BARRHEAD - Thirteen was a lucky number for the Barrhead Composite High School's Archery Club.
Twelve of the archers who took part in the National Archery In Schools Program (NASP) Provincial Championships at the Edmonton Expo Centre, all but one, recorded personal bests.
The competition, which took place from March 20 to 23, coincided with the Edmonton Outdoor and Boat Show and was sponsored by the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors Association (AHEIA).
The club, which just completed its second complete season, comprises five high schoolers and eight archers from Barrhead Elementary School (BES).
In the elementary girls category, Sree Prakash scored 171, finishing 20th out of 95 Grade 4 girls and 63rd out of 198 elementary girls archers. Her teammate, Rose Teliske, scored 94, finishing 57th out of 95 Grade 4 competitors or 144th out of 198 elementary girl archers. Remi Lamha scored 131, good enough for 73rd out of 103 Grade 5 girls. Competing in the Grade 6 girls category, Olive Teliske scored 88 and finished 107th out of a field of 121 Grade 6 girls, while Jade Proud scored 194, good enough for the 49th spot.
On the boys' side, Grade 4 student Evan Targett finished the tournament ranked 25th with a score of 172 out of 81 archers in his grade. Grade 5 competitor Corbin Maure's score of 199 placed him in 49th position in a field of 129 archers in the grade, while Daymyn Harrison finished 54th out of a field of 138 Grade 6 students with a score of 209.
In the junior and senior high school competitions, Aria Grossenbacher and Kendra Luchka finished 165th and 180th out of 343 Grade 7 girls with scores of 202 and 196, respectively. Grade 11 student Rachel Jensen's 228 score placed her 42nd out of a field of 61.
On the boys' side, BCHS Grade 10 student Hayden Rochon finished 52nd out of 72 in his grade grouping with a score of 224, while Grade 11 student Jameson Black finished the competition ranked 35 out of 72 competitors with a score of 228.
The club began their activities in November with biweekly practices with roughly 30 participants. They also hosted their first tournament on Feb. 14, where schools from the region competed virtually.
Head coach Andrew Ashley said via an e-mail in the first year, the club started with four archers, but during the offseason, they invited BES students from Grade 4 and up to join the club to grow the little-known sport.
"We are heartened by their success and growth over the year. To have most of our archers shoot a personal best at this tournament is a testament to their commitment and progress over this season," he said, adding that it was their first year of competition for all but one of the archers.
However, Ashley said what the coaching staff is most proud of isn't the results or the fun or enjoyment they have participating in the sport.
"[The most essential aspect] is that the archers are now a close-knit team and that we have seen real personal growth in our archers. This bodes well not just for our program but, more importantly, for the kind of future our archers are building for themselves and our community," he said.
In the future, Ashley said the club hopes to continue to build the program, expanding archer's abilities by shooting at different targets.
He noted that so far, the club have only practiced and competed in the standard NASP format, shooting at traditional circular targets at varying distances.
Next year, with the help of the Barrhead Fish And Game Association, Ashley said the plan is to expand to shooting at 3-D wildlife targets.
"We want to build on these successes we've had and increase participation, expand the number of tournaments we participate in, and capitalize on the support we are getting between schools and the community at large," he said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
