Sep 17
We finally got a day off today so we hired a bus and a guide and had a bit of a poke around Beijing.
Tiananmen Square.
The Forbidden City, but we were allowed!
We entered through the emperor’s gate as he got the smoothest paving (and we were following Ricci)!
It’s a big place with three palaces. Luckily it was well ramped!
Where did everyone go!
Big pots. There was no running water in those days!
There was a nice rock garden at the back.
And a huge moat!
It was a long walk!
Sep 15
Today was the finals in the Open Men’s Compound matchplay.
We lined up for round 3, the 1/16 elimination, where I was up against Great Britain with our South African mate against USA behind me.
The Briton and I shot a tie at 144-144 with him leading all the way until the 5th end. I managed to pip him in the single arrow shoot off with a solid X. It was a very memorable round!
The next round saw me up against the USA.
We tied at 146-146 (a new matchplay PB for me). He beat me in the shoot off with a better 9 but it was great fun and yet another very memorable round!
Overall I ended up 9th. A huge thank you to my team mates Jono, Kevin and Marek, our coaches Master Ricci Cheah and Graham Winston, our agents Ben, Rachel, Kes and Keith and our diligent team manager Sue Gliddon.
Tasmanian spotting scope.
Gratuitous team photo shot.
Then we were off for a hard earned feed.
Peking Duck!
Sep 15
Today we had the Compound Men Open Team. To my knowledge this is the first time Australia has ever entered a team Para event so we we went out to have some fun.
The Team event is structured a bit like a matchplay event: We all shoot at the same target butt, and we share a 2 minute timer interval. We shoot two arrows each for a total of 6 arrows into the butt. There are 4 ends in the match, so a perfect score is 4 ends x 6 arrows x 10 points per arrow, or 240 points.
Our coaches Ricci and Graham fine-tuning our technique.
Moved to the main range for the start of competition. Our first opponents were Turkey, and we managed to defeat them 227-216.
Here’s a cycle in action. First, my shot.
Then Kev’s shot.
And finally Jono’s shot.
Our next opponents were Iran, and they were a tougher nut to crack.
Once we’ve completed a shot we need to raise a hand before our next teammate can start his shot.
As it turned out, we were defeated by the Iranians 217-228. They then went on to defeat the USA by 229-223, and they’ll face Italy in the Gold Medal round on Sunday.
We ended up finishing 7th and apparently setting an Aussie record for the team high score! 😉
Sep 14
Today was the first day of competition.
Marek led us off in the Recurve event at 08:30.
The Compound event started after lunch, at 13:00.
I was on target 4B, Kev was on target 5B and Jono on target 6B.
I shot a new Personal Best which qualified me at 44 out of 74 competitors.
Then it was on to the Matchplay rounds. Here I am lined up with my first Matchplay opponent waiting for the round to start.
For those that don’t already know Matchplay is an elimination round, where pairs of archers each shoot 15 arrows and the loser of each pair is eliminated. I made it through my first 2 rounds of matchplay which means that I’ll be starting in the finals on Friday with the 1/16 round.
I don’t get tomorrow off though – the three of us will be shooting the Compound team event tomorrow afternoon at 16:00!
Sep 13
Today was the first Official Practice day. My comments will be a bit sparse because I’m getting psyched up for the first day of competition tomorrow.
Team breakfast with a South African photobomber.
Back up against the wall.
Our first photo of the entire team – Jono didn’t need to attend a Disability Classification session so he and his support squad arrived last night instead of Saturday.
Day 3 shooting – official practice.
Recovery session in the hotel’s 7th floor lobby – moon suit pants.
Recovery session – moon suit sleeves.
Opening ceremony – traditional Chinese archery demonstration.
Opening ceremony – traditional Chinese archery demonstration.
Opening ceremony – traditional Chinese martial arts dance demonstration.
Opening ceremony – attendees.
Sep 12
Day 2 was the second unofficial practice day. Starting off with the breakfast of champions!
Looking out our window we can see the athletics field. The opening ceremony will be held here tomorrow night.
Limbering up with some pre-practice stretches.
Of course it always helps to imitate chooks!
On the line with Kevin.
Looking around the practice range.
Supporting our only recurve archer, Marek, during his practice session.
Marek shooting, watched closely by his wife, agent and head motivator, Kes.
The indoor athletics facility next to the gymnasium. It includes a 100m sprint track, a 250m banked running track, a long jump pit, a high jump bar, and 2 badminton courts.
In the gym, doing some recovery stretches and exercises following our practice session.
It’s a pretty big gymnasium!
Heading back to the ranch after our long day.
Sep 10
After a 12-hour flight from Sydney, we arrived at Beijing International at 22:30 local time.
We didn’t manage much on Saturday night apart from getting settled at the hotel.
Our team’s turn at the practice range on Sunday morning was scheduled for 09:00-11:00, but the finish time was pushed back to 11:30 due to a rain shower.
It was the first still-air practice that I’ve had in a fortnight (the weather has been pretty windy at home). Once I’d adjusted to the still conditions practice went well, and thanks to our Head Coach Ricci Cheah great progress was made.
I’m feeling comfortable with setting a good rhythm for the remainder of the championships. Given that this is my first international tournament, I’m just setting myself the goal of gaining competition experience in the company of the finest Para archers in the world.