I had an absolutely amazing time taking photos at the Capital Region Archery club here in Edmonton! They have a very nice range and a great group of people. One of the members told me about how he had found his niche in the club. He had previously been in fencing, but the climate and the way that people treated each other in his fencing group often made him feel bullied. He said that in the archery club, he felt accepted and encouraged, and he felt it was just a more sportsman-like place to be. I thought that was a really interesting observation.
I also had a great chat with the gentleman in the pink hair, who is the president of the club. He talked about the growing interest in the club over the last few years due to archers on screen, such as the TV show Arrow and the character Hawkeye in the Avengers movies. He also said it’s been amazing to see female archers come in because of The Hunger Games. It’s been an exciting time as a club, as they’ve had enormous growth as people become interested in archery and want to learn how to do it themselves. I was particularly thrilled to see one little girl practicing her archery there, and a photo of her is one of my favorites from my time with them.
It was a really fun day for me to be a part of their club for the morning and get to see some real archery. I learned quite a bit about bows and arrows, and I’m certainly looking forward to heading back to try out some archery there myself when I’m not working.