Category: News Posts

Have you ever thought about coaching archery? We are looking for intermediate to advanced archers interested in coach training to help facilitate development at the club level. If you would like to get involved with coaching new archers in your community/club, we are hosting the perfect course for you!

Certified coach training ensures that instruction in our sport is delivered correctly and professionally. In addition to learning archery specific techniques, the  National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Course includes athlete and program management skills that can be an asset in your personal and professional life.

ABAM Coaching Coordinator, Ron Cooney will be hosting a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Instructor of Beginner Archer Course (Level 1) Course on the Weekend of April 13  & 14. The sessions will be held in Winnipeg at the Sport for Life Center, located at  145 Pacific Avenue. The course will run from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM both days at a cost of $100 per participant.

“Instructor of Beginner Archers: By presenting several mini-lessons and demonstrations, as well as observing interventions during shooting throughout the course of this workshop, coaches/instructors will be prepared to introduce archery to athletes in a variety of settings, including: clubs, camps, schools, and other organized activities.

Please note, there is a $50 rebate for candidates that complete their evaluation. This course is available for youth and adults interested in becoming a coach.

To Register for the course, please visit: https://goo.gl/forms/mquqwmM0Vhc9p8z42

For any inquires about the course, please contact Ryan Van Berkel at info@abam.ca 

For more information on the Archery Canada NCCP Coaching Pathway, please visit the links below.

Coaching Archery in Canada – CLICK HERE 

Instructor of Beginner: Pathway to Certification – CLICK HERE 

Instructor & Coach: Training & Certification – CLICK HERE

A group of nearly a dozen archers from Manitoba have traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to compete in the 2019 NFAA Vegas Shoot. The event, which is in it’s 51st year is the largest archery tournament in the world and has set a new record for participation in 2019, with over 4000 competitors. Members of Team Manitoba, Austin Taylor, Brady Klassen, Chyler Sanders, Kyle Cherniak, Nattasha Shpak, Ryan Cherniak, and Robbie Comberbach are competing across several classes and divisions. In addition to Team Manitoba, recent 2018 Manitoba Winter Games archers Taylor Klimchuk and Terron Baker are competing at the event for the first time, alongside masters shooters Charles Wong & Kelly Taylor.

The ABAM would like to wish all the archers attending a great performance during their time at the Vegas Shoot!

For a full listing of results, please visit: http://ianseo.net/TourData/2019/4786/IC.php

Results following the completion of the event are as follows:

The Brandon Wildlife Archery Club hosted it’s annual Indoor 3D Shoot this past weekend at the Keystone Center in Brandon, MB. The event saw an increased number of shooters and spectators attend it’s 2019 event. The 3D shoot hosted nearly 130 participants and an estimated 30 spectators in a variety of age categories and equipment divisions. A highlight of the event was “The Kids Zone” area which was busy all day with youth practicing between rounds or trying 3D archery for the first time. Brandon Wildlife organizer Scott Holman noted that the club would like to build on the success of “The Kids Zone” next year, with the potential of adding a side area or event for adult shooters. The ABAM and the Brandon Wildlife Archery Club would like to thank the nearly 20 volunteers that offered up their weekend to assist with setup/take down and registration. Thank you to Ken McCrury, Shuana & Zach Price, Brent Castle, Dan Chranowski, Remi Decosse, Lee & Pam Robins, Brian Brownlie, Richard Brownlie, Dale Kotowsky, Reed Fowlie, Josh Dillabough, Cam Pakulak, Marie & Rick Liski, Katarena Knipping & Scott Holman.

For a great article by the Brandon Sun on the event, please visits: https://www.brandonsun.com/local/archers-take-aim-during-indoor-shoot-503985172.html

A full listing of results can be found below:

From Archery Canada Post:

Archery Canada is pleased to announce the Carberry Archers of Brandon, MB as the new host for the 2019 3D Indoor Archery Canadian Championships. The Championships will take place in Brandon April 27-28, 2019. More information will be available soon!

Tir à l’arc Canada est heureux d’annoncer les Carberry Archers de Brandon, MB comme le nouvel hôte des Championnats canadien 3D en salle de 2019. Les Championnats auront lieu à Brandon les 27 et 28 avril 2019. Plus d’informations seront bientôt disponibles !

