|
|
|
|
|
Amazing Performance At Affordable Prices
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Return to the articles |
Pages: 1 2 (2) |
October, 24 2007 08:00:00 PM
One of the World\'s Best Olympic Archers
Janet Dykman of El Monte, California, was a member of three Olympic archery teams and an alternate on one Olympic team. Her Olympic appearances included 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Her best finish was with the Olympic team that finished fifth. In 1989, she was a member of the U.S. World Archery Team and competed in Switzerland. In the Olympic test tournament in 1999 at Sydney, Australia, she received a bronze team medal as a member of the women's team. In four Pan-American games she won a gold medal as a member of the women's team. In 1991, she broke the 50-meter record and received a gold medal. In 1995, she was the National Field Archery Champion and also won the National Archery Target Championship. Currently, she still competes on the California state indoor and outdoor circuits and in Traditional National Archery Tournaments. This past year, she took first place in all the divisions of Traditional Archery Tournaments.
Question: Janet, what brand of bows do you shoot?
Dykman: I shoot a Viper Deluxe longbow, and a Yamaha recurve, which is one of my favorite bows although it's no longer made.
Question: Why do you like the Yamaha recurve and the longbow as compared to compound bows?
Dykman: I've always shot Olympic-style bows. Although I've tried shooting compound bows, I've never liked them very much. When I started shooting in the Junior Olympic Program in high school, compound bows were hardly being used at all on the archery circuit. After learning to shoot for the Junior Olympic Team, I took a 12-year break from archery. When I returned to the sport, I liked and was accustomed to the Olympic style of shooting. Since I grew up shooting the recurve, and it was allowed in the Olympics, I started shooting with it once I returned to archery competitions.
Question: Do you teach or coach other archers now?
Dykman: Yes, I'm coaching a few students, and I operate a Junior Olympic Archery Development program (JOAD) through the National Archery Association in Riverside, California.
Question: How important are your Alpen binoculars and spotting scopes to you?
Dykman: They're very important. I rely more on the spotting scope than the binoculars for my personal shooting. I like the Alpen 788; this scope is known as the granddaddy. In the Olympics, we shoot 70 meters, just a bit shy of 80 yards, and you can only shoot 12 arrows. So being able to see clearly where each arrow is landing is critical. Then you'll know how to place the shot for the next arrow. We're shooting very-thin carbon arrows at that distance, and seeing them with your naked eye at that distance is almost impossible. Other people are shooting the same arrows at the same target. Since most of them are shooting the same color of nocks as I'm shooting, you can't really tell the arrows apart, even with a good pair of binoculars. I take a Sharpie permanent marker and mark the inside of my nock with black ink. Then when I look through my Alpen #788, I can see that black mark inside the nock and be able to tell the difference between my nocks and the nocks of the other archers in the competition.
Question: How big is your target at that distance?
Dykman: 122 centimeters, the ten ring is about the size of a grapefruit. If you get 7 or 8 arrows out of 12 in that ten ring, you've had a pretty-good shoot.
Question: Do you hunt at all?
Dykman: No, I'm totally a target archer. I prefer to shoot paper.
Question: How are you using the Alpen binoculars?
Dykman: I have a hook that allows me to hook these binoculars to my quiver. Then, if I don't have my scope with me, or I'm not standing at the line the contestants shoot from, I can use these binoculars to check the scoreboard to see how I'm shooting and/or how my students are shooting. I'm using my binoculars more now because I'm coaching. These binoculars are really easy to carry with me to check out my students' form from far away and to be able to coach them better after they finish competing. I like both the Alpen binoculars and scopes. I've used other brands, and they've been nice. But one thing that I've noticed particularly with one of the spotting scopes I've used, is that it's extremely heavy. Too, since 1989, I've done many international shoots. My spotting scope is so critical to my performance in national and international competitions that I always carry it on the airplane with me wherever I'm traveling. Then I can ensure that it won't get damaged before a competition. Some years ago, my carry-on held the other things I needed to take on the plane with me and that heavy spotting scope I once used. My carry-on was so heavy that I had hard time dealing with it, particularly on long flights where I'd have to change planes many times. The Alpen scopes are very light, and yet you don't give up anything as far as clarity and brightness.
I've found that the Alpen spotting scope is as good, if not better, than the more-expensive spotting scopes. Therefore if I can carry less weight and not give up clarity and brightness, I'll be foolish not to use the Alpen spotting scope instead of the heavier ones. I really appreciate Alpen reducing the weight on these really-fine scopes. Many of my students use Alpen binoculars. The most popular version of the Alpen scopes that my students seem to prefer is the 728 , which is less expensive and still has a 45-degree eyepiece. Having the 45-degree eyepiece is a real advantage, because all you have to do is lean over and see where the arrows are hitting rather than having to stoop or bend down to look in an eye piece that goes straight through the scope. Also, my students can afford to purchase this spotting scope; it's not out of their price ranges. When they're shooting at longer distances, having an affordable spotting scope gives them a real advantage over not having a quality spotting scope or having to break their savings to buy a more-expensive scope that doesn't perform any better than the Alpen scopes do.
Alpen Staff
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
