The Bulkley Valley Bowmen helped kick off the outdoor archery season last weekend, with their annual Bowhunter’s Jamboree at the club’s site at the fairgrounds.
The competition drew about 170 archers from all across northern B.C., from Quesnel all the way to Massett. Organizers said they were pleased with the turnout, considering the holiday weekend and a Provincial target shooting event were both competing for participants.
Shooters ranged in age from “three or four years old all the way up to where they won’t discuss their age,” said Laurel Hutton, scorekeeper and one of the organizers of the competition. “We’ve had a really good turnout, better than we expected.”
The competition featured a course of 35 targets, with points awarded for accuracy when shooting at the life-sized animal-shaped three dimensional foam targets. The course, set in the woods along the Bulkley River, simulates some of the difficult conditions encountered by hunters, although some aspects are much different than hunting.
The weekend included different categories for both age groups and type of bow preferred. The event featured everything from the most advanced compound bow, to hand-made wooden bows.
In the PeeWee age group, archers were separated into Barebow, Long Bow, Recurve and Unlimited categories. In Barebow, Martin Williamson took first place. Isaac Hull won the Recurve, while Kyle Solmonson was the top in the Unlimited category. Jared Lytle finished in first in the Long Bow group.
In the Cub age group, Steven Colongard won the Barebow. Tim Tiljoe won the Bowhunter division. Daelyn Lytle won the Long Bow, with Seth Hull taking the Recurve. Curtis Ripmeester finished at the top of the Open Division, while Gavin Olesiuk won the Unlimited Division.
In Junior, Gavin Colongard won the Barebow. Jonathon Lundman took first in Long Bow. Ian Harris won the Recurve. In Unlimited, Ethan Carroll took the top spot, while Alexander Proskiw won the Open Division.
In the adult divisions, Judy Maurer won the Ladies Barebow, while Zak Russell won the Men’s. In Recurve, Rita Wacholtz won the Ladies, with Roger Britton winning the Men’s. Allan Correia won for Men’s Long Bow, with Tiffany Hutchings winning the Ladies. Auke Hamelink won the Men’s Bowhunter. Ashley Breuer won the Ladies Unlimited, while Daryl Campbell won the Men’s. In the Men’s Open, Martin Hennig took first place.