(2016 Canadian Indoor 3D Championships)

Sport Manitoba Award of Sport Excellence Bronze Medal Award Recipients. Awarded to athletes that placed 2nd or 3rd at a recognized national championship.

Shown in the photo below from left to right: Stella Braun, Ryan Cherniak, Simon Potrebka, Aingeal Hanan, Chyler Sanders, Amy Platt, Cornelia Squirra, Petra Squirra, Keenan Brown, & Nattasha Shpak.

The 2018 Awards Banquet hosted at Smokin’ Hawg BBQ Co’s event space at the Harbourview Golf & Recreation Centre on Saturday November 24, 2018. Thank you to our master of ceremonies Kelly  Taylor and our host Bernie Lutzer for the great food and atmosphere. To view the photo album of the event, please go to: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1900218413424385&type=1&l=d88785698e. Below is the event slide show recognizing our 2018 volunteers and recipients! Please click a slide to enlarge.

The Archers & Bowhunters Association of Manitoba will be coordinating member registration in the 2019 Archery Canada Mail Match Competition, under the guidance of Manitoba Mailmatch Coordinator Wendy Roberts (mbmailmatchcoordinator@gmail.com).

For those who are not aware of the national competition, it is a great way to enhance your shooting whether you are at home or at the range with friends. Unlike registered archery competitions, the national event accepts scores shot at any location with out competitors or a judge on hand.

The Mail Match is a competition held yearly from the first of January to the end of March.  Competitors may shoot a maximum of 1 Canadian 300 Round (30 arrows at 18 meters) per week for 12/13 weeks.  These scores are sent to the Archery Canada Mail Match Coordinator (indoormailmatch@archerycanada.ca) who sends out monthly updates of scores and averages.  At the end of the 12/13 weeks the six best scores for each archer are averaged and medals awarded in two ways, first under the AC Category divisions (Gold, Silver and Bronze) and secondly by the listed classifications (only Gold is award to the top score in each classification if a Gold has not been awarded in the AC Category divisions).  Pins are also awarded for six for sixty (paid for by the competitor at a cost of $5.25 + S/H per pin).

Another way of taking part is by entering the Team Event where you are able to compete as a team against other clubs.  A team shall consist of 3 or 4 members from the same club.  Team composition shall consist of: at least one (1) finger shooter, at least one (1) release shooter and at least one (1) woman, junior or younger age or wheelchair archer. Clubs can only submit ONE (1) team.

The Mailmatch is an excellent competition for the archer who cannot get to any of the larger tournaments during the winter months. It also gives the archer an idea as to how other archers are shooting by comparison.  This competition is also good practice for tournaments but under less stressful conditions.

If you wish to join the Mailmatch, please register at: https://goo.gl/forms/z096vsVbJWy9XcYy1

for a full listing of the event rules, please visit: http://www.archerycanada.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/page/files/mailmatchrules.pdf

For more information on the event, please contact Wendy Roberts at: mbmailmatchcoordinator@gmail.com 

Team Manitoba in archery for the Canada Winter Games has been named, the Archers and Bowhunters Association of Manitoba is pleased to announce.

The four archers selected as primary athletes are Bryanne Lameg, Austin Taylor, Cleo Wermann-Thorn and Kadin Giebelhaus. Selected as their alternates are, respectively, Nattasha Shpak, Brady Klassen, Janna Hawash and Roman Boyechko.

The archers were named following an extensive qualification period consisting of numerous tournaments at Heights Outdoors and Archery Range and Heartland Archery. Lameg and Taylor emerged as the No.1-ranked compound archers, while Wermann-Thorn was the No.1-ranked female recurve archer. Giebelhaus accepted the No.1 role when archer Brody Wilson withdrew citing commitments to hockey.

Lameg, 19, is a student at the University of Manitoba Asper School of Business, and Taylor, 18, is a graduate of Kildonan-East Collegiate. Each has an impressive archery resume: Lameg is the reigning Canadian outdoor target archery champion and has eyes on the Pan Am Games in 2019 in Lima, Peru after earning a bronze medal at a qualifier tournament in Medellin, Colombia in August. She has competed at the World Archery Youth Championship in Argentina in 2017 and a World Cup of Archery event in Salt Lake City in June. She won a silver medal in team play at the World Indoor Archery Championship in Yankton, S.D. in February.

