Archers from Quesnel, Kamloops, Prince George and Williams Lake competed in two different tournaments this weekend at the Quesnel River Archers’ outdoor shooting range (June 9-10).

On Saturday, the archery club hosted a double 720 shoot, where eight participants of varying ages came out in hopes of improving their rankings to earn funding for Nationals and Provincials. On Sunday, they hosted the Junior Olympic Program (JOP) Outdoor Championships, where 20 junior archers, ranging in age from eight to 20 years old, competed.

Kelly Murray, a Quesnel local, competed both days. She’s been an archer for the last six years, and she says although she’s not able to go to Nationals this year, she would like to go “eventually.”

Murray’s mother, Lora-Lee, also competed on Saturday.

“I’m here anyway, so I might as well shoot,” she says. Lora-Lee explains that although she could qualify for Nationals, they don’t have the right category for her equipment. For example, her bow doesn’t have a sight on it, unlike the bows of the other participants.

Another participant competed in the Saturday competition while his daughters competed in the junior competition on Sunday. Michael Wiebe, from Prince George, wanted to shoot because Prince George will be hosting the B.C. Championships this year, and with his daughters competing the next day, the timing was perfect.

“I’ve never shot [a 720] before and I wanted to try,” says Wiebe. He’s returning to archery after taking two and a half years and off following a shoulder injury. He had to get different gear, and has only been back shooting for about two months.

The JOP Outdoor Championships are held in three locations across B.C. and rankings are only released once all of the scores have been tallied together. The other two events will be taking place over the next two weekends.

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