Archers Talkin' Archery - An Interview with Kathryn Morton

1 – What is your favourite dinosaur?

Probably Rex from Toy Story or Barney the dinosaur – I’m not really into the scary real life ones.

2 – What club are you a member of?

Ballyvally Archers Banbridge

3 – What is your preferred shooting style?

Barebow!

4 – How did you get into archery?

Through a P7 theatre piece called Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies – I thought it looked cool and joined a club soon after.

5 – Who is your favourite fictional archer?

I’m stuck between Merida and Katniss – probably Merida.

6 – What is your favourite competition type?

WA Field or WA 3D – I enjoy how dynamic and variable they are. Plus there’s nothing better than a day in the woods with the sun peeking through the trees.

7 – What is your favourite shooting venue?

Greenmount in Co. Antrim, NI. We always shoot Field competitions there during Autumn and its just beautiful. Especially as we normally host 2 shoots there in Sept/Oct so you get to watch the seasons change.

8 – What is your favourite weather to shoot in?

Any weather provided it’s not pouring out of the heavens or really windy. As they say – there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes.

9 – Would you rather do, archery whilst riding a unicorn or a pegasus?

Unicorn 100%, the last pegasus I rode was a nightmare.

10 – What is the oddest thing you have seen during a competition?

During the World 3D Champs there was an unexpected storm and the massive purpose-built tent began to flood. So the tournament organisers quickly solved the problem by pick axing the floor for extra drainage. Very odd and I still have video evidence.

11 – What is the highest level of competition you have shot in?

Senior World 3D Championships in Terni, Italy last year.

12 – What is the best shot you have made in a competition?

The shot that springs to mind is my medal match at the 2022 European Indoors. It came right down to the final arrow where I needed a 6 to win bronze, and I shot a 7 – the perfect end to an interesting week.

13 – Which fictious archers would you want on your side for a team match?

Katniss Everdeen.

14 – What are your goals in archery?

Have a good time, meet new people, and see parts of the world I otherwise wouldn’t get to. I enjoy the opportunities archery provides but my main goal is to just enjoy my time within the sport both on and off the line.

15 – What is your proudest achievement in the sport?

I’m not sure I can pick just one, from coaching to competing there have been many proud moments.

16 – What is the best advice you have been given in archery?

Focus on the process, and the results will come.

17 - How do you think you would have fared in the stone age with a bow and arrows?

I don’t think I would’ve starved but let’s just say the animal would have to be fairly close and very still for me to have any chance. The more I think about it, I might have ended up as a vegetarian and not by choice.

18 – What is the one thing you really enjoy in the sport?

The equal opportunities archery provides for everyone to compete on the same shooting line – regardless of age or ability.

19 – What one thing in the sport irritates you the most?

Archers who focus on equipment and tuning over form and technique.

20 – What would you like to see in terms of improvement within archery as a sport?

I would like to see a greater emphasis and recognition of the purer styles of archery such as longbow, traditional and barebow. I feel this would increase participation as there is less focus on costly equipment and more on enjoyment of the sport.

21 – What do you think would make a great mascot for the sport of archery?

I think Archery GB’s mascot Fletch is great.

22 – Who is your most fervent supporter?

Mum and dad

23 – If you could shoot another bow style, what would it be?

I’ve recently been shooting longbow at club and I’m loving it, so that could be a possibility. Compound has interesting characteristics too, it could be fun to shoot more often. Plus recurve was something I tried last winter that I might get back into. I’ll shoot anything to be honest.

24 – Any advice for girls/women in archery?

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – chase what you want and you’ll be surprised how far you get.

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Photo credit, all photos - Matt Latimer