Sydney Sonn, senior, won the state championship for archery and broke a state record for the 18-21 female division at the 2023 Missouri State Archery Tournament earning a 514/600. Her bow, arrows, and homemade target are the main pieces of the equipment Sonn said she uses whether she’s performing at tournaments or practicing at her club, Little Hills Youth Archery, and at home.

Sonn has practiced and performed in archery with the PSE Premonition HD compound bow since 2019. There are multiple key components that factor into the anatomy of this bow that allow for Sonn’s smooth, sharp shooting.

The silver metal rod that lies beneath the arrow and above Sonn’s hand is the arrow rest. Sonn said his tool helps to keep the arrow stable and helps the arrow fly straight when it gets released. The carved-out circle lying higher up the bow is called a sight. The different pins represent the different distances of targets when standing away from the targets at different yard lengths. Sonn currently has her pins set up for the top green pin being 10 yards, the middle orange pin 20 and the bottom green pin 30. Sonn said these lengths are adjustable depending on factors such as what distances you are shooting from at different tournaments. Below the final pin is a green capsule called the level, which helps Sonn know if her bow is positioned straight, and if it isn’t, she’ll know whether to move left or right to adjust.

Resetting above the arrow rest is a purple device, connecting from the frame of the bow to the bow string, called the cable guard. Sonn said this piece of equipment helps the bow handle the amount of weight being released when an arrow shot.

Next to Sonn’s eye is a ring called the peep sight. This is another tool Sonn looks through while pulling back her arrow and aiming at a target. Thomas Sonn, Sonn’s father, said this is an additional point of reference to the sight located at the front of the bow. The peep sight is considered the back point of reference and the sight the front point of reference.

Superdrive arrows are what Sonn shoots with at tournaments and club practice. “I like them thicker to help me gain more points when shooting, especially at tournaments,” Sonn said.

However, while practicing at home, Sonn uses victory arrows. This arrows are less expensive and thinner than her tournament arrows. “I prefer to use these arrows when practicing at home so that I don’t damage my tournament arrows,” Sonn said.

When practicing at home, Sonn and her father created a homemade target system made up of a cardboard box stuffed with shirts and old newspaper pages, 10-ring targets and a chair to prop the box on. Sonn’s father said buying targets can get really expensive so creating a makeshift target out of supplies they already had was an alternative option.