The arrows, once again, will be pointing to Lac La Biche County in 2024 as athletes from around the globe set their sight on the community.
The municipality — and the Lakeland Archers archery club — will host the 2024 World Archery Outdoor Field Championships in a little more than 18 months time.
Lakeland Archers head coach, and the current manager of Canada's national archery team Rene Schaub got the call from World Archery Federation officials in Turkey on Friday morning, saying that the community's bid had been accepted.
It will be the second world championship archery event hosted in Lac La Biche County. In 2019, Schaub and the Lakeland Archers successfully hosted the World Outdoor 3D Championships at their newly-built fieldhouse and outdoor shooting range on the Mission Road. The 2019 event drew hundreds of shooters from across the world, and welcomed the participants with a community parade, an outdoor opening celebration, grandstand viewing for the event finals at the Lac La Biche Mission Historical Site, and a gala closing ceremony reception.
It was a big deal for the community, the archery club ... and for the participants, said Schaub. The event's success, along with the success of recent national, provincial and regional shoots hosted by the club have put the community on the worldwide archery map.
"People throughout Canada and the world know us as one of the best facilities in the world," said Schaub, explaining that the previous events will serve as a template for the 2024 Games. "It's easier to put on a show when people want to come. They loved it the last time they were here."
Laughing at some of the comments from the 2019 event, where athletes came from half way around the world to the Lac La Biche region, Schaub said he heard time and again that the destination was well-worth the travel.
"Some of the stories I heard, like they had been 17 hours of travelling, and then a four-hour bus ride ... they thought it was the end of the world when they got here. And then they said, once they left, that they would come back at the drop of a hat," he said, adding that some of the athletes who competed in the 2019 games may return again. "There may be some familiar faces as some do both field and 3D."
Community spirit
The 2024 World Archery Field Championship events will feature point-score targets set at pre-determined distances in an outdoor setting. While Schaub says the local geography may not offer as many hills or difficult elevations as some of the recent championships — held in South Dakota and Italy — the shoot will be challenging enough. He also said that when he was making the bid for the next event, World Archery officials agreed that while area's terrain variations may be lacking, the community support more than makes up for it.
"I talked to them in Italy and South Dakota, and I told them that the one thing I can't give them is the extreme terrain that they have in Europe and South Dakota — but what they said is, 'You gave us an event ... the whole atmosphere, the whole community, that's what made the event."
Sights set on volunteers
Despite relying on past events, Schaub says the club will still need upwards of 200 community volunteers to work the event.
"It's a big task — but we've seen just how rewarding it is, as well," he said, adding that the 60 current members of the Lakeland Archers will appreciate as much help as possible from the community.
In the coming weeks, the club will be providing updates and contact information on its website and pushing information to the region's media and community organizations.
"We will soon have a volunteer line set up for people to get a hold of us and we'll have community meetings. Stay tuned," he said.
The news of the successful 2024 bid comes just over a month Schaub came back from 2022 World Archery Outdoor Field Championships in South Dakota, where the team won gold. A few months before, Schaub was the Team Canada manager in Italy for the World Archery 3D Championships, where Canada earned silver. Schaub tells Lakeland This Week that the nod to host the 2024 events is a top prize for the community and the local archery club.
"I"m so happy, so proud and really ready to bring the world to us again," he said.
The 2024 World Archery Field Championships will run from September 16-22, 2024.
Initial details of the event can be found on the World Archery website. Lakeland This Week and lakelandtoday.ca will also have updates on the event in the coming weeks and months.
