By TOM HAYES
TWIN City Archers have been flat out recently, from getting new clubrooms, to hosting the Australian Open Field Championships and sending three juniors off to the National Youth Championships.
March will simply be a month to remember for the archery club.
Across five days of archery action from March 8 to 12, Twin City Archers (based in Morwell) hosted the Australian Open Field Championships.
But the lead-up to the week might’ve eclipsed the actual championships themselves, as the new clubrooms were finally handed over to the club on the Monday before the championships.
“The feedback from the archers is that this facility is one of the best in Australia now,” Twin City Archers President, Peter Bennett said.
Previously, Twin City Archers had their own clubrooms built by themselves, but now they’ve upgraded, bigger and better.
“They (the old clubrooms) were nice but not like what we’ve got now,” Bennett said.
Twin City Archers hosted multiple events throughout the championships.
First was an unmarked field round, which saw archers estimate the distances to the targets on something similar to a golf course, which includes 24 different targets.
Then there was a marked field round, where archers know the distance to each target, which once again, had 24 targets. Targets in this event are generally a bit further.
Over the championships, there was the team elimination events, which entails a three-person team of men and women, each using a different bow; compound, recurve and barebow.
Teams are ranked from one to 16, then the field is compacted to eight, then four.
The final fours teams play head-to-head, with the winners of each round playing in the gold medal match. The losing teams play off in the bronze medal match.
Using the same structure as the team elimination, the open compound, recurve and barebow events for men and women took place to conclude the championships.
Presentations were made at the end of each round.
Team winners were presented with national championship medals, while individual winners won $1000, with archers placing down to fifth receiving monetary prizes.
But the most coveted prize is the silver buckle, made in the US valued at around $600, which is presented to the individual male and female winners.
Nicky Fairweather took out the women’s division, going back-to-back from the championships held two years ago at Armadale, New South Wales.
Jay Moylan got his hands on the silver buckle, after missing out two years ago, he made up for it by taking out the men’s division.
The same championships held two years ago in Armadale had about 50 entries. But more impressively, the team at Twin City Archers were able to host 94 entrants at last month’s championships, which was “just about on max”, according to Bennett.
“The feedback from all of the archers was it was the best one that they’ve ever been to,” Bennett said with pride.
“They loved the courses, the courses were challenging.”
Bennett spoke on the contribution that the championships have on the community, and the hard work that goes into hosting them.
“The events are great. They’re hard work, but they’re worth the work,” he said.
“The biggest benefit will be to the local community. I think the last time we hosted the nationals here, Latrobe City Council put out the monetary gain by the community (which was) about $750,000.”
More recently, Twin City Archers had three juniors head off to Canberra for the National Youth Championships.
Rhys Pollerd, Corey Peters and Evelyn Russell were part of the 15-archer Victorian team at the championships.
Each archer would take place in four events, including the indoor event, field event and the 900-metre and 700m outdoor events.
Despite making the Top 10 in each 16 and under event he participated in, Pollerd wished he performed better, as he was unable to pinch himself a medal.
Peters won himself two medals in the 21 and under division, winning silver in the 900m outdoor championships and gold in the indoor event.
Most impressively, Russell won gold in each event, competing in the 14 and under division as a 12-year-old.
Peters was team co-captain throughout the event, with Bennett describing it as a “huge effort”.
Next year, Twin City will hold the Australian Field Championships, which will host more age groups, as the clubs hopes to get nearly 200 competitors.
If you are interested in archery, ring Twin City Archers President, Peter Bennett on 0429 429 240.
For more information and news on Twin City Archers, head to their Facebook page.
Form: Nicky Fairweather went back-to-back in the women’s division.
Talent: Evelyn Russell, Rhys Pollerd and Corey Peters at the Youth National Championships.