ABSTRACT
Archery is an olympic sport with an international following at local club level. The equipment combines features recognisable from their asian, european and american roots with modern composite materials and lightweight alloys. The quality and setting up of the equipment is important enough to be a significant factor in the archer’s performance for all except the very beginner. The understanding of the mechanics of equipment and set up is still at the pre-scientific level amongst archers in general, and amongst manufacturers and suppliers of such equipment in the UK. This paper outlines the basic mechanics of the shot. The bow as an energy storage and conversion system is described, and factors determining efficiency and stability are identified. Methods for studying the static and dynamic aspects of the variable geometry of the bow limb in draw and shot are proposed.
