2004 Olympics and US Nationals

FINANCIAL UPDATE:

As the trials came to an end, so to did the sponsorship money. However, I was able to bring in another $100 from Pam Fales, an agent at Fuller Towne and Country. Thank you all for your support for the 2004 season. I am trying to gather information about whether or not to continue my sponsorship program for next season, please take a few seconds to fill out the survey that is attached to your email.

JUNE/JULY RECAP:

After the trials finished up, I spent my last few weeks of the 2004 season preparing for the US Nationals. A 7th place finish along with a successful last minute attempt to shoot a qualifying score was enough to secure my spot on the 2005 US Archery Team. Read the article in my Latest Articles section or click on: http://www.aim4athens.com/id36.html (you can also find a copy of the article on the usarchery.org site). See below for the full detail on how the tournament progressed.

FINAL RANKING:

I finished up the year ranked 6th for the National Team and 6th for the Rolling Rank. You can see how I measure up to the rest of the US Women by clicking on: http://www.thearcher.com/usarchery/rollingranking/.

2004 OLYMPICS:

Despite not making the team, my mom thought it would be a good idea if I was able to experience the Olympics first hand and she generously offered to fly me out to Athens for two and a half weeks. No doubt that I learned a lot for next time. Thanks Mom! The trip started with the Opening Ceremonies and while I was there I saw every archery match I could possibly see including Vic’s excellent top 8 finish individually and his 4th place finish in the team round. I was also able to see the US women win the gymnastics team silver, the hammer throw and the decathlon, Michael Phelps win his first gold in swimming, and a gold medal men’s 8 performance in rowing. Click here to see my photo album: www.pixagogo.com/6158585171. Special thanks also go to Scripture Union and Athletes in Action for finding me housing for the second week and to John Hodges for his company and fluent Greek which kept me entertained!

WHAT IS NEXT:

I’m looking for ways to broaden my sponsorship and yes… I’m looking for a job. If you know of any Companies interested in sponsoring athletes I would love to talk to them about how they might want to sponsor me. My phone number is 309-303-5650 and you can direct them to my website.

US NATIONALS REACAP:

Reading, PA – After the trials I took a four day break to regroup, reflect and most importantly look at what my options were. My 6th place finish had put me in a great position to make a run at the US National team, so I decided to push the job hunt off until after the Nationals. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the US Outdoor Nationals, it is a four distance tournament (called a FITA) as opposed to the single 70 meter distance I’ve been shooting all year long. We still shoot 70 meters, but it is only ¼ of our final score. Basically, each archer shoots a total of 144 arrows, 36 arrows at each distance. The women shoot 70, 60, 50, and 30 meters, while the men shoot 90, 70, 50, and 30 meters. The total amount of points in a FITA are 1440.

Last year, I shot 4 FITAs and had improved scorewise from 981 to 1150 by the end of the season. For these Nationals, I had two goals in mind. First, I wanted to improve aspects of my game that I felt I had struggled with at the trials, and second, I wanted to shoot well enough to grab a spot on the 8 member 2005 US Women’s Archery Team.

The first day of the Nationals went pretty well despite struggling to come out of the gates strong. It would be day two that would prove to be the most challenging of the whole tournament. That morning we woke up to threats of a thunderstorm which quickly became a reality as soon as the whistle blew to commence shooting. Shooting in the rain for archery is similar to running a race with a ten pound weight on your back. The good news is that it handicaps everyone, the bad news is that if you don’t have a lot of experience shooting in it, you may end up with problems. Again, I struggled in the beginning, but as I got used to the rain and started feeling less timid, I made some progress and finished my fifth ever FITA with a personal best of 1220/1440.

Day three was similar to the first day, for some reason throughout the tournament I continued to struggle on the first half, but would get my act together for the second half. I felt as though I was lacking the confidence I needed. But there was another reason why I was struggling with my shooting. This one I could explain. The NAA has a set of standards you need to meet in order to qualify for the US Archery Team. I needed a top 8 finish in overall standing (which is composed of your US Nationals finish and the next two highest finishes) as well as a series of qualifying scores.

The qualifying scores they require to make the team had been recently raised and I needed to have shot a 158+ and a 106+ in the elimination rounds at some point during the year. Fortunately I had done both, I shot a 161 in Arizona and a 110 in Ohio at the trials. The third qualifying score I needed was either a 1260 on a FITA or a 630 on a double 70. At the Olympic trials I had come within 9 points of the 630, but it wasn’t good enough. My first FITA at the nationals was well below where I needed to be and so I risked making the US team but not qualifying for it.

I was faced with a decision, do I try to shoot my 1260 despite the chance of bad weather or do I shoot a third FITA after the morning 70 and 60 meters are done? Needless to say, once I start focusing on score, I struggle to shoot my best. I decided to wait until the third day was over, and then see if I thought I could shoot the 1260 I needed. If I felt that I couldn’t, I would go ahead and shoot the third FITA I had pre-registered just in case.

At the end of the first 72 arrows, I had a score of 611, meaning I would need a 649 the following day. It was a close call, and I had struggled with the pressure all day. It was more important to me that I didn’t risk it, so I went a head with the third FITA. After asking my training partner Ashley Kamuf and Emma Gillespie, one of my team mates from Boston to help me score, I headed over to the practice field to get the ball rolling. Three hours later, and 10 hours after I had started shooting that day, I qualified with only 2 points to spare. With the pressure off, I was able to finish up the last day on a high note, placing 7th overall. Not only had I made the National team, but I had qualified as well despite having to score an additional 144 arrows.

US OPEN RECAP:

By the time the US Open rolled around, I was relieved that I had made USAT and was looking forward to shooting elimination matches again. I really enjoy the thrill of individual matches. At the same time, I was ready to go home, exhausted from the pressure I had put on myself. Despite the mixed emotions, my first match couldn’t have been better. My head was in the right place, it was the first time the whole tournament where I came out confident and strong. I won my first match easily, and moved into the top 32.

My next match would be my last. I started out on pace, but then struggled through the second end. I lost my focus and shot a 9 on the wrong target. In archery when you shoot the wrong target you have to forfeit the points that you would have received. Going into the last end I was down about 15 points. A deficit that is usually unrecoverable. Despite this the person I was shooting against got shaky and had a really bad end. I had an excellent last end shooting a 57 out of a possible 60. I recovered 10 points but it wasn’t enough to win, I placed 22nd over all.

Although I learned a tough lesson, it was a really valuable one. Sometimes you learn more when you have to struggle than when you have an easy ride!

Olympic Trials Special

RECAP:

The trials finally came and went. I have to admit this is one of the hardest E-newsletters for me to write. I have selfishly spent over a week trying to find the right words. I apologize for taking so long. My hope for you is that you might have gained something from this experience – that you might have learned, along with me, what an amazing difference you can make in someone’s life simply by believing in him or her. Had it not been for you, I know that I could not have placed 6th in the Finals of the Olympic Trials only 18 months after putting a bow in my hands.

