As he stretches back his bow string, Sophomore Nathan Chiu draws a deep breath and releases his arrow to let it fly through the idle target lying yards away.
Chiu is part of the Pasadena Roving Archers, a non-profit organization welcome to anyone interested in archery. Chiu first discovered his passion for the sport in 2014 during a family retreat and has been pursuing competitive archery ever since.
“I have tried several other sports, none of which I have genuinely pursued,” Chiu said. “This sport caught my interest because of its mentally challenging aspect. I also like the fact that archery is mostly an individual sport, where the outcome is based solely on the archer’s focus.”
With his PRA membership, coaches and training teams mentor Chiu for upcoming tournaments. He returns to the shooting range three times a week, mainly practicing aim and form continuously for two to three hours.
In a recent competition in Van Nuys, Chiu placed second within his age division. He also plans to enter national and international competitions within upcoming years.
“My first competition was a local competition which was more of an introduction to competitive archery and I didn’t do that well,” Chiu said. “However, after my parents and I found a coach, I was able to sharpen my skills for future competitions.”
Despite nearly two years of archery, Chiu has already experienced several misunderstandings people have about the sport stemming from Hollywood.
“There are plenty of misconceptions about archery mostly from movie characters like Katniss Everdeen, and even Robin Hood,” Chiu said. “Even though I don’t shoot flaming arrows or hunt, archery is a surreal sport nonetheless.”
TCHS School Newspaper