For the second year in a row, Quesnel was host to the B.C. indoor archery championships. The Quesnel River Archers (QRA) was host club, with the shooting taking place at the curling centre. In the first year of fully unfettered activities since the pandemic reopening, the local and provincial participation was higher.
“Last year we had 84 or 85 archers and this year we were up to 105, so definitely an improvement there,” said Lora-Lee Murray, one of the club’s primary coaches, the president of the provincial archery association, and an award-winning archer. She and husband Stu Murray, also a coach and club official, earned matching jewellery from the provincials, each coming away with a silver medal in their categories.
“Almost all Quesnel archers came away with a medal, and everyone did personally well and gained valuable experience,” Lora-Lee said.
A couple of para-archers attended this year, which had not happened the year before, so the signs of growth in the sport are in more than just numbers.
“The membership numbers are going up throughout the province. It’s ramping up, as a provincial sport, so we can hopefully keep up the good work,” she said.
The provincial championships for indoor target shooting, and the spring freshet, means a change in archery techniques. Murray said “We’re all done shooting in the basement; we all want to be out in the sunshine and happiness. Archery never really ends, it just takes a short break between seasons. I will shoot outside until I physically can’t stand the cold anymore or it snows, then I’ll be back inside until I can get back outdoors again.”
The club will now shift activities to their outdoor range on Campsite Road near Pioneer Park, readying their members for a number of archery tournaments across the region over the summer. Murray will be practicing for national-level aspirations.
Quesnel archers provincial medals:
Gold
Kayla Erickson, Recurve U18 Women
Lesley Olson, Recurve 60+ Women
Silver
Dale Chapplow, Recurve 60+ Men
Lora-Lee Murray, Barebow 50+ Women
Stuart Murray, Barebow 60+ Men
Brooklyn Novak, Compound U18 Women
Brendan Douglas, Compound U13 Men
Bronze
Miranda Marcotte, Barebow Women
Lily Fraser, Compound U18 Women
Jaron Ireland, Compound U15 Men (QRA members Hunter Brown and Levi Walker finished 4th and 5th after him)
Honourable mentions
Adam D’Entremont came 8th in the highly competitive Compound Men category, his 1,133 score only 51 points back from the gold medal.
Similarly, his son Kayden D’Entremont came 4th in the hotly contested Compound U18 Men division, his 1,106 score only one point out of the medals and a mere 40 points back of gold.