A Special Thank You: In addition to my sponsors, I’d like to take a moment to recognize those who worked with me on a personal basis the last 6-18 months.

2004 US Olympic Trials Results: Although I didn’t make the US Olympic Team, I had a good run and finished 6th in the country, technically putting me on the alternate team. See below for the day-to-day results. Next stop: US Nationals in Reading, PA.

Financial Report: Another good month for fundraising, I was able to bring in $800!

May/June Recap: Leading up to the Olympic Trials, I had some amazing practices and continued to make progress with my arrow volume.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

One thing this journey has taught me is that you cannot do things on your own; you need other talented, positive people to help you accomplish your goals in life. In addition to the 100+ individuals and families who have emailed, called and written with support and donated hard earned money, a few exceptional people who have worked with me personally over the last 6 to 18 months need to be recognized. My sports psychologist Alan Goldberg of Competitive Advantage (www.competitiveadvantage.com), has done tremendous mental work with me the past 6 months on a weekly basis and every day during the trials. Terry Wunderle a.k.a. The Shot Doctor for giving me enormous help during the trials, watching every shot and keeping me cool. Special thanks to my mom and sister for flying out to Ohio to watch me in the finals and give me family support (my mom also flew to Arizona). Jeanne Wunderle for listening to me when I needed an ear and giving me a room in their home the last 2 months. Doc Brandfass for housing Vic and I four months free of charge while we were in Florida. Anthony Bellettini for not laughing 18 months ago when I said I wanted to start Archery to go to the Olympics. Finally, Vic Wunderle, for introducing himself and asking me out to dinner a year ago – my life and my archery will never be the same.

2004 US OLYMPIC TRIALS 6/12/04-6/19/04:

Below is an excerpt from a follow-up interview I did with Mike Oakley from the Castle Rock Daily Star; I think it gives you the best recap of the week.

Can you describe the experience of the trials and the emotions you felt?

There was a mix of emotions, to say the least. On the first day, I spent most of the morning in 2nd place having worked my way up from 9th, but finished in 7th only 8 points out of 2nd. On the second day, the wind kicked up and my inexperience definitely showed. The day started out well, I was able to move up to 4th place right away, but then as the day wore on, I slowly moved back down and finished in 8th. I made a huge charge on the third day, winning 6 straight matches (only losing the first one) and worked my way back up to the 5th place spot hardly out of fourth and still close to 3rd. The fourth day was again another lack-luster day and pushed me back to 7th place. This particular day frustrated me because I knew I could shoot hand over fist better than I did and I felt as though every time I had a legitimate shot at making the team, my body and my mind refused to accept it. The last day I remember waking up knowing that there was an outside chance I could still make the alternate spot, as I was only 30 points or so out of 4th place. The day before had been bad but not too damaging. I basically figured I had nothing to loose and went out with a great attitude, winning 4 of my 7 matches and moving up one spot to finish in 6th place. My last match was exceptionally exciting, if I won it Kendra Harvey, the 16 year old would be get the Alternate spot and if I lost it, Jessica Carleton, who had been the alternate for the past 2 Olympics would have made it 3. Needless to say, for my own pride, I wasn’t about to lose the last match of the Trials and I won by 1 point!

You had to face several cuts - the first one to 16 and then the next one to eight. When you made the cut to eight, was it tough to sleep at night?

The cuts were definitely interesting. Until this point, I had not had a successful start in any of my tournaments. My qualification rounds usually put me in 14th to 18th place and then I would work my way up during the elimination matches the next day usually to 4th or 5th place. I knew going into this tournament that placing that low in the qualification round would put me in a tough spot for having any hope at all of making the team. I had expressed these concerns to my sports psychologist, Alan Goldberg with Competitive Advantage and he had helped me shift my focus from making the qualification round one of the most important days to "just another day." I think you saw a lot of the women put too much emphasis on the first day, for example, number 4 ranked Stephanie Miller didn't even make the first cut, neither did number 2 ranked and 2000 Olympian Karen Scavatto. Once I was able to get through the first cut, I was pretty happy with myself, for starters because the tournament had started out so well, and also there is some weight lifted off your shoulders knowing that you aren't going home.

My biggest concern about making the top 8 was that my mom and sister wouldn't get to see me compete. I had told my mom not to come until the last two days because I thought that would be when I needed them most. Of course at the end of the second day, all sorts of thoughts were running through my head. First, I didn't know it, but the computer system had a glitch and had me in 10th place instead of 8th, so I went home thinking that there was a real chance I wasn't going to make the cut if I didn't have a better third day. Fortunately for me, I was a little more occupied with my shooting than with the computer error. It wasn’t until the day was over that I realized, even with the scores fixed, I had only been "in the cut" by 2 points. Not knowing how close I was to the edge, I blindly went in the next day telling myself I was going to do the best form I could and hope it was enough. It was and I can promise you I slept well that night! I had made the finals of the Olympic Archery Trials.

What were your expectations heading into the trials? Obviously, you feel some disappointment at not making the final three, but isn't there a lot of pride in finishing sixth overall?

As far as expectations leading into the trials, I was trying to focus on not having any. I know it sounds like a hard concept to grasp, but I've found through working with Alan Goldberg and attending different tournaments, when you expect things, they usually don't happen. Needless to say, although I was working on not having expectations, it is hard to deny that deep down I wanted a spot on that Olympic team; maybe in the end that was my downfall.

Having said that, there is an enormous amount of respect reserved for those who make the final 8 in the archery world. Technically, spots 4, 5, and 6 make up the alternate team even though only the 4th spot is announced and awarded. So I do feel very honored and privileged to have made it that far.

What does the future hold? You are still really young. Will you continue to compete?

First stop, the 2004 US National Outdoor Championships in Reading, Pennsylvania. Shooting good form there could put me on the 2005 US Archery Team and put me in a position to be selected for next year’s European Grand Prix Team. Next stop, Athens, Greece. I will be going to cheer Vic on. He placed 1st in the Olympic Trials and will hopefully lead the US Men’s Team to a third consecutive Olympic Medal. I am very thankful that my mom has stepped in and offered to cover the cost of my trip. She wants me to experience it now so that I have something to look forward to the next four years.

After Greece, I plan to take some time off to get refreshed for the next season, which kicks off with an invitational match play tournament in Amsterdam the second week in December.

THE FINANCIAL REPORT:

Thank you all for keeping the sponsorship money coming! I had three new sponsors sign up during the Olympic Trials for a total of $800. Jack and Pat Durliat, neighbors of mine when I was growing up signed up as Silver Medal Sponsors. The Madigans, old time friends of my parents signed up as Gold Medal Sponsors. Finally Mike Reddin, the man who admitted me to the London School of Economics in 2000 sent me a nicely decorated $50 bill to help pay for food while I was at the trials.

MAY/JUNE RECAP:

May shooting leveled off a bit as I was approaching the Olympic trials, I increased my shooting by 2%. The last month before trials, I continued to focus on my shooting, getting 65 practices in which accounted for 83% of my time. 11% was spent off and 5% was dedicated to weights and cardio.

