Oct. 1, 2004

After placing sixth at the U.S. Olympic Archery Trials in June, former Castle Pines resident Joy Fahrenkrog recently earned a spot on the 2005 U.S. Archery Team. The Castle Rock Daily Star has followed her progress the past six months through previous stories which can be accessed through the newspaper’s Web site. Fahrenkrog recently conducted a question-and-answer session with Sports Editor Mike Oakley.

MO: What was the process for making the team? What will the team focus on, as far as competitions, and where will your travels take you?

JF: The 2005 United States Archery Team (aka USAT) is comprised of the top eight female and male shooters in the country in each division. In order to qualify, you have to have done well in two out of the four major tournaments on the U.S. circuit, as well as place high in the National Championships at the end of the year. Only outdoor competitions count.

The team’s main focus is producing a highly competitive international team. Because I am a member of the team, I will get to travel to the training camps at the United States Olympic Training Center to work on this. The unique thing with the USAT is that just because you make it, doesn’t mean that you get to compete internationally next year. I still have to prove myself in the 2005 season to participate in the international events.

That being said, I am competing in Amsterdam in December at the Face to Face Tournament. I’ve been really lucky with this tournament. Bill Pimm, the president of the American Crossbow Association, is covering my flight expenses using his extra miles. On a side note, I am in the process of trying to make it possible for anyone to book flights for athletes using their miles. Back to the F2F tournament, it is one of the top tournaments in Europe and I’m doing it to get prepared for the Indoor World Team Trials and Indoor World Championships which will be held in Belgium in March.

MO: Looking back, this has kind of seemed like a magical ride for you. Is it everything you imagined when you took up the sport?

JF: I think sometimes I have to remember that the success I had in such a short amount of time doesn’t happen every day. Short of not accomplishing my number one goal of making the Olympic Team (I was an alternate), I think it was more than I ever could have imagined. It taught me a lot about hard work, determination, and not giving up on your dreams when obstacles get in the way. One thing is really funny though, last year I wrote on a Web site for a team that I managed in Boston (www.archeryusateamelite.com) that I wanted to be a member of the 2005 USAT. It really came down to the wire at the Nationals, but I accomplished it.

MO: What kind of training hours do you keep now and what’s your schedule like?

JF: Well, now that the Olympics are over and my 2005 sponsorship campaign doesn’t start up again until January, I’ve moved to Chicago so that I can get a job and keep training. I recently signed on with KDSM Executives, a division of Grantin Advertising, as a distributer. Basically, I’m raising money for Wheelchair Basketball teams in the local area. Last year, the Chicago offices donated $635,000; this year we are going for a million. I’ve also started rowing again to get back in shape. Believe it or not, the rowing was a huge asset to my archery training; it built up excellent core strength muscles as well as a great cardio system. So, that means my day starts at around 4:15 a.m. when I wake up to row at 4:40am, then I'm back home around 7:15am, I get cleaned up, eat breakfast, and then shoot from around 8am-9:30am. Then I'm off to work for the rest of the day, usually getting home around 9pm. I know it sounds crazy, but the job ! is really flexible and they are really excited about the archery so I'll be able to take the time off I need to travel.

MO: What kind of practices or techniques do archers follow to gain improvement?

JF: I think the main thing that archers can do is shoot. As with rowing or golf or most any other sport, the more you practice your discipline the better off you are going to be. As I mentioned before, I've picked up rowing again to build up some of the aspects I lost last year such as core strength, and endurance. Over the winter I'll be working with one of the Olympic Weight Lifting Coaches in Indiana one day a week as well. The only other thing I would say is really important is that archers continue to focus on their mental game. I still meet with my sports psychologist Alan Goldberg (www.competitiveedge.com <http://www.competitiveedge.com/> ) every week and although I'm not competing for a few more months, he helps me keep my focus on the bigger picture.