Physical Distancing on the Range
It has been a long while since many of us were last able to pick up a bow. After changing our way of life as a nation, returning to business as usual will be a relief! Plenty of archers are itching to get back on the range because, as we all know, archery is fun, familiar, and (most of all) social in a team setting. However, going forward, we cannot ignore the fact that “normal” must be adapted to align with physical distancing guidelines in order to keep everyone safe. Luckily, physical distancing has been historically practiced in archery, even on a team! Let’s dive into some of the ways we can promote safety and wellness in archery.
Some areas of range etiquette can be modified to make archery an even safer sport for all in practice and competition, beginning with spacing your targets. By placing your targets six (6) feet apart, from target center to center, one can ensure that, with one archer per target, physical distancing guidelines can be maintained. This way archers are only touching their own arrows when retrieving. However, remind your archers to sanitize their hands after pulling their arrows as the target faces have likely been touched by others.
Another way to tackle decreasing the spread of germs and bacteria in archery classes and clubs is to assign equipment to each archer on your team. The archers can be responsible for sanitizing their own equipment before and after use by cleaning risers and strings with disinfectant wipes. If your team has more archers than bows, you can consider splitting up your practices:
Half can shoot earlier on in the week and the other half can shoot later on. The archers who aren’t shooting on either day can dedicate that time to stretch band work and archery workouts.
Half of your class can shoot earlier on in the practice while the other half do stretch band work, then switch all in the same day!
Bows can be sanitized between the tradeoff from one archer to the next. Arm guards and finger tabs can be delegated to each archer to further decrease the spread of germs.
Now, to address the elephant in the room. Archery in a team setting is highly social, there’s no way around that, so this is another opportunity to adapt! We don’t have to give up that which makes this sport so much fun to stay safe. In lieu of a team handshake, huddle, or high-five after matches, give the Wuhan Foot-Shake a try to keep up morale! Check out the video below, it’s pretty trendy!
A team chant is another fun way to show some team spirit while maintaining physical distancing! Get creative and don’t forget to share what you and your team come up with on social media and tag #oasarchery!
As always, remind your archers to regularly practice good hygiene by keeping their hands washed and away from their faces at all times; if anyone is sick, make sure they know to stay home until they have recovered to ensure the safety and wellness of others.
If you have any other ideas for participating in archery with safe distancing, feel free to share them with us by emailing the OAS League Administrator at ahamilton@esdf.org! Stay safe, positive, and healthy!