Tom Hall
PRO STAFF PROFILE
PROFILE
Name: Tom Hall
Age: 27
Country: Great Britain
Shooting Style: Recurve
Classification: Grand Master Bowman
EQUIPMENT
Bow Riser – Fivics Titan EX
Bow Limbs – Fivics Titan EX Wood Core, Long
Draw Weight – 48.5lb
Draw Length – 30″
Sight – Shibuya Ultima
Stabilisers – Gillo GS8 stabilisers
Arrows – Carbon Express Nano-Pro Extreme 450, 30.5″ with 110gn tool-steel points, P3 Elivanes and Easton Pin Nocks
Tab – Fivics Saker II
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Making my debut World Cup and World Championships appearances and being ranked 64th in the world in 2017
- Qualifying 7th and finishing 4th at Nimes 2017
- Being the top seed for the AGB national series finals, winning BUCS indoors and outdoors and being ranked 2nd in the UK in 2016
- Being selected for my first ever international event, the World University games in 2015
TOP SCORES
WA 720 – 675
WA1440 – 1300
WA18 – 588
Portsmouth – 597
X SIGHT REVIEW
I almost always need to wear sunglasses outdoors, as my eyes are quite sensitive to light and will squint even on an overcast day. Having a relaxed gaze makes aiming and shooting much easier and more enjoyable. Compared to my previous sunglasses, the X-sight glasses are taller and angle slightly away from the face at the top. This stops light coming in over the top of the lens and also prevents it from smudging against my eyebrows. They are also designed to be worn without a nose piece, which is important for me as I cannot see over any kind of obstruction around the nose and had to remove it from my old glasses. They are comfortable to wear and the clarity of vision through the lens is excellent. I can shoot in bright sunlight and forget that I am wearing them, which is the best you can ask of any set of glasses!
AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM HALL
When did you get into archery?
I’ve been shooting since starting archery at university 8 years ago. I’d done some rifle shooting with cadets before, nothing serious, and so I thought I’d give archery a try when I saw them at the sports fair, it looked cheaper!
I became part of the novice team at the University of Warwick archery club and I was hooked. After that progressing through league matches, success at BUCS and then national tournaments were the foundations of my journey into archery that continues to this day.
What do you enjoy most about archery?
Archery forces me to understand myself in ways I would never have discovered otherwise. I know more about my own psychology, my emotions, my bodies capacity to learn and grow. It gives me discipline and purpose that adds a significance to the passing of days, weeks and months, I am always striving to improve and no matter what else is going on in my life I can always come to the range and work on getting better.
What has been your most memorable experience to date?
Definitely walking into the opening ceremony at the World University Games in Gwangju 2015. The atmosphere of that stadium was unlike anything I’d ever experienced and it still gives me goosebumps when I think back to it.
What would be your best advice to upcoming archers?
Find people who are better than you and ask them questions, train against them and push yourself to improve. Some people pick things up quickly at the start, others take a long time before they see improvement, but everyone who wants to do well at this game will always be looking for the next thing to work on. You have no idea how good you can be until you try!
What do you get up to when you’re not shooting?
I used to do a lot of different sports, like winter mountaineering, canoe polo and athletics to name a few! Now my training schedule means there is less space for them, but I do enjoy the strength and conditioning work I do in the gym, and learning more about physiology. I am also teaching myself python as a side project and have applied it to some statistical analysis of archery data!