By Shirley Shuman
Tiffany Greathouse began shooting a bow when she was six. On August 13, she won the IBO World Championship in her class. From the time she began shooting competitively at the age of 10, she has been a consistent winner. Greathouse attributes her interest in archery and much of her success to her father, Rodney Greathouse.
“Dad has shot all his life,” she said, “and I was interested in what he did. He bought me a kid’s bow first to see if I’d like it. I loved it, and that was the beginning. The first year I competed, I won the state shoot, and I have bundles of buckles from state shoots earned since that time.”
Greathouse moved on to national and then world competition. Her father, Rodney, explained. “She began IBO in 2010. She has been on the podium for nationals three times since then. In those three times, she won first, second, and third,” he noted. To qualify for IBO world competition, an archer must place in national events.
His daughter shoots in the Female Hunter Class, and her targets are 3D. For the world event, archers come from all over the world. According to Rodney Greathouse, competition lasts three days during which the competing archers are narrowed down to five, who shoot for the world championship.
The IBO world champ explained the scoring procedure. “I shot at 3D animal targets,” she said. “There are rings (targets) on the animal. The 10-rings have a center about the size of a 50-cent piece, maybe a little smaller. Then there are 8-point rings and 5-point rings. An arrow in the center of the 10-point ring gives the archer a 1-point bonus.”
She continued to explain that each archer shoots at 40 targets for a possible 400 points. From that shooting, the top five from each class are chosen to compete against each other for the championship. The five shoot in a final round of 10 targets which determine the champion. Greathouse ended with 513 points and the championship.
The outdoor competition season is over. For now, local archers will shoot at Midstate Archers to prepare for indoor competition. Since she only placed second in the Indoor World Championship, Tiffany Greathouse will be there to practice. She isn’t a fan of second place.