Melfort hosts NASP school archery provincials

It was the first time a major school archery tournament took place in Melfort – and Melfort teams performed well in the range.

The National Archery in Schools Program’s Northern Saskatchewan tournament took place at the Northern Light Palace April 1, with around 400 participating.

“This year we were fortunate enough that the City of Melfort was able to gave [NASP] Saskatchewan a really good deal on the Palace,” said Randy Steciuk, an organizer and the coach for Melfort’s Maude Burke Elementary, adding that with the ice gone from the arena and a large volunteer base of more than 50, it was a good opportunity to host the tournament.

Jordan Lam Ma, the coach of the two Tisdale schools, said his teams were excited to shoot at the event.

“The kids had a restless night, I think,” he said moments before his teams entered the range. “They’re pretty jittery and they’re really excited to come shoot.”

In the elementary division among schools, Maude Burke placed first and Tisdale Elementary was second. For the middle division, Melfort And Unit Comprehensive Collegiate placed first. In the high school division, MUCC was second, Star City was fourth and Naicam sixth.

There were also individual archers from schools that didn’t have enough to form teams. The 15 from Tisdale Middle & Secondary were such an example.

Steciuk said Maude Burke has been involved in the National Archery in Schools Program since 2009. It’s taught as part of a school’s Physical Education curriculum and then becomes an extracurricular program for those interested in the sport.

The organizer said archery, as a school sport, has been exploding in the Northeast and across the province.

“There’s just something very mystical and exciting about archery. You put a bow in a child’s hand, give them some training and it becomes a personal and a team experience for them.”

Steciuk also said there’s lots of archers that are female and lots that find success in the sport that aren’t as successful in athletics due to physical size and limitations. Some have disabilities like cerebral palsy.

“It just encompasses such a large group of people, but again, there’s just something exciting about that flight of the arrow.”

Next year, the nationals will take place in Saskatchewan, either in Moose Jaw or Regina. This year, they were in Edmonton.