June is winding down and so has the shooting, after the Trials were over I took 4 days off to figure out the next step. I’m back in training now and setting my sights on the US Nationals next month in Reading, PA.

April/May Recap 2004

RECAP:

Financial Report: 6 new sponsors came in April and May for a total of $1580. Thank you all so much! I am now up to $14080 in funds raised. Please keep telling others about me!

April/May Recap: I continued to make progress, improving on my previous month’s arrow volume yet again.

Gold Cup Tournament 2004: The last event before the Olympic Trials, I had a less than stellar qualification round placing me 14th out of 45, but I was able to get it together during the elimination rounds and bump myself up 9 spots to 5th place. I also had the third highest elimination round average out of everyone! See below for play by play detail!

National Ranking: Not including my shooting performance at Gold Cup, my 2004 national rolling ranking is 8th place. The last four rankings had me slowly creeping up the scale from 61st to 31st to 21st to 8th!

Extra Adventures: I went to the 2004 McDonald’s Air & Sea show in Fort Lauderdale with Jan and Mark Beggs. Also, I drove 25 hours over four days from Florida to Illinois just in time for mother’s day with Vic’s family, but before I left we had a BBQ at the club in Ft. Lauderdale.

THE FINANCIAL REPORT:

At the end of April an exceptional opportunity came my way. Toll Brothers, a luxury home builder has offered to pay me $50 for every realtor who brings a prospective client into their Castle Pines office – the first two weeks already brought in $550! SO, if you live in Colorado, be sure to go check their product out- make sure to sign a visitor’s card! (Call my Mom, Judy Fahrenkrog with Fuller Towne and Country Properties at 303-888-4760 for more info on how to participate.) Also, keep your eyes open for their full color ads in the paper featuring me shooting.

The past two months, additional sponsors include the Castle Rock Rotary Club, who matched a gift from one of their members, Dave Watts. I was also excited to recently learn that my Aunt Pat and Uncle Skip Jump will be paying for the full cost of my hotel room at the Olympic Trials. More sponsorship came from Ben Heavrin, Les Lilly, The Plouff Family, and Reese and Alberta Johnson, Thanks! For those of you who have given money in the past and I did not specifically mention you in E-newsletters, I apologize – I am learning as I go what people enjoy reading and adding things to make the E-newsletters better. All my sponsors are listed on the Sponsorship Thermometer page. I AM THANKFUL TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

APRIL/MAY RECAP:

April was my last month in Florida. Although I was sad to leave, I was looking forward to cooler weather. Some of our training days had hit the mid-90s with lots of humidity! As the Olympic Trials get closer, my focus has continually been on shooting more. I upped my arrow volume again by about 16% over March. 85% of my time was dedicated to shooting, 4% of my time to cardio and the remainder was recovery.

May is going well, I’ve already shot the same amount of arrows this year that I did in all of last year! I’ll have more for you in the next E-newsletter.

GOLD CUP TOURNAMENT 2004, May 22-23rd:

(see EXPLANATION OF AN OUTDOOR TOURNAMENT at the bottom of this page if you want more detail about how an outdoor tournament is run)

Bloomfield, NJ – As far as travel goes this was definitely a challenging one. Because of bad weather in Chicago, our original flight from Springfield to O’Hare was delayed, not once but three times and then cancelled. Fortunately we were able to catch a flight to St. Louis and then another one to Newark later that evening. By the time our 15-hour journey had finally ended, it was 3:30am.

Later that morning, Anthony Bellettini, my first coach and the man who got me started in archery picked me up at the hotel and took me to the field. I was lucky that I didn’t have to shoot until 2pm, but the late bedtime certainly played a role in how disoriented I felt during the qualification round. I was really happy to see that the weather was much better than Arizona and Texas, no wind and a lot of sunshine.

As I started the qualification round, I struggled to get my bearings. It was one of those days that you shoot an arrow you think should go in the middle but instead it lands on the right side. You shoot another arrow, now compensating for the reason it went to the right and it pops a left. I started to loose faith in my shooting, and I got confused and forgot how to shoot well and how to bring myself back. My score reflected it with a 561. The exact same score I had shot in Texas, and only 2 points off Arizona. The only difference? New Jersey had ideal weather; Texas and Arizona were plagued with wind!

That night I did a lot of reflecting; I called a few people who I knew I could count on to help me through the experience. No matter what happened, the next day I needed to refocus, forget about the day before and move forward. Unlike my other tournaments, I decided that I didn’t want to lookup who I was going to shot against in the elimination round the following day, what did it matter? If I was shooting well, I knew I could beat most of them. My first match was against the number two Columbia University shooter Nazreen Bakht. Right away I was up a couple of points, on my second end I shot a 55 out of 60, and closed the match with a 50, winning by about 25 points.

My next match was against the number one ranked Canadian, Marie Beaudet. She was fresh from winning the Mexican Grand Prix and was ranked third after the qualification round. I knew she would be tough to beat but there was something inside me that said I could do it if I stayed calm and took smart shots. After the first end I was up a couple of points, on the second end I picked up another point and the third end gave me a win by 10 points. Similar to Arizona, I would find myself in the quarterfinals, this time against another member of the 2003 US World’s Team, Stephanie Miller.

The match started off well, the first arrow I shot a 9, the second arrow a 7. Suddenly my focus shifted from staying relaxed to whether or not I could win if I shot another 7. Time too was running out, only 29 seconds to shoot the last arrow. I over thought the last shot and popped a 6 – so much for that 7 I was so worried about! I would have to recover well to keep a close match. Over the next two ends, I shot a 28 and a 26, both tying Stephanie. Then on the last end I shot a 27 which beat Stephanie’s 25, but wasn’t good enough to win it. I lost by 3 points but had the highest losing score putting me in 5th place overall.

I’m glad I was able to learn something new and in the process prove to myself that I had control over what I was doing.

NATIONAL RANKING:

Although where I am ranked nationally has absolutely no bearing on whether or not I make the Olympic Team, I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in just less than a year and a half. The rolling rank is determined at different points during the year and is based on the shooter’s top 4 tournament elimination round averages. Early in the year, the rolling ranking was mostly based on the 2003 tournaments, but now the latest ranking only includes tournaments from this year.

At the beginning of this year I was ranked 61st. Many of you believed in me and came forward to sponsor me. During the second round of rankings I moved up to 31st, then in the third round, I moved up another 10 spots to 21st. The most recent ranking has me in 8th and I will most likely move up a couple of spots when Gold Cup is added. I want to thank you all for being there to support me and allowing me to train full time. I know that your commitment to me has helped make this happen!

Thank you so much!

Joy

p.s. For those of you who pray, please keep my quest to make the Olympic team in your prayers. I know it is small in the grand scheme of things, but Philippians 4:6 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything." I will continue to keep you in my prayers and ask that you be blessed for helping me when I needed it most.

