Thwack in 3: The Parapan American Archery Championships Come to Lima

Welcome to the first Thwack in 3. Every Monday morning, we pick one archery event happening three weeks from now and tell you everything you need to know about it. Three weeks is enough time to register, book a room, carpool with your club, or just clear your schedule to follow along.

Some weeks it'll be a world championship. Some weeks it'll be a club 3D shoot with a potluck. Some weeks it'll be a youth night or an adaptive clinic. All of archery, on rotation, because all of it matters. We're starting with one that matters a lot: the best para archers in the Americas, shooting for spots at next year's Parapan American Games.

Thwack in 3, week one: the Parapan American Archery Championships in Lima, Peru.

The Event at a Glance

October 21–25, 2026 · Lima, Peru · Recurve open · Compound open · W1 · 38 Parapan Am Games spots on the line

The Parapan American Championships are the continental championship for para archery across North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. They're run under World Archery Americas, and this edition lands in Lima, the same city that hosts the 2027 Parapan American Games. Competition runs October 21–25. The official schedule window runs through the 27th to cover arrival and departure days, which is the date range you'll see on USA Archery's international events page.

One week earlier, many of the same athletes shoot Stage 1 of the Americas Para Cup in Santiago, Chile (October 13–18), so by the time they reach Lima, the field will be sharp.

Why it's this week's pick: It's the biggest para archery event in our hemisphere this year, Team USA is defending a medal table it won outright last time, and it's a reminder that the line really is open to everyone.

What's on the Line: 38 Spots for Lima 2027

This isn't just a title. According to World Archery Americas, Lima awards the largest single share of qualifying places for the 2027 Parapan American Games:

• Men's compound and men's recurve: 9 spots each
• Women's compound and women's recurve: 7 spots each
• W1: 3 spots for men and 3 for women

The doubles competition decides the first places in compound and recurve. The final individual rankings hand out the remaining 14. That means every match matters twice: once for the medal, once for the ticket to next August.

Lima isn't the only door. Four more places came through the Para South American Games in Valledupar, Colombia, in July, four go to the Central America and Caribbean region, and a final qualifier is set for the World Archery Para Series in Fortaleza, Brazil, in March 2027. But no single event gives out more than this one.

The Games themselves: the 2027 Parapan American Games open in Lima on August 20, 2027, and para archery is one of four sports that starts competing before the opening ceremony. If you've ever thought about going to see para archery in person, Lima 2027 is a real option, and this championship is the preview.

Wait, What's W1? The Three Divisions, Explained

Para archery uses three competition categories. Here's how World Archery defines them:

• Recurve open: archers with an impairment in either the upper or lower half of the body, shooting from a wheelchair, a stool or standing. They shoot a standard recurve at a 122cm target from 70 meters, the same as the Olympics. Ranking round is 72 arrows; matches use the set system.
• Compound open: the same eligibility with a standard compound bow, at an 80cm target cut to the five ring, from 50 meters. Matches are 15 arrows, cumulative score.
• W1: archers with an impairment in both the upper and lower body, competing seated in a wheelchair. W1 archers can shoot recurve or compound with modifications. Recurve shooters may use a mechanical release aid, all bows are limited to 45 pounds peak draw weight, and peep sights, magnifying scopes and levelling bubbles aren't allowed. They shoot the full-size 80cm target at 50 meters.

Mouth tabs, foot draws and adapted releases all show up on a para line. The scoring doesn't change. A ten is a ten.

Team USA Has a Target on Its Back

Santiago 2023: 4 gold · 2 silver · 2 bronze · 1st on the archery medal table

The last time the Americas' best para archers met at a Parapan American Games, in Santiago, Chile, in November 2023, the United States topped the archery medal table with eight medals:

• Kevin Polish won men's compound gold, and teamed with Wendy Gardner for mixed team compound gold.
• Tracy Otto won women's W1 gold at one of her first international events.
• Eric Bennett and Candice Caesar won mixed team recurve gold.
• Jason Tabansky (men's W1) and Eric Bennett (men's recurve) took silver.
• Wendy Gardner (women's compound) and Candice Caesar (women's recurve) took bronze.

The history goes back further. At Toronto 2015, according to Team USA, American archers claimed eight of the 12 possible podium finishes. And the program's biggest name, Matt Stutzman, won Paralympic gold in men's compound open at Paris 2024, setting a Paralympic record on the way.

