Revisiting elite archery 20 years on - edited

On Sunday I went to the Olympics - womens team event at Lord's. I cycled there, very stubbornly, through a rain shower. Took about an hour all round, including getting knocked off my bike by a black cab on Marlebone road (don't ask).

Met thorngroveok and got screened etc and found our seats. We were in the Korean cheering section, it appeared.

Thank goodness for cheap binoculars; I could see the archers form beautifully, and was looking at them while most people were focused on the target (well, the TV screen showing the target). There was a lot of really beautiful form on display; the women are remarkably uniform in their form, and only one woman (from US) really stood out looking like she had pursued a different style.

She must be able to produce the scores on demand though, otherwise she wouldn't be there.

The rain came just as the second round of matched competition was starting - truly, the women stepped up to the line, and the skies opened with cold heavy water. The spectators groaned and scrambled to get under wraps, but the archers had no such option. There was no time to get another layer on, so they just had to shoot as they were.

This single-elim match with scores and targets visible on the big screen is a world away from my experience of competitive archery. 

I ached for the archers: 2 mins for three people to shoot six arrows, one at a time. So effectively you each have 20 seconds to take your place on the line, prepare, and shoot...1 arrow, alternating with your teammates, for a total of two. Sounds like lots, except that I used to take up to 2 minutes to shoot three arrows, all by myself, without having to step on and off the line.

After four ends, your 8 arrows contribute to a score that determines whether you and your team advance or fail. After many years of training, preparation, dozens of events attended...those 8 arrows per round are all that you get to prove yourself. 

The round has been designed to focus the most presssure possible on individual athletes, and very few arrows determine who wins the tournament. 

At this stage, there are no duffers, and no 'lucky' shooters - these are all elite athletes who had to qualify nationally and regionally to attend. But even they can be unprepared for the experience of shooting in front of 5000 spectators, whipped up by commentators, with someone commenting on every arrow. And it showed. 

When this round was first suggested in the 1990s, I was gobsmacked. The round that was being shot at the time, at 1986 worlds and 88 Olympics onward, was already a departure from traditional tournament formats, a concession to the TV cameras and schedules, with elimination rounds. This 70m shootoff seemed a monstrosity. 

I can see the appeal, at least to clueless spectators who are used to elimination rounds and watching events like Wimbledon. It's simple; the winner is easy to spot; it's fast; it lends itself to the TV screen. 

It has very little to do, unfortunately, with how most archers spend their days and years practicing. Very few people practice in front a stadium full of people; most days, you shoot by yourself, or with a handful of friends and club mates. 

I ached for them that were there, because they seemed a lot less like athletes and much more like performers, sharpshooters at a wild west show or a circus act.  Even if I'd wanted to keep competing, I don't know if I would have wanted to take part in this display.

The individual round isn't much better - after the ranking round, 24 arrows per match against another archer.

The populist and participation-focused person in me thinks: is this really the best way to encourage new archers to aspire to excellence? Become good enough for national team, travel the world to shoot...15 arrows in a shootoff? total of 60  if you're lucky?

I realise lots of sports do this - they have heats in track and swimming, and you might not make it to the finals.

But there's no shortage of runners and swimmers in most countries - sheer numbers oblige you to have preliminary elimination rounds. It's also part of the game from the outset; even 10 year olds compete in heats.

Archers may only do this matched elimination at the elite level - a world away from the community and training that first inspired and nurtured their interest.

So: I had very mixed feelings in the end. Glad I'd attended to see it, but sad that something I loved has been so mucked about with for the sake of airtime on TV. 

ETA: corrected number of arrows shot in individual shoot-off matches. I thought it was 24 arrows (4 ends of 6), it's actually as little as 3 ends of 3, up to 5 ends of 3...then a single-arrow shoot-off as tie breaker if needed.