Until about 12,000 years ago hunting was one of the most common economic activities in Africa. Game was hunted to provide livelihood or to sell. The hunter’s weapons were a stave made of carved wood with a supple material on one side accompanied by a thin wooden shaft with a feathered tail. This was the genesis of the concept used to create the recreational sport we know as archery.
Today, archers use a modern target bow that averages about 173cm and arrows of about 56cm carried in a quiver which is hung over the shoulder or slung from a belt. The sport is divided into field and target archery. Field archery is the more complex of the two, as archers are marked based on their ability to shoot arrows at different sized targets set at varying distances. In the latter, archers are required to shoot a specified number of arrows at a set target with established scoring values.
The first recognized archery event was at the 1900 Olympics and it was designed solely for men. The women’s event was introduced at the Games four years after. The event was suspended in 1920 and reintroduced in the seventies and has since then grown with more and more countries participating.
While studying at Hillcrest International School in the early nineties, Dominic Rebelo’s after school activities were swimming and piano lessons. With more leisure time over the weekends, Dominic’s father invited him to the Kenya Archery Club’s open day. A few hours at the club and Dominic was thrilled by the idea of archery and started lessons shortly after.
Patience, persistence and discipline were the three values Dominic learnt during his orientation. The sport was not only a valuable way to spend his free time, as he got better at hitting targets. At only 16 he became a professional in the sport.
The All African Archery Championships was first held in Harare in 1995 and by then Dominic was one of Kenya’s top archers. Not knowing what to expect at his first international competition, Dominic fell short but this only ignited his pursuit to be better. With continuous target practice, his efforts bore fruit when he qualified to take part in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta under the junior men’s category. This wasn’t just a personal achievement for Dominic but also for Kenya making our debut in the under 18’s event.
Barely two months after the Games, Dominic was at the second Pan African championships in Kilifi County. He was Kenya’s most promising archer and having recently turned 18 meant he was out of the junior category. Dominic Rebelo exceeded expectations when he won a gold medal in the men’s division with South Africa’s Alec Kitley clinching silver and Rashmi Kodha adding to Kenya’s medal count with a bronze.
Dominic’s prowess qualified him for the next Olympiad in 2000 and although he didn’t win a medal, our #KeFlag was well represented. We congratulate Dominic Rebelo for uplifting the game of archery and paving the way for other successful archers that have since followed.
#KeWachezaji #PaukwaPeople