Archers from across the country convened in Cranbrook for the Canadian Outdoor 3D Championships from Aug. 4 to 7.
This was the first time Cranbrook Archery Club hosted nationals.
“It’s a big deal. We were really excited about sharing the opportunities that we have here. We have a great venue for the event,” said club president Chris Mummery.
Competitors made their way through three different 3D courses over the weekend leading up to the finals on Monday. Life-sized animal-shaped targets arranged throughout the woods ranged from small creatures like a raccoon and a pheasant, to larger creatures like a moose and a dinosaur. Each course had 20 targets.
Each animal target had a bull’s eye on its body, and the archer’s objective was to get their arrow as close to this point as possible. Smaller targets were generally more challenging than larger ones. In some scenarios archers had to shoot targets from the top of a slope or targets that were shrouded in shadow.
Archers were divided into categories based on age and equipment. Every age was represented, from young children to seniors, and there were a variety of different kind of bows, including traditional, compound and recurve.
“One thing that’s really nice about the sport of archery is that people can participate in very young ages to the more senior ages and all different types of fitness levels,” said Mummery.
The majority of competitors were from B.C and Alberta, but there was representation from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Cranbrook Archery Club had multiple archers who competed, including Jordan Adachi who was the gold medalist in the 3D championships in Calgary last winter. Locals archers Kinsley Brulotte and Carson Hodges shot the first arrows of the tournament at the opening ceremony on Saturday.
Final scores and results will be published Wednesday.
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gillian.francis@cranbrooktownsman.com
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