EXPLANATION OF AN OUTDOOR TOURNAMENT:

This year because it is an Olympic year, the tournaments are run similar to the Olympics. The only distance is 70 meters and the first day is spent shooting 72 arrows – this is called the qualification round. Based on your score (maximum is 10 points per arrow) you are then ranked 1 through 64, if you are 65 or lower you get cut.

The second day is called the OR Round or the Elimination Round. It is basically a bracket that pits the top archers against the weaker archers, i.e. the number one archer has to shoot his/her match against the number 64 archer, while the number 2 archer has to shoot against the number 63 archer. If you win your first match you move on, if you don’t, you’re done. The OR Round is a relatively new format developed for the Olympics in 1996 to make the sport more television friendly, it used to be whoever shot the highest score over four distances would win the gold.

Also, here is the definition of an end, many people weren’t clear what one was in my last E-newsletter – an end is each time you complete a certain number of arrows. For example, in the qualification round we shoot 12 ends of 6 arrows, up until the quarterfinals during the elimination rounds we shoot 3 ends of 6 arrows, and once we are in the quarterfinals, we shoot 4 ends of 3 arrows.

March/April Recap 2004

THE FINANCIAL REPORT:

Thank you to my sponsors who sent additional money in the past month. I was able to raise $1300, with a third of it coming from sponsors who increased, and in some cases doubled, their initial sponsorship. I will be making a rather large arrow purchase (+/- $1200) soon and I will need it!!

MARCH/APRIL RECAP:

March was another great volume month, I was able to increase my total arrow count an additional 14%. As for the percentage breakdown, having spent 83% of my time shooting, that left only 3% for time off and about 13% devoted to cardio and yoga.

April is going well, however, the volume initially dropped slightly since there were two major tournaments back to back – the Arizona Cup March 31st-April 4th and the Texas Shootout April 16th-18th. But now they are over, I’m back to my regular routine having upped it slightly to continue to build my confidence and experience.

EXPLAINATION OF AN OUTDOOR TOURNAMENT:

Let me first explain how the outdoor tournaments work since up until now I have only participated in indoor tournaments. This year because it is an Olympic year, the tournaments are run similar to the Olympics. The only distance is 70 meters and the first day is spent shooting 72 arrows – this is called the qualification round. Based on your score (maximum is 10 points per arrow) you are then ranked 1 through 64, if you are 65 or lower you get cut.

The second day is called the OR Round or the Elimination Round. It is basically a bracket that pits the top archers against the weaker archers, i.e. the number one archer has to shoot his/her match against the number 64 archer, while the number 2 archer has to shoot against the number 63 archer. If you win your first match you move on, if you don’t, you’re done. The OR Round is a relatively new format developed for the Olympics in 1996 to make the sport more television friendly, it used to be whoever shot the highest score over four distances would win the gold.

Also, here is the definition of an end, many people weren’t clear what one was in my last E-newsletter – an end is each time you complete a certain number of arrows. For example, in the qualification round we shoot 12 ends of 6 arrows, in the first three elimination rounds we shoot 3 ends of 6 arrows, and in the last three ends of the elimination rounds, we shoot 4 ends of 3 arrows.

ARIZONA CUP 2004:

So, now that you know how it works, I can explain what happened to me at the Arizona Cup. You may recall my last E-newsletter where I stated something to the effect that my main focus in Arizona was my form and I wasn’t going to be concerned with where I placed. Sometimes when you least expect it things turn out better than you could have ever imagined.

Arizona is unique in that it is the first tournament of the year. Because of its status, it attracts quite a few international archers. This year they boasted 13 countries and a record number of entries. Unlike the Olympics, the Arizona Cup held two days of qualification rounds. After the first day, I was in 26th place overall, and I was ranked 15th among Americans. I was pretty proud of how I had shot considering that it was a very windy, hot day and it was only my second major outdoor tournament since I started shooting. Although my score and placement was good, every part of me said I would have a better day the next day.

The next day came and instead of hot, windy weather, we had very cold, rainy weather – for the first time in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and California it was raining at the same time. Instead of being disappointed I was glad… rain meant less wind, and less wind meant I could really show these girls what I could do. My roommate Melissa Stone and I had everything figured out; we’d get to the range nice and early, wear plenty of warm clothes and find a nice dry spot to camp out at so we didn’t get too wet. While everyone else was complaining, we were secretly smiling at each other knowing that we were totally prepared.

We decided to only shoot two of the practice rounds instead of all four, we figured it was better to keep ourselves warm and our equipment dry. In the meantime, my mom had turned into angel of the day and had delivered some tarps and trash bags for us to keep the area around us dry. At the end of our first scoring end they decided to call the tournament for the day. The only end that counted towards our ranking was our first end. Fortunately that moved me from 26th to 23rd.

As my mom reminded me that night, the elimination round is a whole new tournament, it was time to forget about placement and focus on the best way to get through the next day. Larry Skinner, Vic’s coach came up to me right before we shot the OR round and reminded me that this tournament was all about me and my form, nothing else. Glad he reminded me!

My first match was against Lindsay Pian, she was the second place winner in Las Vegas, I was down by 7 at the start of the match, but on the second end I was able to move up a couple of points and then I shot a great last end to win the match. My second match was against Ashley Kamuf who happens to be one of Vic’s (and his sister Sally’s) good friends. I didn’t know what to expect, Ashley is usually a very strong shooter, she has a couple world championships with the compound bow and so I know she is mentally tough. After the first end it was clear though, that all I needed to do was stay strong, shoot good shots and I would win the match. My first two ends of that match, I only lost 11 points, that is less than one point per arrow! I closed the match with a score of 161 to 134, a personal best in a tournament for me and the third highest match of the entire women’s competition.

My third match was against Kathie Loesch, who is a member of this year’s national team along with Ashley. Kathie was also on the 2003 World Championship team. I was able to win that match as well, advancing to the quarter finals where I met Janet Dykman, 1996 and 2000 US Olympic Team member. Janet has been on top in this sport for years. On the first end I was able to grab a 2 point lead, then on the second end, I shot a 3. Where it came from, I will never know… my only consolation was that when I got home, I continued to test that arrow and found that in fact it would constantly shoot low on the target. My biggest mistake against Janet was that I didn’t pull the arrow. The third end went well, I shot a 27, but so did Janet. On the fourth and final end (remember quarter finals to the finals, you shoot 4 three arrow ends) I shot the same arrow again and landed in the 3 ring. Pretty much the match was over. Although I was a little disappointed that I was knocked out, I was more than thrilled to be in 8th place. Never in my life have I ever done so well individually in a sporting event! My mom nearly missed her plane she was so into the matches.

TEXAS SHOOTOUT:

Before I talk about Texas, I would like to THANK Dr. Nancy Leslie and her husband Roger for letting Emma and me stay with them. Les Lilly of the Castle Rock Rotary was able to arrange for us to stay with Nancy and Roger instead of having to stay in a hotel about 30 miles away. They were excellent hosts and I am so thankful to Rotary for its wonderful members.

