Oxford takes aim

Archery was a really fun experience, especially in the midst of constant studying for the upcoming IB Exams. We were able to compete in groups, taking turns to shoot at four balloons and the group that was able to pop all the balloons the fastest won. My group came in second place which was great considering this was our first time. I enjoyed looking around to see how teammates would encourage each other.

There was also an individual competition and I was surprised by how well I did. It took me the first few shots to really get my aim consistent, but I found my momentum eventually! The only challenge I had was the wind. It was a little bit breezy so the arrow would sometimes move too much. When that happened, we’d just aim a little bit more carefully and everything would be fine.

Something we all enjoyed was the warm and friendly reception from the staff at the archery course. They trained us, telling us how to stay safe. They took good care of us, even though we were all a little impatient to get started. They answered all of our questions and shared a lot of funny stories from other visiting groups. Halfway through the session, they even gave us tea and biscuits.

One of the men even had a traditional bow he was firing with, made of wood. We also got the chance to see some ‘Olympic level’ archery equipment which was really cool and much more complicated in comparison to the ones we were allowed to use. They also demonstrated to us their application of these equipment allowing us to see how Olympic archers train and compete. It made me appreciate the long history of this weapon and how it has developed, but how it is only used now as an activity.

Overall, it was a really fun trip. I would definitely recommend trying archery at least once if you haven’t already!

Written by: Nadya Tan (IB Year 2),
originally published April 2018