Olympic Games safety disarms archers

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Robin Hood would never have stood for it.

New Zealand's top archers have been told to lock up their bows and arrows or they won't be allowed inside the Olympic Village.

Our Olympic shooters are worse off - their rifles and pistols will be bolted away 35km from where they are staying in the heart of Homebush.

Sydney is cracking down on possible security threats within the village.

Among the measures being taken is making sure athletes' weapons are kept under lock and key.

All Olympic archers had to sign a declaration saying they would keep their equipment in locked cases when they were outside their venue. Their bows must be dismantled, with the bow string and the arrows out of sight.

New Zealand archer Peter Ebden said it was the first time he had ever had to lock away the tools of his sport.

"They're pretty deadly if someone tries to shoot someone, so I can understand the security issue," he said.

"I'll be packing mine away for sure."

Games security originally wanted to ban the bows from the village. But an outcry from the world's top archers forced a compromise.

Guns of any sort are definitely forbidden.

Shooters' equipment will be sent from the airport to an armoury at the Cecil Park shooting venue.

But other deadly weapons, such as javelins and hammers, are apparently okay.

New Zealand team manager Richard de Groen, now living in the athletes' village, was surprised to find steel knives and forks in the dining hall.

"In Kuala Lumpur, at the last Commonwealth Games, we had only plastic cutlery," he said.

All athletes must pass through a metal detector when they come home after a hard day's competition, and even a belt buckle can be enough to set off alarms and prompt a body search.

The first New Zealand competitors have taken up residence - the yachting team moved in when the doors opened on Saturday.

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