THE Barbados Archery Association's National Championships start officially today with equipment inspection at 4 p.m.

Tomorrow there will be a short opening ceremony at 3 p.m. which will be followed by practice and competition at the long distances.

On Sunday, short-distance practice will begin at 8 a.m., with competition at the short distances beginning one hour later.

On Monday, there will be the Olympic round, which will be the highlight of the competition. Competitors are divided into three divisions: Yeoman (first-timers at competition), intermediate and seniors (seasoned archers).

Yeomen will have 30 metres as their long distance and 20 metres as the short distance, while intermediates will have 60 metres as their long distances and 30 metres as their short distance.

Seniors will shoot full International Target Archery Federation (FITA) distances, which has 90 metres as the long distance and 30 metres as the short distance.

At the end of each day's shoot, there will be the presentation of medals to the winners in each division, with a closing ceremony on Monday.

The championships are sponsored by the Barbados Olympic Association and Rotherley Construction Inc. (PR)