Big Horn Archery Club is wrapping up the summer with its annual Indoor 3D Archery Shoot.
Club president Allen Pickering said the event typically takes place in March but was cancelled due to COVID-19 for the last two years. After the success of their outdoor shoot earlier this summer, Pickering said the club decided to run the event from Sept. 17 to 18 instead.
“We’re just hoping that we’ll have a good group of attendees because it will be a lot warmer in September than it is when we hold it at the end of March,” Pickering said. “That Stan Halcro Agriplex can get pretty chilly at the end of March whereas now it should be quite nice.”
The shoot is open to recurve and compound bow archers of all ages and experience levels, Pickering said, adding they have categories for children and adults with different categories dividing participants up by experience and bow.
In the past, 100 participants from across the province have shown up and Pickering hopes at least half that number comes out in September. With hunting season underway, however, he said the turnout may be impacted.
Registration takes place Saturday at 8:30 a.m., with the shoot kicking off from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. while Sunday the shoot runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Pickering said archers pay $5 for a round and can do as many rounds as they like before turning in their best card of the day.
The 3D course itself has 19 lanes for archers to take aim on. Pickering said there will also be a spot-shot competition for compound and traditional archers. A spot will be identified on a target and the archer who hits it receives a cash prize.
Ending the event on Sunday is a hidden target round, where archers pay $1 an arrow and attempt to hit a bullseye on a covered target. Whoever is closest wins part of the pot, Pickering said.
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“It will be challenging but we still, with all of our tournaments, try to put out enough challenging shots for those who have experience but also enough easy shots for those with less experience,” Pickering said.
A concession is available in the morning, serving breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
The Big Horn Archery Club holds a weekly range night at the agriplex every Wednesday at 7 p.m. until temperatures dip below -10 C. They typically stop in late December and resume in mid-March, weather permitting.
“I think we’ll probably switch back to March. After a whole long winter of nobody having the opportunity to shoot at a tournament … I think that’s one of the reasons it’s quite well attended,” Pickering said.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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