Naomi and I had front row seats for the Lancaster Classic barebow finals. The Lancaster Classic barebow final videos on YouTube are extremely popular with the barebow community. The live experience is very different—the energy in the room from the crowd is infectious. Archers have commented on how stressful shooting is on the elevated platforms with hot lights, moving cameras, changing video monitors, and energetic crowds. This image is from the start of the women’s barebow finals with Fawn Girard and Kristine Pruccoli. The 18 meters or 60 feet to the 40 cm targets seem much further under these lights.

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Between the elimination rounds on Saturday morning and the finals that night, archers have a long wait. The barebow archers John Demmer III of the US, Micheal Fisher of Australia, and Kristina Pruccoli of the US and San Marino practice for the upcoming matches. Lancaster follows the World Archery rules for indoor. Archers shoot a 40 cm diameter target at 18 meters. The gold, the 9 and 10 rings, is 8 cm in diameter. In barebow archery, there are no sights; archers use the tip of the arrow to aim and position on the sting they grip to change distance. Click on the image for a larger view.

Barebow archers are a passionate and supportive group. We are also pretty unique. This barebow archer is photographing the competitors finishing the elimination rounds with Nikon and Leica film cameras. A barebow is an Olympic recurve without sights, stabilizers, and a clicker: an example of one can be seen in the foreground. Click on the image for a larger view.

The main hall is used for two days of qualifications on Thursday and Friday and then the head-to-head elimination rounds on Saturday. This image is right after the barebow women elimination rounds and just before the final elimination rounds for the men. The four archers seated at the foreground  are the Swedish barebow archers Erik Jonsson and Lina Björklund and the Italian barebow archers Cinzia Noziglia and Daniele Bellotti. They are speaking with Vittorio Frangilli, the manufacturer and designer of Gillo bows. Click on the image for a larger view.

Naomi and I have just returned from participating in the Lancaster Archery Classic. Lancaster, as it is known, is the largest archery tournament on the East Coast with 1,940 archers participating this year. It is also one of the largest tournaments for barebow archery, our discipline. This image is of one of three practice ranges archers can use to warm up and prepare for the competition. Spooky Nook Sports Center is a massive facility and was hosting more than this tournament; lacrosse, volleyball, and indoor soccer matches were being played beyond this practice range. Click on the image for a larger view.