Archery safety rules.
Archery injuries are fairly common amongst
serious archers. injuries bow wrist, bow elbow, bow shoulder,
draw/string shoulder, draw/string elbow, and draw/string wrist and some of
those more than once.
There has been very little study made of
archery-related injuries.The literature for sports injuries in general, and other sports in
particular, is much more voluminous.
Since
there is so little known about archery-related injuries I can only share what I
suspect.
These kinds of injuries are promoted by the use of poor form
and inappropriate equipment. For example and obviously, archers who are
overbowed (too much draw weight) will end up inventing some new technique to
get the string back.
Not getting your bones lined up to bear the stress of a
drawn bow means that your muscles will be invoked to “hold everything in
place.” These muscles ( the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder) are often
small and undersized for those tasks and are easy to overstress and injure.
If you feel pain while shooting … stop! Rest and
try again another day.
If
you feel sore “the next day” from an archery session, that is not unusual. If
you feel sore they day after that … you over did it. This doesn’t so much
prevent injuries but at least it provides a guide to “how much is too much
practice.” The hope is we can learn this without serious injury incurred while
getting the lesson.
Modern learning theory indicates that we learn best
in short intense sessions. So, a one-hour shooting session in the morning and
another in the afternoon is superior to a two-hour or possibly even three-hour
continuous session. But, most of us have busy lives and we have few bubbles of
spare time … and we love archery, so when we get a morning or afternoon free we
go to the range and over do it. Please realize that the Olympic-level athletes
are training six days a week: morning, noon, and night but have trained
intensely to build up the capacity to train those hours. It did not happen to
them over night. has no bearing
whatsoever whether you or your students can. Most of my injuries have come
about by having little to no regular practice and then being enticed to go and
compete which involves what? It involves shooting higher volumes of arrows with
a scoring focus which tends to blur if not block the signals that you are doing
damage to your body. This is a recipe for injuries.
safety rules and precautions
- Never point your bow at anyone, even if there’s no arrow drawn .
- Never fire the arrow high into the air as you cannot predict where it’s going to land.
- Keep your arrow aimed towards the ground as you nock it.
- You wear an arm guard.
- Never draw an arrow if there are any people between you and your target.
- Never over-draw your recurve bow (over-drawing is when you pull the string further than the actual length of your arrow). This can result in serious injury and damage to your equipment.
- If you are using wooden arrows, always check them for cracks or splintering before your shooting session.
- Make it a habit to always check the bow limbs for any damage before you start shooting
- Take off your watch and/or jewelry before you begin shooting.
- Make sure your string is waxed regularly (if unsure of how often to do it, wax the string once every 100 arrows shot)
- Finish each shooting session by un-stringing your recurve bow.
- Never dry fire your bow (pulling and releasing the string without an arrow seated) this will be dangerous to both you and your bow
- Listen carefully to commands given by your coach. If you can’t hear them, ask the coach to speak louder.
- Never run while retrieving your arrows, you could hurt yourself with an arrow lodged in the ground, or fail to stop in time and hurt yourself with the arrows lodged in the target.
- Keep standing behind the shooting line and never cross it until the instructor gives a clear command for everyone to stop shooting.
- Make sure no one is standing immediately behind you when pulling out an arrow from the target, as you could accidentally hurt them when forcefully pulling the arrow out.
- If you hear the command “HOLD,” do not shoot an arrow even if it’s already nocked and the bow is draw
- When each participant has finished shooting their arrows, they should stand back from the shooting line so the supervisor can clearly see that they have finished.
- If an arrow or part of equipment is dropped in front of the shooting line while shooting is in progress, it can only be picked up after shooting has stopped. Walk forward to collect the arrows, never run.
- Keep a eye on the ground for any arrows that may have dropped short of the target and lodged in the ground. Always withdraw the arrows in the opposite direction that they entered, so as not to bend or break the arrow.
- When withdrawing arrows from the target, make sure no one is standing in front of the target or in the way of the withdrawn arrows. Withdrawing the arrows may require some force and the arrows may come out suddenly from the target butt and the rear end of the arrow could hit someone standing in front of the target
- When carrying arrows, always hold them to the side pointing DOWN or carry in a quiver and never run.
- If any person or animal enters the safety zone while shooting is in progress, the emergency signal must be given and all shooting must stop immediately.
- Even if a bow is held at full draw and the signal is given, the arrow must not be released. The bow should be pointed at the ground and the bowstring let slowly forward. The arrow should be removed from the bow until the range is clear.
Satish Dubey
(Archery Coach)
25 oct 2017
imphal,Manipur
India
