The 2023 Northwest Territories Archery Championships were a resounding success, according to Carson Roche, who organized the three-day tournament with his colleagues at Aboriginal Sports Circle NWT (ASCNWT).
“The community was awesome,” Roche, ASCNWT’s events manager, said after the tournament, which took place on trails around Fort Providence from Oct. 20-22. “The people were awesome.”
He estimates well over half of the 42 participants were Indigenous, and he was happy to see such widespread interest in archery, which ASCNWT classifies as a traditional sport.
Participants in the tournament were broken down into three age groups: one for competitors under 14, another for those under 18, and an open age group. Each age group had the option of competing in compound bow, recurve bow and team events.
“A lot of kids showed up for the U14 category, which is nice,” Roche said, noting that ASCNWT did outreach at the local school ahead of the tournament. “That’s the age group you want to get started in archery, so hopefully they stick around.”
The winners for each age group and event were crowned at a ceremony on Sunday Oct. 22. They received prizes donated by YKArchery.com, a supplier of archery equipment in NWT.
The youngest winners received first choice of prizes.
With three events per age category, there were more than a dozen winners on the day, but the points leader for the entire weekend was 14-year-old Nicholas Graham, who travelled with his family from Hay River to participate.
Graham, who did not have much experience in archery beforehand, racked up a stunning 153 points over the course of the weekend.
“The kid surprised a lot of people,” Roche said. “He was awesome when he was shooting, and then his mom signed up last minute and actually got the second highest score in the tournament. She got 151 points.
“They’re naturals,” Roche added. “They’ve kind of been peeking their heads into the sport, and his mom emailed me today asking how to buy a bow for her son, how to make sure it’s the right one so he can practice and maybe compete.”
There were a few hiccups over the course of the weekend. One morning, as Roche and his team prepared to get the competition underway, they were delayed by a group of bison meandering across the tournament grounds.
“We had to wait until they left,” he said, laughing.
When all was said and done, however, people seemed to have enjoyed their time at the tournament – whether they took home prizes or not.
“I’m getting so many emails already from people asking, ‘How do I get gear?’ and, ‘When’s the next archery event?’” Roche said. “There’s been a lot of great feedback from the parents, and the kids had a lot of fun.”
“It’s a fun event. It’s been going for a long time, and we’re already looking at finding [a location for] the next one.”
ASCNWT was created in 1999 “in response to the need for more accessible and equitable sport and recreation opportunities for Aboriginal peoples across the Northwest Territories,” according to the organization’s website.