A local Estevan bowman took aim and won a major national title.
Hunter Chipley, of the Estevan Archery Club, won gold and silver at the recent Canadian Archery Championships in Truro, N.S.
He was entered in the cadet recurve division of the field competition with six other athletes, shooting 72 arrows from distances that varied from five to 50 meters, and earned a national silver medal.
Then he spent two days in a double 720 target competition with 13 athletes in the cadet recurve division. They shot 72 arrows each day at a distance of 60 meters, and Chipley's total of 1,187 points during the two days earned Chipley the national gold medal.
“I practise every day, every week for probably around five weeks right after provincials,” said Chipley. “Basically, anybody can go to nationals but it’s based on your age and equipment. I was in a division with 14 other guys and the first day wasn’t too good but I stayed focused on it.”
Chipley has been involved in the sport for some time and has learned over the last several years to stay focused from shot to shot while in the sport.
“The first day was really windy, probably 20 mile an hour gusts,” Chipley said. “It was blowing more than what most people were used to. I had all my form working and I didn’t have to worry about what was working (with that). I just had to remember to keep my head in the game and focus on where my arrows were landing.”
The division that he’s in will have competitors shooting arrows up to 60 metres away from their targets.
“You’re shooting six arrows, and then you’re going down and getting six arrows and then come back,” he said. “To keep your focus, you lose it for that little bit but then you remember to get back into your zone and don’t let that get you.”
Next year he’ll age into the junior division, which will be 70 metres. Next nationals, he’ll be shooting with 17-21 year-olds.
“Next year in February, I hope to be going in the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer,” he said.
Chipley is a member of the provincial high performance camp every month and won’t need to qualify for the Games at any specific meet, but good performances at nationals and other meets go a long way to getting him a spot. Those coaches have understandably reacted positively to Chipley’s accomplishment.
“I’ve had lots of coaches saying ‘awesome’ and the Olympic coaches for Canada were saying ‘good job’,” Chipley said. “And then my high performance coach was talking to me the whole time. It was pretty good.”
Chipley will be down at the Estevan Archery Club nearly every night practising and helping coach kids shooting.
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