A bow is a bow is a bow

Or is it? At the Paralympic Games that just started the very high-tech 20th Century compound bow as well as the more traditional recurve bow are used in competition, but at the main Olympic Games however, only recurve bows may be used.
Archery was an Olympic event for the first time in Paris in 1900, again in 1904, 1908 and 1920. It did not feature as an Olympic event again until 1972 when it was reintroduced in Munich. Since then it has remained on the programme and has become one of the highlights of the Olympic Games.
Archery dates back about ten thousand years when bows and arrows were used for hunting and warfare.  The traditional longbow had a straight limb and was quick and easy to make from one piece of wood. Even though it was as tall as the person shooting it, it was light and could easily be prepared for shooting and also made very little noise.  The longbow was famously used in the hundred year medieval wars in the 14th and 15th centuries between England and France. It is still used for traditional competition shooting today and is considered amongst archers to be the noblest of all bows.
The recurve bow was created to use in situations where it was too cumbersome to use a long weapon, for instance in a forest or on horseback.  The recurve is curved at the limb-ends away from the archer and because of its shape and size, creates more energy to make it a faster shooting weapon. Today’s recurves and arrows are highly technical pieces of equipment made of carbon fibre and aluminum, balanced to perfection to create the most energy, accuracy and speed to cover the 70m Olympic and Paralympic target distance.
Compound bows are the exact opposite of recurves in that they are intricate systems of multiple strings and pulleys that make them more accurate with greater velocity and distance.  These bows are widely used in various international competitions, and are most commonly used for hunting.
Even though South Africa does not have a paralympic archery team, 62 athletes will be competing in the Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in seven different sporting events, namely athletics, cycling, equestrian, rowing, swimming, wheelchair basketball (see page 1) and wheelchair tennis. For advice on bowhunting and archery contact JC Botha at 082 448 5723.