Anna Rawe, May –
When competing in a competition, it is important to make sure that you have the right etiquette for those around you. Something that I commonly see when at archery tournaments is what my teammates and I refer to as “Table Topping” your bow. It is the act of turning your bow to the side to knock your arrow. When you do this, you are crossing your bow in the archer next to your lane.
This can be very distracting for those archers next to you and can possibly throw their shot off. At a tournament hosted at my school, we had an archer turn their bow to the side to knock their arrow pretty drastically. When they did they hit another archer in the arm seconds before they released, cause the arrow to miss the target. Sometimes when you are focused on shooting you can lose sight of what is going on around you and how it can be distracting to other archers. Table topping infringes on the space allowed to the archer next to you, which could lead to numerous issues. Some as minor as inconveniencing them or as serious as causing them to release before ready, hitting their arm when releasing, or missing the target.
Instead, keep your bow straight up and down so that it stays in your lane! Next time that you are on the line make sure you are being mindful of other archers around you. Make sure you are being respectful and keeping in mind how it can affect others.
