10 interesting facts about Archery you probably didn't know about

Archery has been a part of humanity for over 400 centuries. It has been used for hunting, warfare, sport and recreation. Lets put on our history caps on and explore some interesting facts that you probabley didn't know about archery.

1. The term 'Archery' comes from the Latin word 'Arcus' which means Bow.

2. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan. The sport is so important to the Bhutanese that most towns and villages in the country have an archery range.

3. The bow and arrow was used as a weapon of war by many civilisations for many centuries. One of the best known civilisations to adobt the bow and arrow for military purposes were the English and their Longbow. Probably the greatest war victory for English Longbowmen was at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 where 7000 English longbowmen and 1500 men-at-arm soldiers defeated around 30,000 French soldiers.

4. Archery became an Olympic sport during the 1900 games and live pigeons were used as targets. Archery was dropped as an Olympic sport in 1924 and didn't reappear again on the Olympic scene until 1972.

5. King James II in 1457 banned the early forms of golf and football in Scotland in an attempt to encourage men to practice their archery skills.

6. The term 'Robin Hooding' refers to when an arrow is shot and splits another arrow.

7. The first carbon fibre arrows were made in the early 1980s. They were however very expensive and not reliable. Many archery ranges didn't even allow them to be used on their facilities. It wasn't until the 1990s when carbon arrows started to have 'realistic' prices. Today, carbon arrows are the most used type of arrow.

8. Archery became regarded as a sport during the 19th century in Britain and was played by people of the upper classes. The popularity of archery was reduced due to the rise of other sports such as tennis and croquet.

9. South Korea has the most Olympic gold medals in archery than any other nation.

10. The compound bow was developed in 1966 by Holless Wilbur Allen in the United States.