Danelle Wentzel (TuksArchery) hopes to win a third medal in the Indoor Archery World Cup-series when she competes in Las Vegas from today. The World Cup Final competition takes place tomorrow.
Last year at the World Cup in Marrakesh she won the women’s compound bow competition and in Bangkok she finished third.
The 22-year-old Wentzel is quite confident in her ability to add another medal to her growing collection, but she is also realistic.
“Archery is a very unpredictable sport. On any given day any archer who has a good mind set can win. Archery is very much like golf if you are in a mentally bad space or have just a little doubt in your abilities you are going to miss hitting the bull.
“When you compete you have to remind yourself to relax and have fun. If you feel sad or upset you need to take a few deep breaths, and refocus on your form and a positive attitude. It is also important to visualize your shots going well,” explains the TuksArcher.
“The one thing every archer tries to abide by is the principle that patience is a virtue.”
Today, 10 February, Wentzel will be competing in the Vegas Shoot. It is a world-class indoor archery tournament that attracts novice archers as well as Olympians from around the world for an intense three-day competition. There will be approximately 3 400 archers competing thus making it one of the biggest competitions.
The top 16 archers in the elite men’s and women’s recurve and compound bow competitions will go through to the World Cup Final.
If she manages to keep her cool Wentzel is confident about getting a top ten finish in the Vegas Shoot’s compound bow competition. In tomorrow’s final she is aiming for a top three finish.
When asked to explain the difference between recurve bow and the compound bow Wentzel said:
“The unqualified phrase "recurve bow" or just "a recurve" in modern archery circles usually refers to a typical modern recurve bow, as used by archers in the Olympics and many other competitive events.
“A compound is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs. The limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow.”
Wentzel who studies Sport and Recreational Management at the University of Pretoria describes herself as being one whom loves being active.
“While at school I participated in various sports but never with any real success. I was at best average, but things changed when I got my first bow. It took some convincing before my parents allowed me to start shooting competitively. I did not do that well in my first competition but that did not matter. I was hooked on archery.”
Wentzel trains six days a week shooting anything from 60 to 200 arrows during a session. Her long term goal is to try and master the finer techniques of recurve bow shooting.
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