Joey Payeur
The next Robin Hood, William Tell, or Hawkeye may be lurking somewhere within the intermediate student population of Rainy River District.
Sturgeon Creek School’s gym will double as Sherwood Forest this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. when the Rainy River District Athletic Association unveils its inaugural Grade 7-8 archery tournament.
Event convenor Rob Kinsman from Sturgeon Creek said the idea was borne out of the fact two years ago, junior and intermediate teachers in the public school board started receiving National Archery in the Schools Program training.
“The NASP ran a certification program for the teachers to show them how to properly run the archery range and focused on the safety component,” Kinsman said of NASP, which is a branch of the Ontario Federation of Hunters and Anglers.
“Last year, I made it part of my physical education program and gave the kids a chance to see what it was all about,” he noted.
“It was brought up at the RRDAA meeting this year and they asked who wanted to try and run a small tournament, and since I was already doing it with the classes, I decided to take on the challenge.”
Kinsman called it a “brand new and exciting experience” for the participating students.
“A lot of my kids are country kids who have experience with hunting and especially bow hunting,” he noted.
“To bring real-life experience into the program helps them make more of a connection with the physical education program here.
“Archery reaches out to kids who don’t take part in traditional team sports.” Kinsman added. “It’s very individual and there is less pressure for those students from a team perspective.
“The kids can set individual goals for themselves.”
All of the roughly 35 entrants expected will be grouped in the same division, regardless of their grade level or gender.
“It’s an individualized sport so it doesn’t matter if it’s a girl shooting against a guy or vice-versa,” Kinsman explained.
So far, the host Sturgeon Creek Sturgeons are slated to be joined by the Robert Moore Mustangs, Donald Young All-Stars, Crossroads Tornadoes, and Fort Frances High School Muskies (Grades 7-8), with the Riverview Royals still a possibility.
Considering the potential for serious injury, Kinsman stressed safety will be the first priority.
“Most of the gymnasium doors will be locked during the competition, with proper signs posted indicating that students can only enter and leave from certain areas of the gym,” he noted.
“The archery range itself will be run by a certified instructor.”
Kinsman will be assisted by NASP regional rep Jeremy Funk from Sioux Lookout in running the tournament, which at first glance would appear to lend itself better to being held outdoors once the weather warmed up.
But Kinsman spelled out his reasoning to prove the indoor venue is not such a mad idea after all.
“Our schedules are a lot busier in the spring, with things like baseball, graduations, the Toronto trip, and track and field,” he remarked.
“We’re teaching as part of the curriculum right around this time anyway, and it’s a great mid-winter activity,” he added.
