Beijing 2017 World Archery Para Championships – Day 5

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! 😉