Today, all the training and hours spent tuning their craft would come to fruition as the Team BC Archers began their competition at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, AB.

To kick things off, male and female archers competed in the Individual Qualification Round 1 of Recurve and Compound.

A recurve bow curves away from the archer when unstrung. Due to the fact that the recurve bow stores and delivers energy more efficiently than a straight limbed bow, it gives a greater amount of energy and speed the arrow. Compounding bows use a leveraging system that bends the limbs. It gives a mechanic advantage so its limbs are stiffer than a recurve bow.

In the Recurve event, Team BC was represented by Adi Shapira (Vancouver) and Adam Deane (Delta). Shapira would finish her day in 5^th position with a score of 503. Deane’s score of 546 would earn him a 4^th spot in the standings to end the day.

Team BC athletes Emma Chylinski (North Vancouver) and Spencer Gamache (Quesnel) represented BC in the Compound event. Chylinski finished the day with a score of 566, placing her in 5^th in the standings to end the day behind Yukon’s Sofija Jewell. Gamache finished his first round with a score of 560 place him 8^th in today’s standings behind Nova Scotian Colby Boutilier.

Team BC coaches were happy with how the day unfolded.

“We had successful day 1 qualification rounds. BC athletes enjoyed the competition push from other provinces. Today allowed them to get rid of any nerves and work on their form aspects. They are now ready and set to perform moving forward,” said Linda Price, Team BC coach.

Archery action will continue tomorrow (February 27, 2019) morning with Round 2 of Recurve qualifications, followed by Round 2 of Compound qualifications later that afternoon.

Coach Paul Van Tassel discussed how he is most looking forward to seeing the athletes perform to the best of their abilities and hopefully set some personal bests in a competition of this magnitude.  

Results

Recurve Qualification Round 1

Female – Adi Shapira (Vancouver) – 503 points (5^th in standings)

Male – Adam Deane (Delta) – 546 points (4^th in standings)

Compound Qualification Round 1

Female – Emma Chylinkski (North Vancouver) – 566 (5^th in standings)

Male – Spencer Gamache (Quesnel) – 560 points (8^th in standings)