In spite of challenging weather conditions, the Assiniboine River Archery Club held its 25th annual 3-D shoot on August 11 and 12 at the Dale and Chad Swetlishnoff farm near Canora.
Approximately 175 archers took part in the two-day competition. This was significantly lower than usual, mainly due to soaring temperatures reaching well over 30 degrees Celsius on the first day, and the brisk winds on the second day, said Desiree Owchar, Assiniboine River Archery Club president.
Owchar said archers who attend the event appreciate the scenic environment with the realistic hunting conditions and the appealing trails. Students who took part in the competition said they much prefer shooting in the fresh air on this course over practising in the gym at school.
Archers taking part in the competition came from locations across a large portion of Saskatchewan; including Kelvington, Lintlaw, Raymore, Melville, Regina, Preeceville, Kamsack, Yorkton and of course, Canora.
Two 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 in the club who display a love for archery, dedication and good sportsmanship. The 2018 Travis Sleeva Memorial Award went to Brayden Goetzinger, while Emma Mykytyshyn received the Colleen Tiechko Memorial Award.
Owchar said strong sponsorship support for the event has been very important over the 25-year history. That includes providing two new bows, one pink and one camouflage-coloured, to be awarded by draw to one male and one female archer under 17 years of age who registered to shoot on both days of the competition. Rebekah Thomas of Canora won the pink bow and Wyatt Mastrachuk of Sturgis won the camouflage bow.
The competition is made up of two courses. Course A has targets of animals commonly found in Canada, while the targets of the B course, also known as the exotic course, are native to other countries. Scores are kept over the two days, and then added together for an aggregate total.
The competition is split up into various categories and age 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 Dean Bocking with an aggregate total of 685 points over the two days. Mike Owchar finished second with an aggregate of 658 points, just edging out Oscar Knudsen in third place with 655 points.
Hunter-female
Leann Yurkiw came in first in the hunter-female category after shooting a 612 aggregate total. Sandra Burton finished second with an aggregate of 604 points, followed by Nicole Bilcik, who finished third with 598 points.
Compound unlimited-male
Clinton Leis finished first in the compound unlimited-male category with an aggregate total of 760 over the two days. Lonny Gay finished second at 731 points and Steve Keys came in third with 713 points.
Compound unlimited-female
Andrea Wiens was the winner in the compound unlimited-female category with an aggregate two-day total of 705 points, ahead of Shelley Leis who finished second with 645 points.
Compound fixed pin-male
Chris Hoffman finished first in the compound fixed pin-male category with an aggregate score of 681 and was the only entry.
Compound fixed pin-female
Belinda Bocking finished first in the compound fixed pin-female category with a two-day score of 444 and was the only entry.
Master 50 male
Al Bohn came in first in the master 50 male category with an aggregate total of 359 for the two days. Mark Eger finished second by accumulating a score of 311.
Master compound 60-male
In the master compound 60-male category, Merle Bass was first with an aggregate total of 588 points. Hal Thomas finished in second place with 558 points, while Demetry Procyk came in third at 377 points.
Recurve unaided-male
Paul Milani was the winner in the recurve unaided-male category with an aggregate total of 567 over the two days, ahead of Darcy Rewakowsky, in second place with an aggregate of 257. Robert Rohr shot a one-day score of 158, which place him third.
Recurve unaided-female
Linda Westerman finished first in the recurve unaided-female class with a one-day score of 78 and was the only entry.
Cadet compound-male
In the cadet compound-male grouping, maximum age 17, Alden Baron finished first with an aggregate score of 715. Eric MacDonald finished second with an aggregate of 522, while Connor Nagy placed third with 303 points.
Cadet compound-female
In the cadet compound-female category, maximum age 17, Emily Owchar was the winner with a two-day total of 682, ahead of Rebekah Thomas in second place with 588 points. Skylar Yurkiw came in third at 550 points.
Cub compound-male
Everett Paley won the cub compound-male category, maximum age 14, with an aggregate total of 644 points. Wyatt Mastrachuk was second at 617 points, while Ethan Heshka finished third with 528 points.
Cub compound-female
Tatum Borys won the cub compound-female category, maximum age 14, with an aggregate total of 681 points, ahead of second-place finisher Anabelle Tratch with 640 points. Tynell Mack finished third with 578 points.
Pre-cub compound-male
In the pre-cub compound-male class, maximum age 12, Ryan Simons finished first with an aggregate score of 660, barely edging out the 658 score put up by second-place finisher Michael Owchar. Andrew Owchar finished third at 572 points.
Pre-cub compound-female
In the pre-cub compound-female class, maximum age 12, Amber MacDonald finished first with an aggregate score of 505, ahead of Sofia Tratch in second place with 482 points. Makayla Heshka finished third at 424 points.
Peewee-male
Dominick O’Soup won the peewee male class, maximum age nine, by putting up a two-day score of 654. Cayden Hoffman finished second with 643 points, ahead of Kasen Heshka in third place at 462 points.
Peewee-female
Presley Owchar finished first in the peewee-female class with a two-day score of 294 and was the only entry.