Taylor is the reigning Canadian junior-aged outdoor target archery and field archery champion, setting a Canadian record in field archery at the national championship in Nova Scotia in August. He won second place at The Vegas Shoot in the Championship Young Adult category in February, as well as winning the Alberta Summer Classic in July. He won a bronze medal in team play at the World Archery Indoor Championship in Yankton, S.D., in February. Taylor joined Lameg and Klassen at the World youth championship in Argentina and is Canada’s No.1-ranked indoor archer. He has a busy 2019 in store, with appearances slated at the World Archery Senior Championship in the Netherlands in June and is a leading candidate to represent Canada at the World Archery Youth Championship in Madrid in August.

Wermann-Thorn, 14, is in Grade 9 at Westwood Collegiate and is also a strong athlete in rhythmic gymnastics, in which for three years she has qualified for and competed at the western regional championships. She also competed in the Manitoba Winter Games in March in Thompson.

Giebelhaus, 15, is in Grade 9 at Stonewall Collegiate and also competed in March at the Manitoba Winter Games. With his teammate Aingeal Hanan, Giebelhaus earned a silver medal in the team competition.

Shpak, 14, who will attend if Lameg is unable, is a Grade 9 student at Dakota Collegiate, and a Manitoba Winter Games gold medallist, having won in the team event with teammate Terron Baker, and won a silver medal in the individual event.

Klassen, 16, a Grade 11 student at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate, will attend if Taylor is unable. He is also a reigning Canadian champion, winning gold as a cadet at the national championships in August. He is also a leading candidate to represent Canada at the world youth championship in Madrid.

Hawash, 12, a Grade 7 student at Churchill High School, would be one of the youngest athletes at the Games if Wermann-Thorn must withdraw. Originally from the United Arab Emirates, Hawash is a regular competitor at local tournaments.

Boyechko, 15, a Grade 10 student at Shaftesbury High School, will attend if Giebelhaus is unable. Boyechko is the reigning Manitoba indoor target champion and, with teammate Hailee MacDonald, a gold medallist at the Manitoba Winter Games.

The Canada Winter Games run from Feb. 15 to March 3 in Red Deer, Alta. Archery runs in the second week, from Feb. 28 to March 1 and consists of qualification rounds followed by match-play eliminations.

For more information on the Canada Winter Games Archery Event, please visit: https://archerymanitoba.ca/events2/canadagames/

We are now accepting 2019 ABAM Membership & Club Affiliation Purchase & Renewals.

Benefits of membership include:

• Liability Insurance coverage while involved in an archery event
• Access to all ABAM Programs such as Archery Development, Tournaments and Provincial Teams
• Eligible for Awards in Target and 3D tournaments
• Eligible for Bowhunter of the Year Award
• You receive ABAM Newsletters & News bulletins with important info in the Archery World and news of whats going on in Archery in Manitoba
• Reduced entry fees at all ABAM registered Target/3D Tournaments
• Archery Canada Membership
• A voice in the archery community at the ABAM Annual General Meeting
• Eligibility for Manitoba Winter Games and Canada Winter Games

Please note, that the 2018 Individual and Club Membership privileges will expire on December 31, 2018.  As the ABAM membership and club affiliation acts as liability coverage for shooters, clubs and event hosts, we stress the importance of members to renew before the end of December.

2019 ABAM MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Please note, 2018 Membership Expires on December 31, 2018. 

ABAM is now accepting 2019 Membership Applications.

Online Membership/Payment

We encourage new and existing members to pay and sign up for their membership online as this saves on administrative time and paper. If you would like to pay/renew online, please fill out the Registration Form by clicking the link below. You will be prompted to complete your payment following your form submission.

Mail In Membership/Payment

Mailing membership forms with cash or cheque is still available. To do so, please download the 2019 membership form by clicking the button below and saving the file to your computer. Print the form, and mail it in with your form of payment.

Membership Cards: ABAM will no longer print and distribute member cards. Membership cards are now available by logging into your Archery Canada Registrant Database Profile. For information on how to log into your profile, please see below.

The membership form and online payment and registration option can be accessed at the membership page of the ABAM Website located at https://archerymanitoba.ca/about/membership/. Payment options include online payment and registration through a new online member form that will follow the Pay Pal Transaction. As always, we will accept member forms along with cash or cheque by mail.

