Archery at the Lake: Get Your Katniss On!

June 21, 2016

Thanks to television’s Game of Thrones and movies like the Hunger Games, archery is hot, hot, hot. Boys, girls, men and women are flocking to the sport to flex their bows and sling their arrows.

Photo Credit: Lionsgate Entertainment

But if you’re not Anguy or Katniss Everdeen, how hard is it?

Kevin Lewis owner and lead instructor at the Youth Archery Academy of Aurora said it’s actually really easy. “Most people pick it up quickly and can get proficient at short distances. Pretty much anyone can do it.”

How Archery Makes You Body-Aware

The biggest struggle new archers have is the “anchor point.”

“People watch the movies and hold their bow chest-level one time and ear-level the next, which means you’re changing how high the arrow’s going to go,” Lewis said. “We reinforce a consistent anchor by having them touch their finger to the side of their mouths every time.”

Once they get that down, he said, aiming is simple.

Archery is less about upper body strength and more about body awareness.

“Bows come in all sorts of draw weights,” Lewis said. “We train kids as young as 7-years old with a 16-pound bow. It’s more about coordination.”

If you’re an archery novice, avoid super cheap starter sets, which are fine for playing around in the backyard, but are more toys than sporting equipment.

“If you’re the kind of person who has to be somewhat successful to enjoy the sport,” he said, “spend a minimum of $120 on a quality beginner, entry-level bow.”

Ready to Learn Archery?

Lewis will be teaching a step-by-step Outdoor Family Archery class from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, July 17. He’ll provide all the encouragement, bows and arrows you need to learn the basics.

“We spend the first 20 minutes on teaching, then we have fun with it,” he said.

If you have your own equipment, the Aurora Reservoir Archery Range has 16 targets placed from 15 to 65 yards away for practice. If you don’t have your own equipment, check ebay, craigslist.org and used sporting-goods stores.

For a $10 reservoir entrance fee, you can perfect your stance and your shooting technique and Facebook the results!

Outdoor Family Archery Class, Sunday, July 17, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon

Meet at Beck Recreation Center, 800 Telluride St., Aurora. Phone: 303-739-6888. $27/residents, $32/non-residents – No experience necessary. Register at: https://apm.activecommunities.com/cityofaurora/Home