I'm also 14, if that has any correlation.
Thanks! Any answer is much appreciated.
I would recommend going to an archery range/club with NFAA certified coaches (specifically ASK if the range/club has NFAA coaches and what level they are [the highest coach should be at least level 2), as there is alot of misinformation on the internet. (NFAA stands for National Field Archery Association, which has been the leading archery organization in the United States since 1939)
There are 5 levels of NFAA/USAArchery coaches
-Level 1 is typically for one-time shoots such as school archery, scouts, or camps
-Level 2 is typically the minimum for clubs
-Level 3 is an improvement on level 2, and allows the coach to work with an individual archer
-Level 4 is a further improvement, and allows the coach to work with national teams
-Level 5 is only found on international teams such as the US Olympic archery team
Most archery clubs with JOAD and/or public archery sessions will have beginner bows, common beginner/club bows typically have wood risers and fiberglass limbs
Examples include:
-Samick Polaris
-SF/W&W Flame/Inferno (SF and W&W are the same company)
-PSE Optima
Archery takes time to learn, some of the most important things are
-Learning to use your back muscles (archery uses rhomboid muscles, not biceps)
-Learning to anchor properly
-Learning to release properly
-Learning NOT to grip the bow (gripping the bow causes torque, which can offset arrow flight) (watch any Olympic archer, they have finger slings that catches the bow)
There's a whole list, but I've listed some of the more basic things
Archery can vary from being not very expansive to being REALLY expansive. A cheap bow and cheap arrows arrows will cost ~160$ (100$ for the bow, 60$ for arrows)(one dozen arrows). a custom made bow can cost more than 6000$ (6k/6 grand), and top of the line arrows (Easton A/C/Es) will cost 25$ PER ARROW
The only thing that you should know prior to taking a class/signing up for public archery (that i can think of) is to NEVER dry fire a bow (shooting a bow without an arrow), this damages the bow's limbs since the kinetic energy isn't transferred to another medium (the arrow)
I started just a year ago and just last weekend won bronze in the county championship. For the cost it is cheap once you are up and running, for good equipment it would cost about ￡500 but it will last ages and you would start of with a training bow which would cost less but you would need the other stuff anyway so in the end the cost is the same, you would need space in your garden or to be a member of a club and you would need coaching. If you live in the UK in Shropshire you can join the club that I am a member of called bowbrook archers but I doubt you will live near where I do. Just look for local clubs and sign up. Archery is a fantastic sport and is loads of fun, I am aiming now for the 2020 Olympics and possibly the next commonwealth games too and this came from just doing it for a bit of fun, who knows, maybe you will take it up at a professional level too. Good luck and great choice of sport.
I learned by after-school farm work, with parental permission,
to bail hay. The salary purchased my play and provided hay
for same. Play for pay comes afterward.
Robin Hood.
