The Division of Fish & Wildlife will host the V.I. Winter Archery Championships at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 7 at the Isaac Gateword James Park and Archery Field in Frederiksted, St. Croix, DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre L. Oriol announced Wednesday.
The competition will be open to all archers. There will be sections for World Archery (WA), National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), Open, and Para-Archers, according to the press release.
“We invite the community to come experience the benefits of our hunter education program, enjoy the outdoors, and get some heart healthy exercise during a friendly competition for the whole family,” Oriol said.
WA archers will be following the World Archery, Recurve, Compound and Barebow tournament rules, with archers shooting and scoring 72 arrows (12 ends of 6 arrows), at distances of 70 meters for recurve archers and 50 meters for compound and barebow archers. Due to heat issues, WA archers will shoot six ends, followed by a 15-minute rehydration period, and finish the last six ends. The first half of this category will start at 9 a.m., followed by the second half at 10:45 a.m, the press release stated.
National Archery in the Schools Program archers may start competing at either 9 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. These archers will be shooting with the Genesis Bow and Rinehart targets 3 (5 arrows) ends at 10 meters and 3 (5 arrows) ends at 15 meters, for a total of 30 arrows, the release stated.
There are also categories for Open and Para Archers archery competitions (Recurve, Compound and Barebow), to include six arrow ends (36 arrows total) shot at a variety of distances ranging from 10, 18 (indoor), 20, 30, 40 and 50 meters. These archers may start competing at either 9 a.m. or 10:45 a.m., it said.
Each competitive end will have a 10-second preparation, followed by 240 seconds for shooting the arrows. Competitors will score their arrows (para-archers may request assistance). Certificates and awards will be presented, according to the release.
For more information, email william.coles@dpnr.vi.gov or call 340-773-1082, ext. 2277.
This event is held in cooperation with the Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation, St. Croix Archery Club, and the Virgin Islands Archery Federation.
