From the folks that brought you a crash course in fencing basics, we at The Varsity proudly present a look at another sport involving objects that could potentially impale their users – namely, the sport of archery, as practiced by the U of T Archery Club. And not to worry, I’m told that the risk of impalement is almost non-existent at the club, if everybody follows the oft-repeated safety procedures.
The Archery Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 5-8 pm at the Hart House Range. I dropped in for a safety orientation and a sample lesson to see if hitting the bull’s-eye was as easy as it looked. It wasn’t.
I’ll admit that I thought about the safety risk before going, mostly because the skeptical looks and flat-out pleading of several of my friends not to risk the safety of others with my bad aim had somewhat tempered my enthusiasm for a shot at playing Robin Hood. Nevertheless, after cleaning my glasses and spending the night visualizing the many orcs I was about to put out of their misery, I stepped confidently into the world of U of T archery.
The world I found was quite unlike what I expected. For one, it was crowded. The archery range doubles as a shooting range for Hart House’s gun clubs, with about eight stations for archers to rotate through, shooting against a variety of targets. Eight spots was fine for training day, but during the weekday free shoots, when any member can drop in for some practice or one-on-one instruction, the small space gets pretty crowded. It’s a happy inconvenience when a club gets too popular to hold all its members in one room, but some archers good-naturedly grumbled that they only get to shoot three arrows every five or six minutes.
But these are the rules and if the archers understand one thing, it’s the importance of following the rules set by the club. Beyond not crossing the shooting line before the leader calls “Clear,” the rules controlling who can shoot, or detailing the proper way to handle a bow, for example, help each archer develop his or her personal discipline. It also allows for all to improve their skills.
Discipline is an essential component of the sport, as a successful technique depends on it. Archers work to find the perfect combination of physical motions and mental preparedness that leads to a bull’s-eye shot.
When the sight on the bow is aligned perfectly, the body in the right position, the draw smooth and controlled, and the string hand touching the right spot on the archer’s face before a release with the right measure of force, the shot will hit home. Each individual archer has his or her own technique, but all must have the discipline required to identify and drill that technique to create consistency in the shooting.
While all this discipline does make for a serious and focused environment while the group shoots, there is always room for fun. The group is expanding, but most of the members know each other, and banter continues from week to week.
One plus-side of waiting your turn to shoot is the chance to talk with many of the members-students from all corners of the campus who gather to learn a new skill. Mark, a first-year arts student, loves the club: “I’d do this all day if I could,” he beams. Too bad classes, like the one Andrew, a science student, was headed to after trying out a few rounds, get in the way.
New members are attracted, as I was, by the novelty of the sport and the chance to try something that might not be available off campus. Once there, the downtime also allows for the senior members to offer personal instruction on technique and execution.
No matter the motivation for being there, all find the range a peaceful place-save the constant thwacking-where members can release some pent-up aggression by imagining that the target is that hated history midterm or one of those ghoulish ROSI dolls.
Among the senior archers leading this band of bow slingers is computer engineering student Brian Arcand, who has felt home, home on the range since arriving at U of T. Trained by Canada’s Olympic archery coach while at St. Mike’s high school, Brian has turned his skill and love of the sport into a serious pastime, currently ranked among the Top 10 in Canada and doing well at various international competitions.
Brian hopes to follow U of T grad Jonathan Ohayan–who has represented Canada at the Olympics–as an archer for Canada at the Beijing 2008 Games. In the meantime, he helps young archers hone their skills in the friendly Hart House confines.
As for me, I am happy to report that all the members who shot with me and I are all still in one piece. The horror stories I had heard of bleeding arms were nowhere close, as the club provided plenty of protective arm- and wrist-bands.
And I managed to hit the target, albeit the closest one. The furthest targets in the range are eighteen meters away, while for outdoor shoots they can reach a whopping ninety meters! It’s safe to say I won’t be hitting those anytime soon.
After seeing these folks in action, I’ve found a sure-fire way to keep the Queen’s Park squirrel population down. Just kidding, everybody: the only animals these archers shoot are the rubber chickens used at the Halloween and Valentine’s Day fun shoots.
If you’ve always wanted to show up Orlando Bloom and Kevin Costner, come check out the Archery Club at Hart House when they admit new members in second term. Trust me, would I aim you wrong?
