McALESTER — The Southern Plains Traditional Archery Tournament will take this Saturday and Sunday at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant campgrounds. Archers will have 25 arrows to hit as many three-dimensional targets on the 25-target course as possible, and the top five shooters in each age group will move on to a three-arrow shoot-off for the championship belt buckle that will be open to the public. Registration will open at 6:30 a.m. each morning, then close at 2:00 p.m, and score cards must be turned in by 4:00 p.m.
For this tournament, “traditional archery” means either the recurve bow or the longbow, which will be the two weapons used Saturday. The recurve bow’s use dates back to before the Roman Empire, while the longbow emerged during the Middle Ages.
“There are no pulleys, no wheels or anything like that,” said Ryan Toby, Assistant Landmanager for McAAP, on Wednesday. “It’s just a stick and a string.”
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