We encourage new and existing members to pay and sign up for their membership online as this saves on administrative time and paper. If you would like to pay/renew online, please select a membership option below and click “Buy Now”

Proof of Membership & Profile Access:
Following the completion of your membership purchase/renewal, the ABAM office will create/renew your membership profile in the Archery Canada Registrant Database. In your profile, you will be allocated a membership number to be used as proof of membership across Manitoba and the rest Canada.

Please allow up to 10 business days for the membership purchase/renewal to be processed. If you are purchasing membership within 10 business days of an event you will be attending, please contact the ABAM office to expedite the process.

Proof of Membership:
Proof of Membership is important at ABAM & Archery Canada Events. It is proof of personal liability insurance coverage for all participants, as well as offers event fee discounts. Additionally, membership ensures that all scores from Archery Canada Registered Events are submitted to Archery Canada for Records, Archer Rankings and National Team Selection.

To provide proof of membership at ABAM & Archery Canada Events you can show your membership card (see link to instructions below to access) or provide photo ID, as all affiliate clubs hosting events will have a current membership list.

How to Access ABAM/Archery Canada Member Profile & Print Member Card

The log-in page for the ABAM/Archery Canada IANSEO Database is: https://can.service.ianseo.net/

To view our “How to” instructions on setting up your profile and printing your member card, click the link below:

ABAM/Archery Canada Member Profile “How to”:
https://archerymanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ABAM-Membership-How-To.pdf

(ABAM Member/Coach and 2018 Team Canada Invictus Games Archery Coach David Dunwoody shown back row second from the left with team athletes)

The ABAM is proud to acknowledge Local Coach David Dunwoody will be leading Team Canada Archery at the 2018 Invictus Games, taking place in Sydney, Australia from October 20 – 27. We published an article by David earlier this summer about his experience leading a national training camp near Victoria, BC. Since then, David has been selected to travel with the team to the games, taking place over the next two weeks. In anticipation of the archery event taking place October 25 & 26, we are pleased to republish David’s article and share some current information about the upcoming event.  The organization would like to send our best wishes to David and the rest of  Team Canada during their time at the games, we know you will do us proud!

The 25th and 26th of October is the Archery Tournament at the Invictus Games.  The competition highlights can be streamed on TSN at https://www.tsn.ca/invictus-games. As well, full events are available on YouTube under Invictus 2018.

For all the standings and events, you can go to https://www.invictusgames2018.org

Photographs taken by the Canadian Media Team on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldieronsanslimites/sets/72157696686586240/

Archery Team Canada Invictus Games Syndey 2018
By David Dunwoody
7 August 2018

On Wednesday, 25 July 2018, the members of Team Canada Invictus Games Sydney 2018 were revealed to the nation. 40 athletes were selected from over 700 applicants and I have the privilege of coaching the 13 members of the archery team. I am very proud to be part of the Invictus team and to help them prepare for the games hosted this year in Sydney, Australia, 20 to 27 October 2018. The official motto is “Game On Down Under.”

While many have heard of the Invictus Games not everyone knows what they are truly about. The Invictus Games is the idea of Prince Harry, also known as His Royal Highness, the Duke of Sussex. Prince Harry served in Afghanistan and saw firsthand the physical and mental impact that combat had on troops. Inspired by the Wounded Warrior games in the United States, he wanted to create a similar event that could embrace the healing power of sports. In 2014, he established the first Invictus Games in London, UK. In 2016, the games were hosted in Orlando, Florida and, as many of you know, Canada had the honour of hosting the games in 2017. This year, Sydney will host over 500 athletes from 18 nations to compete in 11 adaptive sports.

While the Invictus Games are about so much, they are not about winning medals. This may be one of the biggest misconceptions. Yes, there are gold, silver, and bronze medals. And yes, the athletes who win them are very proud of their accomplishment, and rightfully so. But what these games are about is captured in the very name. Invictus is Latin for “unconquered.” The athletes who compete are dealing with physical and mental injuries that have tried to tell them “no, you cannot.” Now they have the chance to show the world and, more importantly, themselves that they will not be conquered by them.

