FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE

There are around 30 barebow archers in Russia today. But why are the numbers so low compared with the US or Europe? To help me explore in more detail, I have interviewed a number of archers from the barebow community, and have spoken to leading coaches from the former USSR in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. I aim to highlight what the archers and coaches themselves talk about, to give a good overview of the community. It was particularly interesting for me to find out what the coaches with a long-standing tradition and respect for Olympic recurve think of barebow and its specificities: where do they place it on the archery scene today and where do they see it in the future? I questioned barebow’s place in the ‘traditional’ archery scene, and looked at a wider sporting culture, including the legacy the USSR has left on the sport.

SPORTING CULTURE: SOVIET LEGACY

The most reasonable explanation for the relatively slow development of barebow in Russia is a function of the sporting culture and its practices, many of which have continued from the USSR. Much like Korea, Russia has developed (and maintains) a strong tradition of classic Olympic recurve and has many structured junior/adult sports club systems and learning paths in place.

The first introduction of archery as a sport in Russia took place in July 1957 at the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. The first archery clubs began to spring up in November that same year. In 1959, archery became an official sport, the Russian Archery Federation was established and took its rightful place in