For years, Janice Walth accompanied her husband, Courtney to practices at the Sacramento Archery Club and to local tournaments. Then one day, despite being blind, Janice wanted to try shooting a bow and arrow. “I just wanted to experience what that was like,” said Walth.
Using photos and descriptions from the British Blind Sport website, Courtney built a tactile aiming device that afforded Janice entry into a new sport and provided a new level of confidence.
“Once my equipment is set up and I get sighted in, it’s up to me,” says Walth. “No one else can make that shot for me. I was in control and instantly hooked on that feeling of independence archery gave me.”
In just three years, Walth took the silver medal at the Para Archery World Championships in Korea and has become blind archery’s leading advocate in the United States.
Archery is Accessible Regardless of Vision
Q. What makes archery accessible to the blind and visually impaired?
J.W. As you work to perfect your shooting technique, you discover that even sighted archers can’t just sight the target and let the arrow fly. Regardless of vision, archery requires making the same shot over and over again. You must grip the bow and pull back the string in exactly the same way each time, develop body awareness and learn to engage or relax the correct muscles. It’s a mental game. Sighting the target is the least of your concerns.
Q. What makes archery enjoyable?
J.W. Archery it is a family-oriented sport. My husband and I shoot with people as young as seven and people who are in their 80s. Archers are friendly people who enjoy getting together to share shooting tips or just spend a pleasant day outdoors. I never feel like an outsider.
Q. What's the best way to try archery without spending a lot of money?
J.W. You don’t need to buy special equipment to try the sport. You can shoot with an instructor at an indoor range that will have rental equipment. Be prepared to answer many blindness-related questions. Local clubs support recreational archers, hunters, and competitors. One can compete at any level, from local tournaments to international championships, depending on one's interest and commitment.
Archery Offers Opportunity for Blind Persons to Compete
Q. How has competing in archery changed you?
J.K. I discovered how much I enjoy the feeling of competition. I never knew this because I’d never competed in sports as a child. At the 2007 World Championships in Korea, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed competing against my peers. I didn’t know how I’d handle the pressure and found that I craved it — thrilled to work my way through the to the gold medal round. I was shocked to find that I had won the silver medal and set five world records.
Q. Has your success changed your perception of disability?
J.W. I wouldn’t say that, but archery has given me another opportunity to prove I belong in mainstream society. All my life I have striven to fit in and to prove myself, whether in the workplace (supervising medical transcription at a hospital), in college (taking courses instructors didn’t think I could manage) and at church (becoming a Eucharistic minister). I feel that I have played some small role in helping people change their perspectives about how blind people fit in to the sighted world.
Walth says her main goal now is promoting archery among the blind so they can experience the thrill of competition and a feeling of inclusion.
Andrew Leibs - Andrew Leibs is Suite101’s Feature Writer for Accessible Recreation. He is a longtime chronicler of the disability movement with ...
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