My involvement with the games began last year when I approached the Invictus Team Manager about volunteering my time to coach the archery team. My coaching has involved me working with the athletes in two training camps, the first in Esquimalt, BC (Special thanks to Al Wills, Helena Myllynieme, and the Vic Bowman Archery Club for their help) in April and the second in Halifax, NS in July. As well, I work with the team online to continue training and answer any questions they may have. It is a challenge because there is a large variety of skill levels, from people who have been shooting for years to those who picked up a bow for the first time in April.

In the games, there are three categories: Open Compound, Open Recurve, and Novice Recurve. Novice Recurve is for archers who started shooting on or after 1 October 2017. They shoot outdoors at 18 metres. The Open divisions shoot 40 cm targets and the Novice shoot 60 cm targets. The first day of competition is a 600 tournament. The next day is match play elimination rounds based on the ranking in the tournament. Not everyone will go on to the match play.

During each camp, I had four days with two hours each to coach. With such varying degrees of skills and ability, it is an exciting challenge. Beyond the experience is the unique challenge each athlete brings with their own physical and mental injuries. There are few athletes with physical injuries on the archery team itself. One archer was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after joining the Canadian Armed Forces and lost his sight. Despite this, he refused to accept defeat and signed up for archery among other sports. Thanks to the advice from Diane Minion who coaches a weekly blind archery class, this was an easy problem to solve. Many of the other archers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders and other mental injuries. For me, it has been an incredibly humbling experience. I’ve heard from people describing panic attacks simply getting on the plane to come to training camp. I’ve had athletes who found the pace overwhelming stressful and frustrated and have needed to stop, step back and take time to recompose. For one, simple advice frustrated them too much to be able to continue. Despite it all, they returned, kept coming back, and refused to be conquered.

For many, standing on the shooting line among 50 competitors and crowds of thousands and getting through the day’s event is their victory. But this does not end at the Invictus Games. We hear the phrase “the healing power of sport” and here, it is real. The Invictus Games are an opportunity for the athletes to embrace a new sport and continue it after. When the games finish at the end of October, I will be talking with these athletes and encouraging them to keep shooting, join the Archery Canada Indoor Mail Match, and stay connected. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting former competitors from the Games at tournaments such as the Vegas Shoot and I look forward to shooting with this year’s athletes in the future.

This is has been an incredible honour for me. As an archer, this has been a chance to share my passion with these individuals. I have so greatly enjoyed the comradery and community of archery. As well, I find archery to be such a Zen sport. No matter how my day is going, shooting on the line gives me a chance to focus, calm my mind, and direct my thoughts at a small yellow circle. But for me, the greatest honour is to be there for my fellow servicewomen and service men. As a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces in the Royal Canadian Air Force, this is the chance to be able to give back to my brothers and sisters in arms who have sacrificed so much in the name of duty, service, and Canada. I have met athletes who have lost limbs from bombs in Afghanistan and seen first-hand horrific experiences that no one should see. For others, the injuries suffered were not overseas but here in Canada. Through it all, they have never regretted putting on the uniform. What I see at the training is a bond that is so powerful between these athletes. I have served three tours in my career, twice to Afghanistan and once to Kuwait. It does not matter if they are still serving or are now veterans, discharged with honours, we are one.

The Invictus Games takes inspiration from many sources, one of which is the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley. It is the last two lines that capture the true spirit of the games:

I am the master of fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus Games 2018: https://www.invictusgames2018.org/

Team Canada: https://www.invictusgames2018.org/latest/2111/

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2018/07/team-canada-announced-for-invictus-games-sydney-20180.html

Invictus, A Poem by William Ernest Henley: https://vimeo.com/279467705

Congratulations to Team Manitoba Archer Austin Taylor on being selected to Team Canada for the 2019 World Archery Championships( Archery2019) in S-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The event will take place from June 10 – 16, 2019. If Austin accepts the spot, it will be his first Outdoor Senior World Championships. In the past year, Austin has been named to three additional National Teams that competed at the 2017 World Youth Championships in Rosario, Argentina, the 2018 Salt Lake City World Cup and the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Yankton, North Dakota, were he earned a bronze medal in the Men’s Team Event.

To view the full posting by Archery Canada, please visit: http://archerycanada.ca/en/compound/team-selection-2019-wa-senior-world-championships-compound-team

For more information on the 2019 World Archery Championships, please visit: https://www.archery2019.com/Archery/goto20.aspx