Hayden Meikle: How are things down in Balclutha?
Anne Mitchell: Good, good. I'm just about to step outside and do some training. My husband has got the showgrounds arranged, so I've got plenty of room.
HM: You've just got back from the World Cup in Shanghai. How did you get on?
AM: Better. I think I was ranked about 37th out of 40 in the ranking round. But in matchplay I shot a lot better. I won my first match and got to the second round. That's basically the first time I've done that this year.
HM: Where have you travelled on the World Cup circuit?
AM: Well there's four of them. They hold them each year and then you go to a final. There was Porec in Croatia in the beginning of May, then Antalya in Turkey in June, then Ogden in the United States in August, then Shanghai. Over those four events, the 16 placegetters are awarded points. Then the top seven have been invited to a final in Edinburgh next weekend.
One of our New Zealand guys, Shaun Teasdale, won gold in the compound in Shanghai. He's fourth overall and is going to Edinburgh.
HM: Where are you ranked in the world?
AM: Prior to Shanghai, I had a ranking of 48th. Hopefully it will have gone up a little bit.
HM: How is archery working at the Commonwealth Games? Are you competing individually or as a team?
AM: We compete as individuals. You have a ranking round ahead of one-on-one matchplay. They take the scores of the top three archers per country. And for us, we just have three people there anyway. They add those scores up and that is your ranking for the teams event.
HM: And one of your New Zealand team-mates is quite young.
AM: Yeah, Stephanie Croskery. She's up in Gisborne and she's just turned 20. It's a good mix. I'm the grandmother of the team. And I'll be the oldest member of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team. I say that it's never too late. If you want it bad enough, you'll do it.
HM: What does recurve and compound mean?
AM: OK, the recurve is the traditional bow they have in the Olympics. That's ordinarily with aluminium or the old-style bow with the wooden riser and the carbon limbs and a string and a sight. They're not allowed any additional aids on their bow. With us, we have magnification sights and wheels and pulleys and cables.
HM: If you just had an old strip of hickory and some string, would you be able to shoot that accurately?
AM: Um, I don't know about accurately. Some people just have that natural ability to shoot very well. I've had to work at it really hard.
HM: Who are the leading countries in the Commonwealth?
AM: England features fairly highly, and so does Canada. Australia has got a strong team. India will be quite strong, of course. Malaysia.
HM: What are your realistic aims in Delhi?
AM: Personally, I would like to finish as high as I can. The ultimate would be a medal. Realistically, it's a very strong field. And it just depends how you cope on the day. Anyone is beatable.
HM: What makes a good competitive archer?
AM: You've got to be mentally tough. You've got to withstand the pressure of the cameras, the crowd, the scores and that internal pressure. You play mind games with yourself. You've got to stay calm.
HM: Do you find that easy?
AM: It's something that I struggle with sometimes. I can do it. I did it in Turkey when we won the gold medal last year. But you've got to keep working at it.
HM: Is international archery quite competitive? Is there any sledging?
AM: To be honest, it's really good. I haven't seen anything like that happening at all. We get on well with everyone. It's really one big happy family. We've made some really good friends overseas.
HM: Do you get any coaching?
AM: Periodically. I'm the only competitive woman compound archer in the South Island, so I've struggled. Up until the last year or so I had Dave Henshaw, from Christchurch, who coached Ken Uprichard, our Olympic recurve archer. But it got to the stage where he didn't know anything about compounds, so he felt he couldn't help me any further.
I joined up with the Wellington squad and had some help from Bernie Fraser, the former Olympic Committee member, and Dave Willing. Just recently, Dave Croskery, from Gisborne, has been helping me. He's coming with us to the Games.
HM: It must be a bit of a lonely life training down there in Balclutha.
AM: It is. Colin, my husband, used to shoot with me, but he's so busy with work.
HM: How many arrows do you shoot in a training session?
AM: A minimum of about 100 arrows for an hour. Or up to a couple of hundred over three hours. In a full week, I might shoot 800 arrows.
HM: Doesn't it get tiring retrieving them all?
AM: Yeah, it's good exercise. You walk 70m up to the target then back 70m. Add that up over 15-20 ends and you're doing 2km-3km a day.
HM: Does shooting at a stationary target ever get boring?
AM: It does, especially when you're shooting at the same distance all the time. In our ranking round, called a Fita, we go over four different distances. I like that. It's a bit of variety.
HM: Have you ever been bowhunting?
AM: Not shooting animals. But I've done field shooting, which is sort of at targets in the bush.
HM: Have you ever shot an apple off Colin's head?
AM: Ha ha. No. I've shot one on a target. Bill Mellon, who started the Rosebank club, used to get the kids involved by shooting at apples on a target.
HM: How much does a good bow cost?
AM: The bows are made in the United States. They take a while to get here. Equipment is expensive. For a bare bow, you're looking at $1800.
HM: But you'll be paid like an All Black, I guess.
AM: Oh, of course. Ha. I wish. The Americans are professional but you don't make money out of archery in New Zealand. We were self-funded until last year. Then we won our gold medal in Turkey, so the sport got a $100,000 Sparc grant. And I've had good help from the Skeggs Foundation.
HM: How is the sport doing around New Zealand?
AM: I'm not sure. Around here, we've got people who are interested but it's about finding the time. Throughout the country it's fairly static. Hopefully the profile might lift a bit when the Games are on.
HM: Does the enjoyment of archery keep you going?
AM: Definitely. And it's also bloodymindedness. You get challenged and you want to keep improving yourself.
Games profile
ANNE MITCHELL
• Age: 53
• Sport: Archery
• Venue: Yamuna Sports Complex
• Schedule: October 4-10
