by Taylor Campbell
Contributor, Black Press
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The womens' archery athletes took their shots early this morning with outstanding results.
Karleigh Meier, Zone 2 (Thompson-Okanagan), took the first place standing in womens' compound archery. She has been participating in archery since she was seven years old and was first inspired to join the sport by her father.
Meier explained that her favourite part of archery was "meeting a lot of nice people and having fun seeing how they do different techniques."
Zone 4 (Fraser River-Delta) competitor Jacquelyn Wang was originally in third place but dropped to fifth.
"I probably could have done better," Wang admits.
She has been in archery for two and a half years and favours a bare bow over any other because it is traditional and simple. When Jacquelyn is in action she likes to "keep her spirits up and stay positive."
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VIDEO: High school journalist Casey Bourke interviews young Archers at the 2014 BC Winter Games
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Mya Schouwenberg achieved the title for the most points earned in the bare bow category, which is a bow without stabilizers or sights. Schouwenberg, from Prince George (Zone 8), has broken multiple national records.
Immediately behind Mya in the standings was Gaby Courturielle from Zone 6. Gaby came in second overall in the tournament on February 22nd. She has been involved with archery for three years and found interest in it from watching Japanese cartoons that had bow and arrows. Courturielle hopes to continue competing in archery in the years to come and has big future plans for her involvement in the sport.
The practice hours devoted to archery are long and full of dedication.
Kristina Shramko, for example, practices "three times a week for three hours." She is from Zone 4 and shoots for the recurve category. She started for fun but soon became serious and now dreams to be in the Olympics.
The closest score of the womens' recurve category was between Elizabeth Wall and Emma Hughes. Zone 3 competitor, Elizabeth, just barely gained the upper hand on Zone 5 archer Emma Hughes. Their total overall scores were both 942. As a tie breaker the judges first counted the number of x's (which refers the centre of the target); however, the two competitors were both tied here as well, so another tie breaker was needed. The judges moved to the next ring of the target, the tens, and found that Elizabeth had just one more mark than Emma, pushing Elizabeth to first place.
Womens archery had a successful morning, and the participants look forward to future competitions and are hopeful for Olympic involvement further into their careers.
*Taylor Campbell is a Grade 11 student at Robert Bateman Secondary School in Abbotsford...