May 2025 newsletter

Club Board meeting May 29 @ 6:30pm

We will be holding a meeting of the Board on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30pm in the Arbutus Room at Saanich Commonwealth. Members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Saanich Commonwealth gym closure

Please note that the gym at Saanich Commonwealth will be closed from June 16 to July 2 to refinish the floor. This means there will be no regular club shoots or JOP on the following dates:

• Thursday, June 19
• Sunday, June 22
• Thursday, June 26
• Sunday, June 29

JOP Indoor Championships results

On April 6th, 23 young archers competed in the Vancouver Island Region portion of the JOP Indoor Championships, most of them from our club. And everyone deserves congratulations whether they won or not! So many shot their best and moved up several levels. The medal winners are:

Junior bowman level
Malcom Kirkland –  silver
Athena Lee – bronze

Bowman level
Zoey Weston – gold
Sara France – silver

Expert bowman level
TK Lim – bronze

Master archer level
Vinesse DeCastro – bronze

Olympian 260 level
Maddox Eliason – gold

Olympian 270 level
Jiayi Yuan – silver

The club is very proud of all of you! We hope the medals arrive soon so they can be handed to the winners. And there should be a whole bunch of new achievement certificates also coming. And a BIG THANK YOU to all the parents and Sofija and other club members for helping run the tournament.

Outdoor shooting at South Vancouver Island Rangers archery range

A reminder that the club has some access to the outdoor range (various distances from 20 – 60 metres) at the South Vancouver Island Rangers, 3498 Luxton Road In Langford. They are hosting outdoor practices there, Wednesday evenings 6:30(ish) – 8pm and Saturdays noon(ish) – 3pm. Be sure to check their website calendar before heading out to be sure there is archery that day – the timings on Saturdays may be earlier. If it says ‘Archery’ there will be someone there. There is a $10 drop in charge for shooting.

There will also be another 55+ Games Tune Up Tournament at the Rangers on June 14th – practice 9:30, first arrow at 10.

Shooting etiquette reminders

As you all well know, our practice sessions are becoming very popular, so we’d like to remind everyone of the basic etiquette and procedures for indoor shooting.

• You should arrive before shooting starts to help set up the necessary butts. If you arrive late, those who came early have to wait for you. 
• There should be 4 targets to a butt. Some people shoot faster than others, so pick a butt that’s empty when they’re still shooting and add a target there. If you must put up another butt, do it quickly between ends.
• You should only shoot 3 arrows. It is OK to shoot more, but not if you’re holding up the line. We will wait for you to shoot your 3, but we should not have to wait for you to shoot anymore.
• Each archer should expect to have their own ‘space’ (in tournaments, it’s 80cm), you should not encroach on this space. This includes your bow, your arrows, stabilizers or anything else you may have.
• Lastly, please stay to help put the butts and equipment away when the shoot has wrapped up.

Thanks to all for your cooperation!

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