persatuan Panahan Indonesia). It was founded on July 12, 1953, in Jogjakarta with Sri Paku Alam VIII as the first chairman. The first national archery championship was held in Surabaya in 1959.
Indonesia then officially becoming a member of FITA (now WA) in 1959 during their congress in Oslo, Norwegia. This marked a big step in Indonesian archery as this sport becoming more popular and grew fast everywhere across the nation.
One of the best archers from Indonesia was Donald Djatunas Pandiangan. He was the four times medalists in SEA (South East Asia) Games from 1977 to 1987. He also competed at the 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games. As a coach he achieved big success when three Indonesian women archers won the second place and grab the silver medals in Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. That silver medal was the first medal ever for Indonesia in the Olympic Games participation. Those three women archers nicknamed “Indonesian Srikandi” and they are Lilies Handayani, Nurfitriyana Saiman and Kusuma Wardhani.
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