Hong Kong – 20 and 21 of July, Star Shoot:
Bruna Pickler left Hong Kong in July after her second attendance at Interport Indoor Archery Open Hong Kong Competition (Star Shoot) with great performance and optimistic thoughts
This is the second consecutive year that Bruna Pickler competes in 18 meters category (Recurve Bow) shoot on an international archery competition.
“Last year it was my first time competing on an international setting, and I had no expectations back then, but this year my goal was to show a minimum of improvement. I just didn’t expect that the interest would have risen so much. It made things a little bit different, to have an increased number of competitors. As I do not have so much experience on competitions, it became a bigger challenge than what I was expecting if compared to last year.”
In 2019, there were 24 entries on women’s recurve bow category, against 17 entries in 2018. It may make no apparent difference, but in a sport like archery, details get magnified. In fact, the smallest of mistakes can make a big difference between ‘firing’ an arrow, or completely blowing it away.
“This time I had brought my own equipment. I spent nearly the whole year training with it. The most solid part, my raiser, is imported from France and it’s made of carbon fiber. At the same time it is lighter than the one I had borrowed last year, it is quite dangerous (laugh). ‘Leopoldina’ (my bow’s proper name) is very sharp, and if I am not careful, she leaves my hand in flesh. Not so much on precision, yet, as those where the very last pieces I have imported, (I had literally no time to train with a sight, as it arrived from China only a week prior to the event, leaving me no time to get acquainted with). I may not have had the proper time to adjust the sight with the precision required for the difference between three targets.”
Bruna has gained later in the year 2018, the recognition from U.S.A. Archery Association as a Level One Instructor. This investment was solely for future plans, as the difficult test guarantees the archer’s ability to teach beginners from the day it is issued, up to three years later. “And despite what most people think when they see me playing, or on social media, I do not have my own class for archery, even though I have had a few mentees in the past, it was never the reason why I went looking for it. I just wanted the certificate to have some more rigorous and skilled knowledge on the sport and techniques. So, together with the knowledge, came the ability to regulate my own time needed for free practice in the archery range, which was my biggest complaint since day one in this sport. God bless America. (laughs) This asset became the only reason as to why I have the smallest of competitive advantage, if any.”
For the newcomers into the art of this sport, there is a whole day of shooting on Saturday, to score enough points to qualify. Then all the scores go back to zero, and the knock-out takes place on Sunday, where the archer with the highest score, plays against the archer with the lowest score, and so on. “That is why it is so important to be good on Saturday. If you have a good qualifying on Saturday, there is not much you need to do on Sunday, but to repeat all the steps you had on the day before.”
2019 results
“Regarding the results in 2019 Interport Indoor Archery Open Hong Kong , there was a slight improve on my overall score. What I need to be mindful of, in order to improve my training and per extension my results in other competitions, is that I train every week outdoors, on the beautiful range we have inside University of Macau campus. And so there is a huge difference between being inside the constrained space of an indoor shooting, versus a whole 1 km arena under Macanese mid-day sunshine at nearly 40 Celcius degrees. For instance, some pieces shrank during the indoor practice. The same items that were probably dilating everyday I shot under the Sun and for so getting tighter, were starting to dismantle by themselves after the indoor practice section. I wouldn’t have figure this out if it wasn’t for this whole 2 days experience. The only way I know it happened, is because when I went to dissemble my bow on Saturday after Qualifying section I realized how lose the pieces were. I guess that I need to learn to cope with the air conditioning on its max. Also, the lack of space between opponents in Hong Kong is another variable. The spaces keep getting smaller, but in an unhealthy sense. We need space to twist our bows. That is just the way it is. And trying to tight two people in less than 1 meter square just not account for any good. It is an odd regulation, for instance, if you are lucky to be the one on the left side, you can freely twist your bow to your left and not hit anyone. But that is not the same for the person who needs to stand on the right. As I do not have much experience on international competitions, I do not know what to say. Just that I learned it is not a sport that favors equality of conditions from the starting point.”
These are all small adjustments Bruna Pickler will need to be mindful of during the coming training sections in order to improve in the future. By placing both year’s results in perspective and in contrast with the quantity of opponents, you will find nearly the same result.
B. Pickler finished 17th this year out of 24 women, against a result of 9th runner up out of 15 women in 2018.
“There was not much of a rise, and there was definitely not a drop on the graphic, but I did have a lot of self improvement, and that will be converted into even better results in the near future. I owe that to all my fans and family who always shown me support.”
Click here for full results report
Extra photos of the weekend here: (and yes, I need a queen size bed for myself when in China, and the giant tables set of veggies made it easier for me to make my vegan meal tofu based — the sauce in the hot pot is of tomatoes!)
CriaMacau™ 