Twenty-two young, local archers, members of the Yorkton NASP (National Archery in Schools Program) team along with coaches and chaperones departed for Orlando, Florida Monday to take part in the World NASP Championships.
Head coach Mike Jarvis says teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States will compete for the world titles in the various age classes. The Yorkton contingent is the only Canadian team competing this year, Jarvis points out.
This year 1,400 young archers will participate in the competition, an increase of 500 competitors from last year, he notes.
The actual shoot will be held at Disney World in Orlando, says Jarvis.
The Yorkton team is composed of archers from the Yorkton Regional High School (YRHS), M.C. Knoll School, and Columbia School.
The international target archery rules will apply in the world shoot. Competition will involve each archer shooting three rounds of five arrows at 10 metres, three rounds of five arrows at 15 metres to accumulate a total score out of 300, Jarvis explains. "They get one chance and one chance only. One bad round will affect your score," he adds.
Yorkton's team includes some top national archers who've been practising hard all summer to prepare for the world shoot. "They've made massive improvements. Any one of them could finish in the top five," Jarvis predicts.
The group includes three Canadian national champions, including Hunter Frankfurt, Cailin Jarvis and Brayden Jarvis. M.C. Knoll School finished second while YRHS was third in the Canadian Nationals this year, he notes. "We have some very good archery talent in this town, Jarvis claims.
In addition to competing, the youngsters will go to Blizzard Beach, a big water park at Disney World. They will attend a Disney character supper with Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale and other Disney Characters, Jarvis announces. Friday evening all participants will attend a 'meet and greet' where youngsters from the various countries will have an opportunity to meet and share experiences with those from other countries.
Coaching staff includes head coach Mike Jarvis, assistant coaches Leanne Jarvis, Claudette Tessier and Glenda Lazurko. Chaperones travelling with the archers are Carma Lee Doupe, and Brennan Risling.
Jarvis thanks all the corporate sponsors who supported the club. Additionally he thanks all parents who helped the club to compete at the World NASP Championships. "It costs about $65,000 to take the team to Orlando and it's all worked up through corporate sponsors and fund raising. Without the sponsors and parents, we wouldn't be able to go," Jarvis closes.
