ERIKA JONES
P&R - You have been a regular podium finisher since beginning your professional career in 2006. To what do you attribute your continuing success?
EJ - I think the experience I’ve gained over the years has helped propel me to much of my success. The more times I’m in high pressure situations, the easier it gets to handle.
P&R - How do you best describe the mental strategy you use to be the #1 ranked female compound archer?
EJ - My goal is to maintain a positive attitude and only think positive thoughts. It’s very challenging, but I try to only think about what I want to happen and not what could happen. I utilize a lot of positive mental imagery and positive self-talk.
P&R - The 2013 World Games in Cali, Columbia was a phenomenal games for you, with an individual gold, a mixed team gold and a world record for the 72 arrow round 704/720. On top of which, you have now been nominated for IWGA (International World Games Association) Athlete of the Year. (Congratulations by the way!) World Archery also awarded you with the female archer of the year award. How do you feel last year’s successes have set up or changed your approach to 2014?
EJ - Honestly, I don’t feel that my success last year has changed my approach for 2014. My goal, as always, is to keep improving myself and make more and more “good shots” during competition. To work towards this, I will keep training full-time and continue to work on my positive mental approach.
P&R - It seems social media is no longer for teenagers and college students to fill in time during lectures, class or Sunday nights. It has become one of the fastest and most evolving mediums to communicate with legions of people all sharing a common interest. How important is it to you and your sponsors to be actively involved in platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc.?
EJ - Archery is growing at a historic rate. As such, social media is getting more and more important for myself and my sponsors. This is a crucial time to capitalize on all the media attention and continue to bring more and more people into the sport. Facebook and Twitter, especially, are great ways to promote the sport and keep archery at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
P&R - The guys at Bow Junky have really started to bring together the professional archer and the fan with the introductions of the Pro Reality series and podcasts. How far and where do you see this type of media involvement taking the sport of archery? And what direction would like to see it move?
EJ - BowJunky is doing a great job promoting the sport. I definitely think that this is the kind of attention archery needs to move it forward and into the 21st century. The sponsors and fans want to see live results and interviews from the biggest competitions. The fans want to feel like they’re there and like they know the professional archers who climb on the podiums. Giving the fans an outlet to learn from, and about, their favorite pros can only be beneficial for the sport.
P&R - The atmosphere at the finals of Stage 3 in Telford, UK seemed fit for Aerosmith and Pearl Jam rather than an archery competition. Do you believe this modernisation and rock star focus on archers will help attract non-endemic sponsors and add growth to the sport?
EJ - Of course! The kind of modernization that was displayed at the finals in Telford is exactly what our sport needs to grow and attract non-endemic sponsors. In order to get to the next level and become more mainstream, archery needs to create big shows and give its biggest names “rock star” quality, just as other sports have done with their superstars. The biggest thing that has gotten kids involved with basketball or baseball is wanting to be like Michael Jordan or Derek Jeter, for example.
P&R - It seems like after every Olympic year the debate arises when will the compound discipline be included the games. Do you feel compound has or will ever have a place in the Olympics?
EJ - I definitely feel that compound archery should have a place in the Olympics. The best way to get it included, in my opinion, is to make the format completely different from the recurve format (i.e., even more so than 50m versus 70m). I think that using field archery or some other form with exploding targets and decreasing dot sizes, for example, would make compound archery completely different and give it the best chance of being included in the Olympics.
P&R - As a female archer who started their career as young girl, what advice or guidance can you provide to the hundreds of young girls, they are joining clubs and leagues each and every week?
EJ - I would tell young girls who are getting into the sport to embrace the challenge. Even though the majority of archers are men, women are slowly, but surely, carving their own place in the sport. Being different is fun because we get to feel special and be more than just another face in the crowd. It can be difficult at times to be a woman in a “man’s world,” but I encourage young girls to not be swayed by the stereotypes and dare to be different.
Hi Erika,
Photo: World Archery