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Twenty-seven of the best barebow field archers from around the globe have qualified for the 2009 World Games.
Only four of the qualifiers are from the United States, but two of the Americans who will be taking aim in Kaoshiung, Taiwan are from right here in western Nevada County.
Becky Nelson-Harris and Mark Applegate, who both are regularly found shooting their barebows at the Nevada County Sportsmen's Club in Nevada City, will take their shot at the World Games July 25-26.
“It's like our Olympics,” said Nelson-Harris, who will join Applegate at Thursday's opening ceremonies as a member of Team USA. “We just want to be part of it and go see some of the other sports.”
Nelson-Harris, who qualified for the World Games by winning gold at the World Field Championship in Wales last September, is one of 11 women who will compete in the barebow competition.
“Anyone really is good enough to win it, although some might not be quite as good as some of the others,” said Nelson-Harris, a 55-year-old Lake of the Pines resident. “But the skills are pretty darn close and if you have good couple of days, you're the one.”
Applegate, a 53-year-old Grass Valley native and nearly a 15-year veteran in field archery, said he's planning on being the one among 16 competitors to take the gold from his barebow division.
Though he's competed in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Australia, Croatia, Sweden and Wales, Applegate said he doesn't typically set a performance goal for himself. But this time he has.
“I've never really set goals before,” he said. “This time, though, I plan to bring back the gold. It's just something where this year everything seems to be going well.
“And it's probably the only time I'll go to the World Games.”
Applegate, who played football, ran track and wrestled for Nevada Union in high school days, said once he got started in archery during the '90s the drive to compete kept him interested. Although he has noticed that while he prepared for his prep performances by getting pumped up before taking the field, now his pre-game ritual is pretty much 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
“The competition part is all the same,” said Applegate, who was a member of the 2006 U.S. team that brought gold back from the World Field Archery Championships in Sweden. “You're competing and that's what drives me.
“But now I'm trying to calm myself, which is the totally opposite of what I was used to. And when I first started shooting, I found that to be a real problem.”
He's figured it out, though. While he was shooting for that team gold in '06, he had not missed a single target as he approached the final round.
“I was perfect until that last target, but I didn't think about it until the last target,” he said. “Even though we had already won, I got so nervous on that last arrow. All of the sudden it dawned on me that I hadn't missed, which was probably the worst thing I could have done.”
He missed the shot, but still won the gold.
Nelson-Harris said even though she had wrapped up her World title last fall before the end of her round, she was so consumed by the moment that she didn't allow herself to think about anything but the matter immediately at hand.
“You just stay so focused on your own shot,” she said. “It's the mental aspect of the game that's the difference.”
The fact that both Applegate and Nelson-Harris compete in barebow, which offers the archers no sights, might require more focus than in other disciplines. The first of three arrows at each target is the key, providing instant feedback for the slightest change to the placement of the next on the string.
“We shot off the tip of the arrow,” Applegate said. “We're wanting to put the tip of the arrow on the spot.”
Both began competing with compound bows, but eventually ended up with their “high-tech throwbacks.” Nelson-Harris said Applegate was largely responsible for her conversion.
“Mark saw me down here and said I really should shoot a recurve,” she said. “He kind of got me into it. So it's his fault and I'm happy to blame him.”
Nelson-Harris, who picked up the sport after growing tired of sitting on the sidelines while her sons competed, said she and Applegate have helped motivate each other into becoming two of the four Americans competing in barebow at the World Games.
“You know why? Probably because we shoot together,” she said. “Mark is very smart and has been doing this since '96, so I've learned a lot. We both have learned a lot, by helping each other to keep improving. You know, we challenge each other.”
For more information on the World Games, visit the Web site www.WorldGames2009.tw.
---
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4240.
Only four of the qualifiers are from the United States, but two of the Americans who will be taking aim in Kaoshiung, Taiwan are from right here in western Nevada County.
Becky Nelson-Harris and Mark Applegate, who both are regularly found shooting their barebows at the Nevada County Sportsmen's Club in Nevada City, will take their shot at the World Games July 25-26.
“It's like our Olympics,” said Nelson-Harris, who will join Applegate at Thursday's opening ceremonies as a member of Team USA. “We just want to be part of it and go see some of the other sports.”
Nelson-Harris, who qualified for the World Games by winning gold at the World Field Championship in Wales last September, is one of 11 women who will compete in the barebow competition.
“Anyone really is good enough to win it, although some might not be quite as good as some of the others,” said Nelson-Harris, a 55-year-old Lake of the Pines resident. “But the skills are pretty darn close and if you have good couple of days, you're the one.”
Applegate, a 53-year-old Grass Valley native and nearly a 15-year veteran in field archery, said he's planning on being the one among 16 competitors to take the gold from his barebow division.
Though he's competed in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Australia, Croatia, Sweden and Wales, Applegate said he doesn't typically set a performance goal for himself. But this time he has.
“I've never really set goals before,” he said. “This time, though, I plan to bring back the gold. It's just something where this year everything seems to be going well.
“And it's probably the only time I'll go to the World Games.”
Applegate, who played football, ran track and wrestled for Nevada Union in high school days, said once he got started in archery during the '90s the drive to compete kept him interested. Although he has noticed that while he prepared for his prep performances by getting pumped up before taking the field, now his pre-game ritual is pretty much 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
“The competition part is all the same,” said Applegate, who was a member of the 2006 U.S. team that brought gold back from the World Field Archery Championships in Sweden. “You're competing and that's what drives me.
“But now I'm trying to calm myself, which is the totally opposite of what I was used to. And when I first started shooting, I found that to be a real problem.”
He's figured it out, though. While he was shooting for that team gold in '06, he had not missed a single target as he approached the final round.
“I was perfect until that last target, but I didn't think about it until the last target,” he said. “Even though we had already won, I got so nervous on that last arrow. All of the sudden it dawned on me that I hadn't missed, which was probably the worst thing I could have done.”
He missed the shot, but still won the gold.
Nelson-Harris said even though she had wrapped up her World title last fall before the end of her round, she was so consumed by the moment that she didn't allow herself to think about anything but the matter immediately at hand.
“You just stay so focused on your own shot,” she said. “It's the mental aspect of the game that's the difference.”
The fact that both Applegate and Nelson-Harris compete in barebow, which offers the archers no sights, might require more focus than in other disciplines. The first of three arrows at each target is the key, providing instant feedback for the slightest change to the placement of the next on the string.
“We shot off the tip of the arrow,” Applegate said. “We're wanting to put the tip of the arrow on the spot.”
Both began competing with compound bows, but eventually ended up with their “high-tech throwbacks.” Nelson-Harris said Applegate was largely responsible for her conversion.
“Mark saw me down here and said I really should shoot a recurve,” she said. “He kind of got me into it. So it's his fault and I'm happy to blame him.”
Nelson-Harris, who picked up the sport after growing tired of sitting on the sidelines while her sons competed, said she and Applegate have helped motivate each other into becoming two of the four Americans competing in barebow at the World Games.
“You know why? Probably because we shoot together,” she said. “Mark is very smart and has been doing this since '96, so I've learned a lot. We both have learned a lot, by helping each other to keep improving. You know, we challenge each other.”
For more information on the World Games, visit the Web site www.WorldGames2009.tw.
---
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4240.
