Description Archers who suffer from target panic struggle to hold their arrow until they reach their anchor point, so will prematurely release their arrow, varying their draw length. The arrows projection will change so the archer is less accurate. Target panic can be reduced by counting with the archer. In Apollo’s Aid, IR break beam sensors in the tube, signal to the archer where the arrow is and counts with them to slow down their shot. Once the archer reaches full draw the lights will change colour after 3 seconds, signalling the archer to release the arrow. Over time the archer’s target panic will be reduced and they will become more accurate.
Target panic can be reduced through repetitively shooting at the gold of a target. With Apollo’s Aid, the archer can shoot in an enclosed space, aiming at a paper target to overcome target panic faster.
Another way to reduce target panic is progressive muscular relaxation or centring. A set of mental or physical exercises an archer does while taking a shot to reduce stress and relax their muscles. Instead of having a normal sight the archer looks through the Smart Sight, a heads up display where instructions for the centring exercises are shown.
Innovation Though it is an important part of archery, the mental side of archery is not commonly taught, especially to beginners and there is currently no training aid on the market that teach essential mental relaxation skills such as; centring, Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR) or how to overcome Target Panic, a mental block where many archers struggle to aim at the gold.
When an archer is stressed, their muscles will tense, and their shot will change from how they would regularly shoot. In competitions this can be devastating, therefore through a technique called centring, an archer relaxes their muscles.
By using the indication lights on the arrow tube, and following instructions on the smart sight the archer will slow their shot and control their breathing.
Apollo’s Aid reduces target panic by teaching archers to centre to reduce shooting anxiety and allowing the archer to train off the field without a coach effectively. It attaches to the archer’s own bow, reducing shot variation. Apollo’s Aid enhances an archer’s journey from a novice to an experienced archer by training the beginner mentally as well as physically.
Product Detail Apollo’s Aid is mainly comprised of a two part ABS injection moulding, held together with a lip and groove, which is mounted to the stabilizer mounts of the bows. Bosses and hex head pins hold these components together but can be removed for ease of disassembly and reparability.
The archer can use Apollo’s Aid to repetitively shoot in an enclosed space so that they can train away from the shooting range. However, to do this without an arrow would not be beneficial to the archer and dry firing can be dangerous as the energy from the drawing of the limbs needs to be dissipated and if not the limbs could snap. To overcome this in Apollo’s Aid the arrow is contained in the arrow tube with a stopper at the end and a small hole for the air to escape. When the arrow is shot into the tube it is decelerated by the compression of air in the tube, from the two stoppers. This means that there will be no damage to the archers bow which could cost upwards of £600, allowing the archer to train with the continuity of actually shooting a bow, but being able to train off of the field, getting more practice in.
Specification This product is available and adaptable to all archers that use both the 23 inch and 25 inch risers and is available in left and right handed. The main body is fixed in place using the stabilizer mounts, and there is a pin to adapt the fixing point of the arm to change between the smaller and larger risers. All archers have a set of allen keys that come with their bow, therefore they can use these to attach Apollo’s Aid to their bow without damage.
The weight of the arrow tube replaces the average long rod weight on the front of the bow so there is better continuity between training and competition.
The product can be passed around archery clubs or used as a personal training aid and the secondary colours can be changed to suit multiple bow colours.
Bio As a fourth-year undergraduate studying Product Design at De Montfort University I am extremely passionate about design. I design products to be practical, yet full of character and ingenuity.
From a young age I have always taken pleasure from creating objects and watching people interact with them. I take huge gratification from seeing a product that I have designed being cherished and used by another person and exceeding their demands and expectations.