USA Archery funds and selects the team for Lima through a closed selection process, and the roster hadn't been published when we wrote this. Watch USA Archery for the official team, and we'll share it in the community when it drops.

What to watch for: whether the U.S. can turn its depth into doubles wins early, since doubles results hand out the first Games spots.

Who Else to Watch

17 nations and 48 archers competed in Santiago in 2023. At least five different countries left with gold.

Team USA won't have it easy. These are the other nations that won gold in Santiago, and the athletes who did it:

• Peru: Daniela Campos won women's recurve gold in 2023. This time, the Peruvian team shoots at home.
• Mexico: Samuel Molina beat the field, including Eric Bennett, for men's recurve gold.
• Costa Rica: Pilar Riveros won women's compound gold, and Diego Quesada took men's compound silver.
• Brazil: Eugênio Franco won men's W1 gold.
• Colombia and Chile: no golds in 2023, but seven medals between them, including four silvers. Colombia has the depth to cause problems in every division.

Entry lists for Lima haven't been published yet, so treat this as who earned attention last time, not a confirmed start list.

Santiago 2023 at a Glance

Results from the 2023 Parapan American Games, Santiago, Chile, November 19–22, 2023.

How to Be Part of It From Home

Most of us won't be on a plane to Lima, and that's fine. Here's how to show up anyway:

• Follow the results. World Archery Americas and USA Archery post updates during the event. Then come talk about it in the Thwack Life community.
• Cheer loud. Para archers don't get nearly enough attention. Share their wins, tag them and say their names.
• Put it on your calendar. Both the Americas Para Cup and the Parapan American Championships are on the Thwack Life Archery Calendar, along with the 2027 majors.

Get on the Line Yourself

If you or someone you know lives with a disability and has been curious about archery, this is your sign. Every athlete in Lima started with a first arrow somewhere.

• Read Adaptive Archery: The Line Is Open to Everyone for how adaptive equipment works.
• Read Adaptive Archery in the U.S.: Athletes, Programs, and How to Get Involved for programs you can join.
• Use the National Archery Directory to find a range near you. Plenty of coaches already work with adaptive archers, and the ones who don't yet are usually happy to learn.

How Thwack in 3 Works

• Every Monday morning, a new feature goes live here on the blog, at the top of the calendar page, in the Thwack Life community and in our newsletter.
• Each one covers one event happening three weeks out, so you have time to plan, register and go, or at least know when to tune in.
• The picks rotate: big international events, national championships, grassroots club shoots, youth events and adaptive events. If it's archery and it's worth showing up for, it's eligible.
• Know an event that deserves the spotlight? Submit it to the calendar and tell us why in the community. Your club's fundraiser shoot has as much right to this space as a continental championship.

The Bottom Line

Lima is where the road to the 2027 Parapan American Games gets real: 38 spots, three divisions, and a U.S. team defending a medal table it won outright. Follow along, cheer for every archer on that line, and if you've been wondering whether archery has a place for you, the answer is yes.

See you next Monday. Now go shoot something. (A target. Obviously.)

Thwack Life Archery Addiction is a national culture-first community platform for U.S. target archers — recreational, competitive, and adaptive. No gatekeeping. No gear elitism. Just real archery.

References

Event and qualification
1. World Archery Americas. Lima 2026: A Preview of the Parapan American Games. Accessed October 4, 2026.
2. World Archery Americas. 2026–2027 Competition Calendar. January 22, 2026.
3. USA Archery. International Event Opportunities. Accessed October 4, 2026.
4. La Red Informativa. Listo el programa de competencias de los Juegos Parapanamericanos Lima 2027. August 24, 2026.

Rules
5. World Archery. Para Archery 101: Explaining the Competition Categories. Accessed October 4, 2026.

Results and athletes
6. Archery at the 2023 Parapan American Games. Wikipedia. Accessed October 4, 2026.
7. USA Archery. The Aim's the Same for USA Archers at the Para Pan American Games in Chile. November 2023.
8. Team USA. Para Archery at the Parapan Am Games. Accessed October 4, 2026.
9. Olympics.com. Paris 2024 Paralympics: Team USA's Matt Stutzman, the Armless Archer, Wins Gold and Sets a New Paralympic Record. September 2024.

Graphics © Thwack Life Archery Addiction.