Archery

Having started with that line, though, that isn't to say that certain folks aren't just born with a certain special facility for firing arrows. Take Kim Soo-Nyung, a wily South Korean who hit the bull's eye early on - at 17, she won gold medals in both individual and team archery events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She retired at age 21 before being lured back to compete in the 2000 Games.

What was this pull - this ‘lure of the bow' - Kim couldn't combat? There is the lively anxiety in the aiming, the irreversibility of the flight, and appreciation in shooting something. Add to archery the serious-looking equipment (the Olympian archer is kitted out with fibreglass-coated recurve bow, aluminium and carbon graphite arrows and a bucket hat) and one is able to better understand why archery is great fun for so many people. No matter how young Soo-Nyung won gold, practise.

Where to do it

Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre Bennelong Pkwy, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay 2127.
Sydney Bowmen Moverley Rd, Latham Park, Coogee 2034. (02 8356 9176)
The Sydney University Archery Club St. Paul's College Oval, The University of Sydney 2006.
Penrith City Archers Inc. Troy Adams Archery Field, Werrington Rd, Werrington 2747. (02 9585 0898)
Ku-ring-gai Bowmen Edenborough Park, Edenborough Rd, Lindfield 2070. ().   
Camden and District Archery Club University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown Campus, Campbelltown 2560. (02 4655 8886)

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