One of the things I learned at Arizona Cup is that sometimes when you least expect it things will turn out great. For the Texas Shootout, I can only re-phrase that to sometimes when you lease expect it, things turn out like crap. BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A REASON!! Now, almost a week removed from Texas, I realize that it was not the end of the world and that it has no bearing on who is on the US Olympic Team…

I arrived in Texas ready to rumble. I think I figured that since I did so well in Arizona there was no stopping me. I somehow forgot that I felt completely different in Arizona, all I cared about there was getting through the weekend without embarrassing myself and sticking to my form. I would have done well to heed the lessons of the past.

The practice round went great, every arrow I shot made its way to the yellow center of the target. It was only when the real tournament started the next day that I suddenly was timid and scared of the wind. Let’s just put it this way, the wind was averaging at least 20 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph. My first arrow hit the target, my second one didn’t. It was going to be a long day.

I finished off the qualification round with a 270 and a 290 for a total of 560, only a few points off my qualification score from Arizona, putting me in 18th place. Even though I was less than thrilled with my 270, I was excited about another personal best in a tournament of 290. Unfortunately, I was a little too concerned with the score and not concerned enough with how I was going to deal with the elimination rounds the next day.

My first match in the OR was against Lieren Hackbarth, I was able to win that easily with a 148 to 126. The wind was tough but I was able to manage it. Then came my second match. I was up against Nicole Rasor, this years Las Vegas Champion. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, Nicole and I were exactly the same going into the match. She was ranked 15th and I was ranked 18th. Her last match she shot a 148, my last match I shot a 148. I misread the wind and my first shot hit the 4 ring. It took me another 5 arrows to make my way into the gold, by that point I had lost nearly 24 points in one end alone. I was going to be strong though, I shot the next end really well and even managed to eek out a few 10s. My last end however did me in pretty quickly… I started telling myself I needed to shoot a near perfect end to win the match. I’ve learned since that thinking that way was one of the main reasons I lost.

Unfortunately sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way, hopefully that was one of the hardest ones I’ll have to learn this season, I try not to make too many mistakes twice. Thanks for reading. I apologize for the length!

Joy

Mark 10:27

p.s. Vic and I went on two mini trips around Florida. One was to the Keys for a two day break from shooting, I’ve included some of those pictures in the new Pixagogo gallery if you are interested. We got to see sunken treasure that was recovered by Mel Fisher at the Mel Fisher Museum, we ate sloppy joes at none other than Sloppy Joe’s, and we got to feed the HUGE tarpon at Robbie’s just before traveling over the famous 7-mile bridge. The second trip was to Naples, on the west coast of Florida, Vic and I went to visit some new friends. While he was out fishing, I was able to catch some great beach time.

Feb/March Recap 2004

THE SHORT VERSION:

Thanks to my sponsors for the continued support this past month, please keep telling people about me; I still need to raise money.

Training is going well, In the first few months of training full time I’ve shot nearly 50% of my total arrow volume for all of last year.

Two major tournaments, two major results since the last E-Newsletter! 3rd in Las Vegas, 5th out of 93 at the US Indoor Nationals.

I’ve updated my site to include a NEW!! Product Sponsor’s page, please check it out; I have featured companies who have given me discounts and/or product.

THE EXTENDED VERSION:

First and foremost, THANK YOU to my sponsors. Because without you, I wouldn’t be able to train full time and the results from the past month would not have been possible. Since the last E-newsletter, I have been able to bring in an additional $725.00, much of which came from people who heard about me from people who were already sponsors - so a special THANKS to those of you spreading the word with your t-shirts and conversations. Please continue to tell people about me, the more publicity I can get the better. I still need to raise about $8000 to have my expenses fully covered.

FEBRUARY/MARCH RECAP:

I stepped up the arrow volume in the month of February; let’s just say that in the first two months of 2004 I have shot almost 50% of my total arrow volume for all of 2003! Here is the percentage break down for February: 78% Shooting, 14% Cardio and Yoga, 8% Recovery. As far as scores go, I was able to shoot consistently above 300 at the Olympic distance with high scores in the teens and low scores just above 300. (For those of you who are just joining us, I need to be shooting in the 320-range to make the Olympic team in June).

March is going well, I am on track to shoot about the same volume as February. However, my main focus for this month is not on my score, but on some of the technical changes that Vic and I have made with my form. For those of you new to Archery, any archer will tell you that the number one thing that will improve your score is good form. So even though I was hoping to make a real appearance at the Arizona Cup (March 31st-April 4th http://www.azarchery.com/azcup2004/azcup2004.htm), I will be much more satisfied with my performance if I am able to make some headway with my new release.

LAS VEGAS WORLD INDOOR ARCHERY FESTIVAL:

February 20-22nd, I was in Las Vegas at the World Indoor Archery Festival, my first major tournament since last year’s outdoor Nationals. The second I got there, my heart started beating about 20 beats higher per minute than normal. It was as if all the sudden someone poured a vile of acid in my blood. I had never experienced anything like it and I knew instantly that I had to control my nerves if I was going to get through the weekend. At the end of Friday, I was tied for fourth place but only behind first by 3 points having shot a 277.

Saturday I had a little luck on my side – some of my biggest sponsors, Susie and Deno Spanos came to cheer me on with their friends the Duggers (see pictures). Although the nerves were still lingering, having close friends to talk with in-between shots kept me calm, allowing me to shoot a tournament personal best score of 281. It was good enough to put me in second, ahead of third by one point.

Sunday, I shot a 272 to finish off my first major tournament of the year with a third place finish. One thing I learned was that I still need some work on staying cool under pressure and not letting outcome rule my performance. My goal was to shoot to the best of my mental ability and the byproduct was that I beat some of the top US women and won $400 in prize money.

You can see the Results online by going to www.worldarcheryfestival.com, click Vegas (under tournaments on the main page), then click on results, then select 2004 for the year and RLF for division, click on Get Results and you should see my name.

US INDOOR NATIONALS:

Nationals are held over two weekends in 11 cities with roughly 1000 competitors ages 5 to 95. I chose to shoot in Boston mostly because I missed my ArcheryUSA family (Anthony Bellettini and all the kids and their parents from Team Elite www.archeryusateamelite.com) and secondly, having shot in Massachusetts last year, I was familiar with the facility. Being in Bean Town also gave me an excuse to drop by Schwab and catch up with my favorite colleagues as well as stop at Mike’s Pastry to pick up some treats for Doc, my host in Florida, who said he would rent out my room and all the stuff in it to someone else if I forgot.

Saturday, the first day of the tournament, I was on cruse control whether I liked it or not. It was one of those days where you go to put your foot on the accelerator only to find out you forgot to fill up the tank, lucky for you the gas station is only a block away and all you have to do is coast to get there. At the end of the day, I had shot two 276s back to back. Although I was pleased that I had held it together and not crashed, I went to bed knowing I had to reach in deeper and find that next level to make a bigger impression on Sunday. That night I made it a point to get a good night’s sleep and to keep my focus on a mentally strong shoot.

