The Assiniboine River Archery Club held its 26th annual 3-D shoot August 10 and 11 at the Dale and Chad Swetlishnoff farm near Canora.
A total of 172 archers took part in the successful two-day event in near-ideal weather, said Desiree Owchar, Club president.
“There was no strong wind or extreme heat and the rain stayed away,” Owchar reported.
She said there was positive feedback from the competitors about the shooting conditions on the course.
“They all said it was a great course with beautiful scenery,” said Owchar. “This location works so well because it makes it feel so realistic, a setting where some of these animals would be found in nature. It’s a safe location and can host two beautifully set courses.”
Course A (domestic animals) has 20 targets of animals commonly found in Canada, while the 20 targets on the B course (exotic animals) are native to other countries. Scores are kept over the two days of the competition, and then added together for an aggregate total.
In addition to Canora, archers taking part in the competition came from locations across the province, including Regina, Watson, Lintlaw, Yorkton and Whitewood. Out-of-province visitors came from as far away as Scandia, Alta. (near Brooks).
Prior to the beginning of the competition on August 10, Owchar said there was some unplanned excitement on the course.
“We discovered a bear on Thursday evening when my husband Mike and our boys Michael and Andrew were on the exotic animals course,” she recalled. “There were several targets that were knocked over and moved around. They could not locate the velociraptor head or the red frog on Thursday but they were recovered on Friday, the day before the start of the competition. There was no damage done but it took some extra time to set up targets again and find the missing ones.
“And fortunately no one ran into our Thursday evening visitor after the competition started.”
The weekend-long competition is split up into a number of age categories and groups, giving everyone an opportunity to win, whether new to the sport or an experienced competitor.
Hunter-male
The hunter-male competition was won by Gerard Kiefer of Kamsack with an aggregate total of 773 over the two days, just ahead of Don Gould of Lloydminster in second place with 769 points. Corey Heshka of Canora placed third at 712 points.
Hunter-female
Joni Mack of Jansen came in first in the hunter-female category after shooting a 702 aggregate total. Sandra Baron of Canora finished second with an aggregate of 624 points, followed by Amanda Kiefer of Kamsack, who finished third with 565 points.
Compound unlimited-male
Lonny Gray of Raymore was the clear winner of the compound unlimited-male category with an aggregate total of 794 over the two days. He was followed in the standings by a pair of Canora shooters. Clinton Kraynick finished second with 581 points and Damon Paley shot 539 to place third.
Compound unlimited-female
Andrea Wiens of Raymore finished first in the compound unlimited-female category with an aggregate two-day total of 769 and was the only entry.
Compound fixed pin-male
Chris Hoffman of Regina finished first in the compound fixed pin-male category with an aggregate score of 732. Joey Bilsky of Scandia, Alta., originally of Mikado, finished second at 706. Ian Thomas of Canora was third with an aggregate score of 644.
Compound fixed pin-female
Belinda Bocking of Lintlaw was the winner in the compound fixed pin-female category with a two-day total of 525 and was the only entry.
Master compound 60-male
In the master compound 60-male category, Orest Belesky of Yorkton took first place with an aggregate score of 681 points. Hall Thomas of Canora finished second with 567 points, barely ahead of Merle Bass of Yorkton in third at 566 points.
Traditional-male
Vince Bailey of Canora won the traditional-male category with a two-day total of 507 points, followed by Darcy Rewakowsky, also of Canora, in second place with 293 points. Ross Tressel only competed on day two, but still finished third with 178 points.
Traditional-female
Linda Westermann of Sturgis finished first in the traditional-female category with an aggregate total of 257 points and was the only competitor.
Junior compound-male
Jessie Biletski of Canora was the winner in the junior compound-male category, maximum age 20, with a two-day total of 231 points and was the only entry.
Junior compound-female
In the junior compound-female category, maximum age 20, Emma Mykytyshyn of Canora was the winner with an aggregate total of 204 points and was the only entry.
Cadet compound-male
In the cadet compound-male grouping, maximum age 17, Carter Masley of Sturgis finished first with a two-day total of 733 points. A pair of Canora archers were next in the final results, with Alden Baron in second place at 685 and Hudson Bailey third with 427 points.
Cadet compound-female
The top three finishers in the cadet compound-female category, maximum age 17, were all from Canora. Emily Owchar took first place with an aggregate score of 633, with Rebekah Thomas in second place at 482 and Bella Mykytyshyn third with 381 points.
Cub compound-male
In the cub compound-male category, maximum age 14, Kaiden Masley of Sturgis was the winner with a two-day total of 726 points, followed by Wyatt Mastrachuk, also of Sturgis, in second place with 693 points. Cole Marcinkoski of Canora finished third with 682 points.
Cub compound-female
In the cub compound-female category, maximum age 14, there were two competitors. Tynell Mack of Jansen took first by shooting an aggregate score of 745, followed by Zoe Thomas of Canora with a total of 447 points.
Pre-cub compound-male
In the pre-cub compound-male category, maximum age 12, Andrew Owchar of Canora finished first with a two-day total of 637 points, ahead of Cooper Kraynick, also of Canora, in second with 568 points. Carden Hoffmann of Regina was a close third with a total of 561 points.
Pre-cub compound-female
Cierra Bocking of Lintlaw was the winner of the pre-cub compound-female category, maximum age 12, with an aggregate total of 528 points. Makayla Heshka of Canora placed second at 469 points, while Zayden Mack of Jansen finished third with 452 points.
Peewee-male
In the peewee-male category, maximum age nine, Gage Kiefer of Kamsack finished first with a two-day total of 727 points. Dominick O’Soup of Norquay was second with 709 points, followed by Kasen Heshka of Canora in third place with 618 points.
Peewee-female
In the peewee-female category, maximum age nine, there were two competitors. Presley Owchar of Canora was the winner with a two-day total of 480 points, followed by Keyla Kiefer of Kamsack in second place with 256 points.
A pair of special awards are presented each year to deserving members of the Assiniboine River Archery Club, the Travis Sleeva Memorial Award and the Colleen Tiechko Memorial Award, said Owchar. These awards go to the male and female archers who display a love for archery, dedication and good sportsmanship. This year’s Travis Sleeva memorial award went to Cole Marcinkoski, while Amber MacDonald of Invermay received the Colleen Tiechko memorial award.
The club also gives away two bows by draw to one male and one female who register to shoot for both Saturday and Sunday of the 3-D shoot and entered in the cadet category and under (17 years of age and younger). The female bow, sponsored by Preeceville Archery Products, was won by Makayla Heshka. The male bow, sponsored by Assiniboine River Archery Club, went to Michael Owchar.
Owchar said there are many people who work behind the scenes to make the shoot successful.
“The Swetleshnoff Family continuously lets us use their land. Danny Rakochy cuts out the campgrounds, beer gardens and both target trails. Our sponsors donate prizes and silent auction items. Preeceville Archery Products sets up shop for both days and helps the archers tweak their equipment and keeps them supplied with arrows. Our club members pull together to get everything done safely and on time. And we appreciate all the archers that participate and the community that comes out to support our event. Without them our shoot could not be possible,” Owchar concluded.
