William Tell won't be there with his crossbow trying to shoot an apple off his son's head to save his life.
But the arrows will be flying flying thick as thieves today and Sunday at the B.C. outdoor provincial archery championships at the Silvertip Archers range off Highway 16 just east of the city.
Fifty-five archers from various parts of the province are entered in the two-day event to determine provincial champions in as many as 21 classes.
A FITA 1,200 format will be used in Saturday's competition, then switch to a field course format on Sunday.
Under the 1,200 format , each senior and junior men's archer shoot five rounds of six arrows from 70-, 60-, 50- and 40-metre distances; women and cadets shoot from 60, 50, 40, and 30 metres; while cubs and pre-cubs shoot from shorter distances at the 122-centimetre diameter targets. The field format requires archers to shoot at 24 targets at distances which range from 10 to 60 metres.
Senior and masters archers can choose from seven categories -- compound, recurve, barebow, bowhunter open, bowhunter release, bowhunter fingers and hunter -- depending on what type of bow they use. Eligible bows are compound, recurve and barebow for junior (18-20-year-olds), cadet (15-17 years), cub (13-14 years), pre-cub (10-12 years) and peewee (nine years-and-younger) archers. Para-archer categories include two compound and two recurve classes as well as a recurve standing category.
Inspection of equipment starts today at 8:30, with competition to follow at 9. The shooting starts Sunday at 9 a.m.
Flat-field archery is one of the featured sports in the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George in February. The indoor event, set for the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre, will utilize 40 centimetre targets set at 18 metres.
The archery competition is during the second week of the Games, Feb. 22-27, 2015, and is open to athletes under age 22 as of Jan. 1, 2015. Just four archers (two male, two female) and four alternates will qualify for Team B.C. for competition in the compound and recurve classes. The Canada Games team will be determined based on submitted qualifying indoor scores. A top-four shoot-off set for Oliver in November will determine who gets to go to Prince George for the Games.
