For the second year in a row, members of the Big Horn Archery Club took members of the 100 Mile Girl Guides out for an evening of shooting targets in the woods.
The shoot took place at the Bighorn Archery Club's outdoor range, located at the end of Gibson Road, on Tuesday, May 27, with around 10 Girl Guides and Pathfinders joining several club members. Throughout roughly two hours, the girls got the chance to shoot at a wide range of 3D targets mimicking animals like grouse, bears, deer, foxes and alligators.
"This is the second year we've had the Girl Guides reach out to see if there is something we could do to partner with them and we're happy to do it. We give the girls a bit of an introduction to archery and use some of our club bows and give them a chance to get out and give it a try," Rebecca Zonruiter, vice-president of the club, said. "I think it's just great to be out in nature and enjoying it. Archery can be as competitive or leisurely as you want it to be."
100 Mile Girl Guides Guider Rachel Downey-Gould said she and the other Guiders want to provide the girls with chances to do things outside of the Horse Lake Training Centre, where they meet every week during the fall, winter and spring. She noted all the girls who attended seemed to like it, which she loved to see.
"Just learning skills like shooting a bow and being in nature is pretty important to Guides. It seemed like a pretty good activity," Downey said. "It was my first time trying archery and it was really fun."
Girl Guide and Downey-Gould's daughter Eva Gould agreed with her mother, remarking she enjoys the cool activities she gets to do in Girl Guides. Eva said this was her second time trying archery, and it was "really, really fun."
"I like shooting the targets and getting almost close to the heart," Eva said, noting the most challenging part was drawing the bowstring back far enough each time.
One of the Big Horn Archery Club members who took Eva and her fellow Girl Guides out was Heather Schellenberg, who said she joined the club as a way to meet people after moving to the area in 2016. Schellenberg said archery is a great sport you can do in the outdoors at your own pace, noting she's spent four hours out walking the full course in the past.
Getting the chance to teach the girls how to shoot is a lot of fun, Schellenberg said. She noticed a growing amount of confidence in the group she escorted as time went on.
"One little girl was singing 'focus' to the other girl because she forgot to give her an arrow. It's quite funny to see their personalities coming out," Schellenberg said. "My daughter is grown up now, but it brings back memories of when my daughter was doing sports and activities.
"It was a good experience. It was fun getting out there and enjoying ourselves on the course. I just hope the girls enjoyed themselves enough that maybe this is something they want to take up as a sport."
Zonruiter said she felt the outing went well and is hopeful it inspired some of the guides to consider joining the Big Horn Archery Club as well. She's already looking forward to doing it again next year.
"The girls seemed to enjoy it and some of them want more of a challenge next year, so maybe we'll give them scorecards so they keep their score as we go," Zonruiter said.
Anyone looking to join the Big Horn Archery Club is invited to check out their Facebook page for more details. Zonruiter noted that the club is also preparing to organize their annual Outdoor Traditional 3D shoot up at the 99 Mile on June 21 and 22.
"It's fun for everybody and if it's something people are curious about, they can pop in and compete. Everybody is welcome," Zonruiter said.
As for the 100 Mile Girl Guides, Downey-Gould said they're always looking for new members and volunteers to help run the program. Anyone interested in signing up can do so by either going to girlguides.ca/register or emailing Downy-Gould directly at 100milegirlguides@gmail.com.
"Come try Guides!" Downey-Gould concluded.
