LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Deciding who may win the Archery Event in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games is riding on the wind, figuratively and literally.

"With the wind blowing the way it's been, there won't be much margin for error," said Rod White, one of the 16 competitors. "Some of these shots are tough without the wind, with it, it can be impossible."

While this year's archery competition is full of sidelights, it's the wind that has most of these competitors distracted.

	“	I just hope I'm not in a situation where I have to make that shot. ”
		— Rod White, on the Thread the Needle station

The field, which includes three Olympians, will be required to shoot a seven-station course exclusive to the GO Games. They include some of the same targets used in 2000, with a few new additions. Those new additions, especially, the Thread the Needle station, make wind speed and direction a huge factor.

In that station, archers have two options of shooting a 45-yard target through a maze of standing pipes. In one view, the shot window is about 6-inches wide, and a hit is worth five points. In the other, it's less than 3-inches, but worth seven points.

"That's not much room when the wind is blowing as hard as its been blowing," White said. "If you get behind, you may need to chance the tighter shot, but if the wind's blowing, chances are it's not going to make it."

White said that just a little bit of wind would make the tail of an arrow move side to side, even though it is flying straight. "I just hope I'm not in a situation where I have to make that shot," he said.

If the wind weren't enough, shooters and pundits are wondering which style of shooting will fare best in a field of competitors that is partly made up of 3-D shooters and partly Olympic-style shooters.

"I think a 3-D shooter will win," said 2000 Go Games silver-medalist, Kelly Ward. "But that's because I'm not an Olympic shooter."

Ward, like half the field, shoots mainly in 3-D events that incorporate full-form bodies of game animals. Many of those events utilize moving targets. On the other hand, Olympic shooters shoot at targets, at pre-determined distances. The advantage they have at the GO Games is their experience in shooting in front of crowds. "Usually our matches are shot in the woods, with no one watching but the competition," said Jackie Caudle, 2000 GO Games gold medalist. "It makes it tough when you have a crowd behind you."

Tougher still when the competitors are in a head-to-head bracketed match, and shooting targets they've never had the occasion to shoot.

Those targets include the Bermuda Triangle, a wedge-shaped target that has to be hit while it moves along a track. Then there is the Stop-N-Go. At that station archers lay their bows down at the 20-yard line. They then move back to the 30-yard line. When the whistle blows, the shooters must run to their bows, pick them up, nock an arrow, shoot the target, run back to the 30-yard line, turn and shoot another target.

And one of the more interesting will be the Hole in the Wall. At that station, archers have their backs turned to the target which moves at varying distances from 30-to 40-yards. The archer must turn, immediately read the distance and then shoot either a small (9 points) or large (5 points) target. At this station, the backing of the targets are made of steel, so if the archer misses, the arrow explodes from the impact.

"That's supposed to be exciting for the crowd," Ward said. "If the wind keeps up, it'll be plenty exciting."