Paper&Rubber Magazine / April, 2013 9
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.
"Archery is growing at a historic rate"
Paper&Rubber talk to the World's #1 Ranked Female Archer
Photo: World Archery