Sunday I found that second gear, I burst out of the starting blocks with a couple of 29s and a pair of 30s (for those of you who are confused about the scoring, each arrow is worth 10 points, there are 3 arrows per end, and 10 ends per game: 30 is a perfect score for an end and 300 is a perfect score for a game). My first game was a 284, my personal best game performance in a tournament, only 2 points shy of my all time personal best practice score of 286. My second game was a 277, leaving me with an overall personal best tournament score of 1113. Late last week the NAA published the final results online at www.usarchery.org as it turns out I finished 5th in the country out of 93 girls. Having placed 44th in 2003, I’m pretty excited about the finish, if I do say so myself!

Thanks again for tuning in – and of course for the sponsorship, I could not have gone from 44th to 5th in one year without it! Look for my Indoor Nationals post card in your mailbox soon.

Keep your dreams alive!

Joy

Mark 10:27

Jan-Feb Training 2004

First a HUGE THANK YOU to you my sponsors for making the past month and a half possible. Without your support, I would not be able to train full time, and I would not be making the progress I am making. I appreciate all the emails, letters, and phone calls. I am up to $11,706 and much of it has come in the past 6 weeks. Please continue to tell your friends about me and continue to forward this newsletter to people you think might be interested in my story. With your continued support, I will make this dream a reality.

The Weather Report:

Which would you rather hear first? That the hottest day was a sizzling 87 degrees or that the coldest day was a mere 50 degrees? I doubt you actually care if you live one bit North or West of the great state of Florida. I promise you though, I watched the East Coast weather report a couple of times just to make sure I appreciated my tan.

January/February Recap:

As you might have guessed, January was a great month for me to be in Florida soaking up the sun… just kidding! I meant to say a great month for me to train my heart out. I had a total of 49 practices, 70% of which was dedicated to shooting a total of 3,838 arrows. Twenty-three percent of my time was focused on weights and running, leaving the remaining 7% of my time to be used to recover.

In January, I rarely shot the indoor distance of 18 meters because I was mostly focused on trying to make some progress with the Olympic distance. My goal for January was to push my average up another 10 points, getting that much closer to the scores I will need to make the Olympic team. I accomplished that goal and then some by shooting an average of 284 for the month. By the end of the month, I was consistently in the mid to high 290s pushing for that 300 mark.

February proved to be an even more successful month for me. On February 9th, after being inspired by the movie Miracle a few days before, I performed a little miracle of my own – I shot a 321 at 70 meters out of 360 points. To give you an idea of what this means, let me simply say the US record is a 329. Ok, ok and only a few American women shot that high in competition last year… not one of them consistently.

My New Personal Best Score:

Here is what happened, I stepped to the line and it was amazingly calm, eerily nice out. The sun was just about to set and I told myself that I wanted to shoot 6 consecutive ends at or above 50 points to break 300. I had only done it once before and I was determined to do it again. I shot the first end, 56. Wow, great start I thought. I stepped up to the line again, 55. Sweet continuation. The third time I stepped to the line I just told myself to keep shooting the way I had been shooting, to try and remember what a great shot felt like. I shot 6 more arrows for a score of 54. On my fourth end, I had my first mini battle with my head. You might relate to this experience, even if you aren’t an archer - when you start doing something really well, better than you expect, you may naturally start questioning yourself and your ability to keep it up.

Here I was, I had just finished shooting a 165, 15 points off a perfect 18 arrow score and naturally a thought popped up in my head, “If I keep shooting like this, I just might break the national record in practice!” Within seconds of that statement I shot a 5. Oye Vey, to put it politely. I had to regroup, refocus, and conquer the doubts. If I wanted to shoot the rest of this game well, I had to forget about the National Record, I had to forget about what I was doing and just do it. My next three arrows were 10, 10, 10 – dead center. An 8 and a 7 would secure my 4th end at 50. On to the last two ends, I again re-found that feeling I was looking for and shot the arrows the way I knew I could and finished it off with a 53, 53 for a total of 321.

Tournaments:

Some people have been emailing asking how I was doing in various local tournaments in January. I continued my winning streak, going undefeated in 7 straight tournaments since October. Although none of these tournaments have included women on USAT (United States Archery Team), the competition has been good and has forced me to deal with pre-competition butterflies, pressure situations, etc. As far as specific results go, most notably, I won the Florida State Indoor Championship. I shot the entire thing in one evening, meaning I shot 120 arrows instead of 60 arrows and I didn’t sit down for a whole four hours. It was a great experience and taught me more about how to deal with unexpected surprises; such as flat light so bad you could not see the arrows in the target.

The Hog:

I promised you all riveting stories about the Fort Lauderdale Archer’s new mascot… Broadview. Broadview a.k.a Stinky a.k.a. Blackie was at first just a myth, a good story, a silly little house pig let loose to roam the wild. As days past and sightings increased, he turned into a 400lb, 4 foot tall monster that would chase grown men around the range, forcing them jump on benches to save their souls. Needless to say, having not seen the mysterious “thing,” the slightest rustle in the leaves or snap of a stick made me jump. I write my spookiness off to good practice for the Olympics when I will have to handle people yelling and sneezing as I am about to take my medal winning shot.

When we finally did catch up with the illusive Mr. Broadview, he was about as much fun to hang out with as a swarm of mosquitoes – he never left you alone and he always showed up right as you were about to start a game. Nonetheless, he was hardly the monster some had claimed; the final survey said he was only about 150lbs and sadly half the propagated size. Oddly some of the archers actually like him, I will admit he had kind of a cute nozzle. However, it didn’t take long for them to wake up and finally smell him. The bad news, for a short period of time, although I am hardly sympathetic to the beast, we all thought bulldogs had killed him when he disappeared mysteriously off the range. The good news, he actually just escaped and set off down route 441 in search of a new home, which he found when Wild Life Rescue picked him up and taxied him to the nearest sanctuary.

The Everglades:

One other note on January adventures, Vic and I spent a couple of days in the Everglades I’ve included the pictures from this trip on the website. Swamp Bill was our guide appropriately named for his knowledge of the Florida swamp. The pictures also include an airboat trip that we had with Mark and Jan Beggs. It was one of the coolest experiences ever – imagine you are floating across water at the speed of a racing boat without the wake. If I can get my video streamlined into the website, I’ll be sure to include a link in the next E-newsletter.

Stay tuned for the next E-Newsletter where I will cover upcoming events such as the World Indoor Archery Festival in Las Vegas as well as the Indoor Nationals in Andover, MA. I’ll also share some professional pictures that Giovanni Laudicina took for Vic and me to help us with publicizing our quest.

Thanks again!!! Keep your eye on the prize!

