The Bighorn Archery Club drew a crowd last week at its first shoot in two years.
About 20 people showed up last Wednesday night to take aim at the targets at the Stan Halcro Agriplex. Club president Allen Pickering was pleased with the turnout, especially with so many young people coming out.
“It was great for the first opening after two years. What was most impressive was the number of kids that were out there,” Pickering said. “I was very happy with the turnout, it was very gratifying.”
Freddie Boutilier, 8, and her brother Oscar, 11, enjoyed feathering the targets with their arrows. Oscar said he and his sister would shoot at Bighorn with their dad Mike but took a break after they got into hockey. With hockey wrapping up for the season, he said they wanted to give archery another try.
“I liked that I was the first one to get a bullseye on one of the targets,” Freddie said.
Both are excited to come and improve their archery skills. Freddie said her goal is to hit the model deer “in the eyeball” while Oscar wants to nail the club’s moving target.
Their father said the sport is a great activity to do in the evening after work. “I think it brings everyone together and it’s good for a little town to have these kinds of clubs,” he said. “It’s great to watch (my kids) have fun. Whether they hit the target or not, it’s nice to see.”
Lifelong archer Kerry Neilson, who gave pointers to both new and young archers, said he loved watching his grandson Jaxon Taylor try to shoot.
“I worked as an instructor most of my life in a college teaching young people how to weld, so I enjoy showing younger people the way,” Nielson said. “I think Bighorn Archery is the perfect setting to learn archery. We have lots of spare equipment.”
The club meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Agriplex. The first two shoots are free. Membership is reduced this year to $50 per family of four and $30 for adults.
Pickering said he hopes the momentum from the first shoot carries over to the rest of the season, with more members signing up.
“It’s a fairly inexpensive sport as a family sport and it’s a great activity,” he said. “It’s a sport you can improve at your own speed.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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