Sarah Martin pulls back the bow and concentrates on the target during the BC Archery Association Indoor Target Championships April 4-5 at the Eastlink Curling Centre in Oliver. In the photo gallery, Sarah and Brock Paton, who operates the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School, share a laugh while getting ready for the competition, and focus on the target while shooting.
Dale Cory photos
Concentration; noun: the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity
In the sport of archery, hitting the target, and hitting it in exactly the right place to count the maximum points, takes a very high level of concentration.
That was quite obvious when the Southern Okanagan Sportsmen’s Association hosted the BC Archery Association Indoor Target Championships April 4-5 at the Eastlink Curling Centre in Oliver.
Each time competitors took their place along the shooting line, the building became very quiet. As archers lined up their arrow to the target, and pulled back on the bow, it was very obvious to those watching that anything – even a pin drop – could distract the shooter from hitting the bullseye, and an opportunity at recording the maximum points.
There were competitors from all levels within the association – those new to the sport, and still learning proper technique, and those who have been shooting for years at a national and international level.
Brock Paton is one of those veterans.
He has been shooting for decades, and operates the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School.
Paton, along with Sarah Martin, represented the Osoyoos club at the Indoor Target Championships.
Both have excelled at the sport on the local, and the national stage.
However, both were somewhat out of their element this past weekend.
You see, Paton and Martin are 3D archers. And this was a target shooting event.
“It’s a totally different world. It’s like a hockey and a tennis player. In 3D, you shoot one arrow, and you go for the kill,” explained Paton. “In target shooting, you’re shooting three arrows, and in this competition, 10 rounds of three. You have to concentrate on that first arrow and shoot it, then find that spot again. So for us, it’s a huge learning curve.”
Martin has only been involved in the sport for about 18 months. While she is relatively new to competition, she has quickly, and efficiently, picked up the longbow, and excelled at a high level due to an unwavering commitment.
“Part of what I love about 3D shooting, for example, every shot – you walk up to it, and there’s so many things to assess – how far is it, what’s the wind doing, is it uphill or downhill, or how big is that target in relation to the bushes, because that might throw off perspective. There are so many variables that it’s really stimulating,” explained Martin. “Here, there’s no other variables – except you’re shooting, so in that sense, it’s good for the shooter to practice this for form, because it’s just you and the same shot again and again. But it is hard to focus on that target again and again and again. You kind of glaze over at one point and just start flinging arrows.”
Paton, very much the traditionalist, admits he is somewhat of an “anti-target” shooter.
“This has been a real learning experience for me. I have not shot my best. I was off by 25 per cent on Saturday. We are learning what’s called the bubble effect. When I get down there for practice, I have to get into that bubble. That’s all focus,” said Paton, who alluded to a technique he has developed on his own to help with his concentration. “I can’t tell you my secrets to be honest with you. I’ve been to the worlds three times and I’m the oldest one there. And I’ve learned a technique that has improved my archery by about 15 per cent. I’m not going to give it away.”
Although, he admits to sharing his ‘secret’ with Sarah, and that has helped her win many events.
Martin enjoyed a breakout year in 2014. She won gold medals at four very prestigious events – the Canadian National Indoor 3-D, the B.C. Provincial 3-D, the Alberta Provincial 3-D, and the Canadian National 3-D championships. In fact, Martin was the first woman to be named to the Canadian 3D longbow team.
Prior to the start of Sunday’s competition, both Sarah and Brock could be found in a back corner of Eastlink Curling Centre, mentally preparing to take on the best target archers in British Columbia. It was a very important time for coach Ed Ford to set the stage prior to competition.
“What I’m trying to get through to them is how they have to remain calm, how they have to focus on where their arrow needs to go, and not let outside influences affect how you perform, because you are in control of where your thought processes are. If someone says a condescending remark and they take it personally, that affects what happens for maybe the next day, typically the next 15 or 20 minutes, and that might mean the difference between making the shot – and not being able to make the shot,” explained Ford. “So working on the mental part of that game has been fairly simple, and thank God they’re coach-able athletes. But sometimes the message takes a bit to get through, and that’s because as human tendencies go, we tend to do things like we know how to do them, because we’re comfortable with them. When we expand that boundary a little bit, it kind of puts you in an uncomfortable zone initially, but once you get to the other side, then things tend to be easily understood and can be followed through with.”
Ford’s hard work has paid off for Martin. He has helped her visualize every moment, every shot, every detail preparing to release the arrow at the target, whether it be an indoor bullseye, or a bear in the woods.
“It starts on the ground with my feet and the stance. Plant your feet, look at the target, find your spot, and pull up in a nice draw. I tend to have most of my breath in – Brock tends to exhale quite audibly. Every time I try to think, okay, release some of that breath. But for me, my best form is when my breath is full, and my chest is out,” explained Martin. “And then there’s timing, micro-second timing. You hold too long and you are in a waver, you don’t hold long enough, you’re not on your spot. That’s the consistency of this target shooting again and again and again, is practicing that. It’s just trying to pull all this together – a gentle release, hold your bow arm, and follow through.”
Even though Paton has been competing on the national and international stage for many years, he is always open to new ideas which will help him become a more successful archer.
“I was a breath holder, and my brother- in-law got into yoga, and he said, you got to read this book on breathing and how the top athletes in the world do it,” he offered. “So I get into it, and the guy says, okay, so imagine you have a rifle. You can’t hold steady with a full lung of air. If you release some of that air, your body relaxes.”
And you hit the target – something Paton has been doing successfully for a long time. In 2014 alone, Paton won gold at the Canadian National Indoor 3-D Championships, the B.C. Provincial 3-D Championships, the Alberta Provincial 3-D Championships, and at the Canadian National 3-D Championships, along with capturing the Top Score Trophy at the Traditional Bowman of B.C. Championships.
His goal is to inspire Martin to greatness.
“Sometimes it’s hard to keep shooting, cause you just want to go home and rest and say I’ll shoot again when it’s better. But you don’t get better unless you keep shooting, right. So that’s the journey,” Sarah explained. “It’s as much mental as physical – just going through the process, and being accepting of it.”
For further information on the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School, you can contact Paton at: [email protected], or call 250-498-7878.
You can also get in touch with Ron Ostermeier with the Southern Okanagan Sportsmen’s Association at: [email protected], or call 250-498-3205.
Information on the B.C. Archery Association can be found at: www.archeryassociation.bc.ca.
And above all – remember to Con-cen-trate!
Dale Cory
Oliver Chronicle
-
- Dale Cory photos
