LAC LA BICHE - Lakeland Archers club will be hosting a national archery competition in Lac La Biche County this weekend.
The 2022 Canadian Indoor 3D Championships will be taking over the Bold Center to host up to 300 out-of-town athletes and guests from April 15-17, said Rene Schaub, Lakeland Archers President and international archery judge.
“We will have three courses; one set up in the rink and two in the field houses. And we will have 80 animals for each archer to shoot,” he says, speaking to the competition's regulations.
The competition, which was originally supposed to be hosted in Nova Scotia, was cancelled due to pandemic restrictions, but in an effort to support the sport and showcase the local community, Schaub applied to host, which was approved last month.
Considering it normally takes two years to plan for an event, with roughly just a month's time it has been a challenge, but it was a challenge he was willing to take on.
“We had six weeks to plan. Whenever somebody can’t do it, we show them we can do it here. It’s easy to bring in these big competitions when you have the support at home,” he said, smiling.
Weekend competition
Schaub says athletes will participate in a series of courses over the three days, including up to four members from the local club participating.
“We have six different categories that we are going to take the top 10 from,” he says, explaining the format for the weekend. There will be long and short-range shooting categories for men and women to narrow down the final matches.
A winner will not only receive a first-place title but also a local gift, he said.
“They will be competing for a $400 pair of homemade mitts that are made locally here by some trappers,” said Schaub
While the competition nears and last-minute preparations are being finalized, Schaub says he is excited to reconnect in person with archers from across the country.
“It’s a lot of the same people that will be shooting, but it's like a big family, it’s like a reunion, and especially after this two-year break it will be nice to see everybody.”
Schaub says this weekend is not the only competition the local club will be hosting this year. The community was also selected to host the Canadian team qualifiers for the 2022 World Archery 3D Championships that will take place in Italy in September. That event will happen in June, locally.
“We've got lots of things happening… We’re all very excited.”
