Local archers are getting ready for a busy April and early part of May as the competition schedule starts to heat up, says Mike Jarvis of Bird Dog Archery.

After a bunch of practices so far to date, they are getting ready to get into action which is scheduled to begin this weekend when they head down the highway to Saltcoats.

“This is where all the tournaments in archery start going,” observed two-time National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) champion and two-time national champion and student of MC Knoll Elementary School, Brayden Jarvis.

Jarvis is one of the locals who has been practicing twice a week for about a couple of hours.

Jarvis is looking forward to breaking records.

Cassidy Banga, a Gr. 7 student also at MC Knoll, will be partaking in the archery competitions along with her brother Kelsey, says she is ready.

“I think I am!”

She says she’s been getting some good coaching from the local archery club.

Those coaches include Mike and Leann Jarvis.

“They’re really nice and help us improve,” said Banga.

Going into the provincials, she has one thing in her mind and that is “to get over 260”.

She will be making her third appearance at the provincials, which are scheduled for  Moose Jaw this year.

“I did ok. I could have done better,” she said of her efforts last year.

Her pre-shoot ritual is to “basically sit down and relax for five minutes”.

First up for the locals is the Saltcoats meet which is scheduled for the skating rink on April 21. Coach Jarvis isn’t sure how many people will likely be in attendance but it will involve local elementary and high school students, he said.

Among the local schools taking part are the Yorkton Regional High School, MC Knoll Elementary School and Columbia School.

Jarvis said it will be a warm up tournament for some of the other action they will see later on. That includes the  provincials, he said, then followed by the nationals.

“That’s what we’re gearing toward,” he said with a smile.

There should be at least 60 kids there from the City.

It will also help the local coaches narrow down who could be heading to the world championship event which is scheduled for next fall.

Following the provincials, Jarvis said the nationals will be held in a computerized manner where scores will be sent in via Electronic mail.

That will be held within the first week of May, he said. The Yorkton Regional High School will then be holding their annual shoot shortly after that, says Jarvis.

He said he also expects to be taking on a heavier workload for archery season next year.