Joy

Mark 10:27

December 2003/Mid-January 2004 Training

The December Recap:

The purpose of my December training was to get refreshed for full time training. When you train full time in any sport, it is important to incorporate periodization to keep things fresh and also give your body a chance to rest. Although September is the ideal month to take time off in archery, December worked well for me as it was the one year anniversary since I started. Also, the National Outdoor Championships are over and the National Indoor Championships are still 3 months away.

December Percentage Breakdown:

Knowing that I was going into full time training in January and wanting to be ready for it, my main focus in the month of December was on archery (77%). I had a pretty good month as far as arrow volume, the additional 1800 arrows I shot allowed me to cap the year off with 26,000 arrows. Despite the relatively low cardio activity (only 5% of my training – off time comprised roughly 18% including holidays), I managed to shoot a personal best indoor score of 284 out of 300 twice. For perspective, last year a 284 average over 4 games won the indoor nationals. However, I suspect that since this year is an Olympic year, the scores will probably be higher.

Other happenings in December:

On December 30th, I had to say good-bye to the team that I have been coaching/mentoring for the past year at ArcheryUSA in Dedham, MA (www.archeryusateamelite.com). They are a really great group of kids… and behind them are exceptional parents. Working with the kids and their families is the thing that I loved the most and will miss the most about Boston. Every team night for the last three weeks, it was one surprise after another: first, they made me a cake that they all signed and managed to sneak past me, then they put together a going away basket complete with a Fitness Magazine, sunblock, snacks for the road, books, and a custom cd with songs hand-picked by the team members. They also put together a quilt that had patches that each one of them designed (see picture). Needless to say I was spoiled with love! Anthony my coach also sent me off with a beautiful Greek shooting statue and a leather-bound gold leaf journal to keep all my thoughts in as I embark on this journey.

The Move:

My job ended the afternoon of December 31st and I was on the road the morning of January 1st. Fortunately for me, my best friend from high school, Jared Craft came to the rescue again. If you don’t know about Jared, the best way for me to describe him is superman; he hears your cry for help and just shows up. So, he showed up with sleeves rolled and some new year’s cheer - before long we had most of my room emptied out and packed away.

My other saving grace was Emma Gillespie (and her parents for having faith in me that I would get her to Florida and back safely). At 9am, I picked Emma up at one of the rest stops off of the Mass Pike. With the words “Olympics or Bust” etched into the dirt on my back window and a car full of healthy snacks from Emma’s parents and unhealthy snacks from Woody Paige (one of my sponsors and a columnist featured on ESPN’s Around the Horn) – we were off.

We were making great time until about 6pm when my right tire blew up. No joke, there we were, two young girls on the side of a Virginia highway with a blown up tire. Emma, having just finished her driving school had enough sense to get us out of the car. We then sat behind it just in case an oncoming car didn’t see it – 20 minutes later thanks to the Gillespie family, AAA showed up, changed the tire and within an hour we were off again.

By mid-day January 2nd we were in Georgia, meeting up with Vic, the thermometer in my car had steadily crept up from 44 degrees in Boston to 68 degrees in Georgia. Likewise, our sweatshirts and jeans had switched to t-shirts and capri’s. About 7pm we rolled into Lighthouse Point, FL elated that we had made it and that the temperature had continued to make steady progress reading a warm 82 degrees – reports from home indicated that Boston was about 70 degrees less fortunate. Sadly for Emma, she had to go back to school on January 6th, so on the 5th I drove her to the airport and sent her safely home. I realized as I dropped her off and drove back to our host’s house that I was truly starting on a new phase in my life, she was the last tie to Boston that I had and now she was flying away. On the ride home, I played the Olympic theme song and made a commitment to myself to work harder than I had ever worked before.

The recap:

First, before I give the recap of the past two weeks, let me give thanks to Doc Brandfass for offering to house Vic and I for the next few months, as well as the Ft. Lauderdale Archery Club for arranging for us to shoot at their club (www.fortlauderdalearchers.com). These two new sponsors have really helped us out in more ways than one!

Now to the recap – remember how I said that in the month of December, I totaled 1800 arrows? Well, I kicked off the first week of training in Florida with two shooting sessions a day and a run every morning. Even I was surprised to see the total arrow amount at the end of the first week was 1200. It defiantly helps to train full time! Thank you all soooo much. Because I have raised almost $10,000, I am able to train all day long. As a result, I have already picked up about 6 points on my average and I am getting closer and closer to the scores that could put me on the Olympic team everyday.

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter:

Results from the Florida State Indoors, count down to indoor nationals… introduction to Stinky the Hog… more adventures from arrowland… and of course the weather report (I wouldn’t want to deprive you).

Thanks again to all of you who have made this possible, in the last two weeks, five more families have sponsored me for a total of $780. I will be using that amount to purchase new X-10 arrows ($300/dozen) and a new riser (can be as high as $500) so that I have an indoor bow and an outdoor bow instead of having to re-tune my bow every time I switch from indoors to outdoors. I feel very blessed!

Go for the Gold,

Joy

Mark 10:27

November Tournament E-Newsletter 2003

If you are new to Archery and want an explanation of what an Indoor Archery Competition is, go to the bottom of this post first!

2004 Indoor Season Kicks Off:

I know what you are thinking... it isn't 2004! No worries, all of the archery tournaments that start in the fall of 2003 are all for the sole purpose of building up to the 2004 US Indoor Nationals this coming March. Last year, after only 3 months of training I placed 44th out of 86 at the 2003 US Indoor Nationals. This year I'm looking to win the regional tournament and place in the top 3 on the national level.

October 17th, the 2004 season was kicked off by the Bay State Indoor Championship held at ArcheryUSA in Dedham, Ma. It was my first tournament since the Outdoor Nationals and although I was the reigning 2003 Bay State Outdoor Champion, I felt a little shaky. The advantage to doing lots of small tournaments is that you start to learn what to do and what not to do. What not to do lesson #1: Don't change arrows the day before you shoot a tournament.

BAY STATE INDOOR RESULTS OCTOBER 17th, 2003:

Although I shot well, I was 10 points below my average and was in second place after the qualification round. Mind you, I had also rowed the single in Head of The Charles that same weekend (the HOCR is the world's largest long distance rowing race in the world, held annually in Boston, Ma). Another good lesson learned, don't try to do too much in one weekend. Anyhow, I didn't stay in second for very long, during the Olympic round (similar to a tennis bracket system), I won the Gold Medal Match by coming back from a 2-point deficit after 6 arrows to win by 5 points. In a Gold Medal Match you only get 12 arrows (4 ends of 3 arrows). Whoever has the highest score wins.

HALL'S WARM-UP TOURNAMENT NOVEMBER 11TH, 2003:

The first weekend in November, I decided to take some of the kids that I coach on a road trip to Connecticut to shoot in the Hall's Warm-Up tournament. I was hoping to go head to head against National Team member, Roxanne Reinmann, however she wasn't able to shoot as she was running the tournament instead. So, with the pressure off, I beat my previous tournament's score, shooting a 272 average. There are two pictures from this tournament included in this E-Newsletter, the first is of me, Vic Wunderle (the Silver and Bronze Medalist from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia), and some of the members of my team at the tournament. The second picture is of all of us again as we stand with the Tow truck guys... by accident, I locked the keys in the car when we returned to the archery shop that night. We had a good laugh about it though as you can see from the smiles on our faces!

BAY STATE BOXER SHOOTOUT NOVEMBER 9TH, 2003:

It is what it sounds like... in order to have your score count, you must wear boxers on the extremity of your clothing. Those snoopy-raking-leaves-silk boxers must have been really lucky because I shot my personal best in a tournament at the 2004 Bay State Boxer Shootout. My first game was a 278 and my second game was a 276... a 277 average for a total of 554 points (at nationals last year, that would have put me in 6th place after the first day. Needless to say, I was thrilled...) too bad they don't allow you to wear boxers to all the tournaments!!

CTAA DUAL DISTANCE SHOOT NOVEMBER 26TH, 2003:

This was my final tournament of November... phew! On the 18 meter distance, I shot a 274 out of 300. This month was really a success performance-wise. To give you an idea of what these type of scores mean to me, all you have to do is look back at my scores from 11 months ago when I picked up a bow for the first time. In December of last year I was shooting a 229 average. So it is a great accomplishment for me to be performing consistently above a 270 (41 points higher in just one year). The dual-distance shoot also included 30 arrows shot at 25 meters... I found out very fast that my arrows are way too heavy to shoot much further than 18 meters... I only shot a 240 out of 300 on a 3-spot target. Good thing 25 meters is not longer the National distance!!

What is Indoor Archery and what do Indoor Competitions Entail?

The indoor season is a time to focus on form and fine-tuning. In case you are new to archery, Indoor tournaments are shot at a distance of 18 meters (the Olympics is shot at a distance of 70 meters). Indoor tournaments are also shot on smaller targets (40cm versus 120 cm).

Adult Recurve shooters shoot on a target called a 3-spot. It looks similar to an inverted Mickey Mouse, with two circles on the bottom and one on the top center. This type of target is used for advanced shooters for many different reasons. The first is that often, advanced shooters will hit the same spot on the target multiple times thus hitting their own arrows. In many cases, arrows can cost up to $50 an arrow, so the prospect of willingly killing your own arrows usually leaves a bitter feeling in an archer’s stomach. The second reason is that it eliminates the 5,4,3,2, and 1 point rings that you typically find on a single spot, making it a little bit more challenging because if you miss one of the targets on a 3-spot you get 0 points for that arrow.

If you are unfamiliar with how games are scored in archery, here is a brief explanation: A single spot target has 10 rings, 2 white, 2 black, 2 blue, 2 red, and 2 yellow (3-spots as I have said before only have the 6 rings). Most people have heard of the Bulls-eye. The Bulls-eye refers to the center of the target, the yellow 10 ring. As I mentioned earlier, each ring is allotted a certain point value. The center ring is worth 10 points, the second ring out is worth 9 points, the third ring out is worth 8 points, and so on... In a game, an archer shoots 30 arrows for a maximum point total of 300 points.

Indoor archery tournaments usually consist of 2 games with a 10 minute break and can take up to 4 hours to complete depending on the amount of people shooting. Archers typically get 2 minutes (40 seconds an arrow) to shoot 3 arrows, and then they walk down to the target and score. The entire act of shooting 3 arrows and then retrieving those arrows is called an end. In archery-speak, an indoor tournament consists of 60 arrows for a maximum of 600 points over 4 hours broken down into 20 ends of 3 arrows with a 40 second time allotment for each arrow. Have I lost you yet?

November Training 2003

THE BIG DECISION:

November was a busy month for me. I finally took the leap of faith and decided to train full time starting January 1st, 2004. This was a big decision for me to make because I have a great job as a Sales Trading Assistant at Schwab Capital Markets in Boston, MA and it will be hard to leave. However, if you had the opportunity to make the Olympics, wouldn't you give it your best shot?

Now that the decision has been made, I am in the process of fundraising. Thanks to you, I've been able to kick it off.

Details about where I'm training:

I will be training in Florida - I can't wait! If you are in Boston you know that just this past week we got slammed with snow. As much as I like a white Christmas, it doesn't go very well with training for the Summer Olympics.

November Training Recap:

My training for November was quite successful. I shot a 274 average out of 300 for my 18-meter indoor scores. If you are new to Archery, 18 meters is the official distance for indoor competitions. The targets are much smaller (40cm) than the targets used during the summer outdoor competitions (120 cm). The advantage to shooting indoors in the winter are numerous - first, you can practice form to your heart's desire and you have no wind to contend with, second, you don't have to walk 70 meters every time you shoot 6 arrows. However, that being said, I am more than thrilled to be shooting outdoors again in a month.

To give you an idea of what shooting a 274 means to me, let me just tell you that in December of 2002 (my first month of archery training), I was shooting a 229 average out of 300. That is a 45-point increase in my average in 11 months. My training in November focused on several different aspects, besides shooting, I was rowing on the erg, weight lifting, attending yoga, and of course taking the appropriate amount of time off to eat turkey and let my body have a rest.

Training Breakdown:

The weight-training program comprised 17% of my training last month. The program I am using was written by one of my good rowing friends, Brian Moribito. So far it is working out well. I am only doing about 5-6 exercises a week but it is relatively tough. Yoga also took up 17% of my training in November. I had read about the benefits of yoga on the FITA website (www.archery.org) and decided to give it a try. It was really hard at first, but the more I did it the more I got used to it, the easier it got. The best asset that I think yoga provides an archer is the opportunity to clear your mind for an entire 90 minutes and just breathe.

My cardio recap this month was a little poor - only 7%. Usually, I like to do an equal amount of cardio to my shooting but because of my job and the increases I made in Yoga and Weights, something had to go. However, I did manage to go out for a 6 mile row on Thanksgiving day. The water was soooo flat and the weather was soooo warm that for the first time in a long time, I can actually say I enjoyed every second of my row.

Books I read in November:

I try to read inspirational books to keep my mentality positive. This month I read "Gold in the Water" by PH Mullen. It was incredible. It is a book about the lives of top US Swimmers and their coach leading up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Although I swam in High School, you don't have to be a swimmer to enjoy this book - you just have to love the Olympics and/or the pursuit of Olympians. www.goldinthewater.com

I also read "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. There are several reasons I read this book. First, Dan Brown went to my High School, Phillips-Exeter Academy and I had the opportunity to meet him at the Exeter Annual Dinner in Boston, MA. Second, I was given the book as a present for my birthday (November 6th) from one of my dearest friends, Simone Gignoux (also an Exeter alum). So the combination of being given the book for my birthday, and then having to admit to Dan Brown that I hadn't read it, but would like him to sign it, made me feel so guilty that I finally finished it and LOVED IT!!! www.thedavincicode.com

Thanks for reading my November Training E-Newsletter!