Jacob Campol, 14, did himself and the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School very proud recently when he captured a bronze medal in his first big competition at the Traditional Bow Hunters of British Columbia provincial championships in Rock Creek. Campol continues to improve and hopes to qualify for provincial and national archery competitions for many years to come. (Keith Lacey photo)

Jacob Campol, 14, did himself and the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School very proud recently when he captured a bronze medal in his first big competition at the Traditional Bow Hunters of British Columbia provincial championships in Rock Creek. Campol continues to improve and hopes to qualify for provincial and national archery competitions for many years to come. (Keith Lacey photo)

Jacob Campol believes his aim is true when it comes to pursuing his new favourite sport.

At the tender age of 14, Campol has shown an almost instant attraction to the sport of archery as he’s enjoyed some solid success since becoming a member of the Osoyoos Traditional Archery School.

Campol’s father Mike was elected to public office after winning a seat as a town councillor during the 2014 municipal election.

Jacob remains a competitive curler, but was looking for another sport to occupy his time during the warm weather months and ended up joining the local archery club.

Under the tutelage of archery club founder Brock Paton – a multiple provincial and national traditional longbow champion – Campol has come a long way in the 15 months since he joined the club.

At the recent Traditional Bow Hunters of British Columbia provincial championships in Rock Creek, Jacob won a bronze medal in the junior division, which is a major accomplishment considering it was his first big competition.

“I was kind of looking for something to do during the spring, summer and fall after the curling season ended and I had read a lot about Brock’s success and the success of other members with the local club, so I decided to join,” he said.

“I liked it right away and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Jacob spends at least twice a week shooting arrows with Paton at the local club and spent the past winter practicing indoors at the air cadet hangar in Oliver.

Paton convinced him to enter the recent provincial championships and he’s glad he did.

Paton, who won another gold medal in the open competition in Rock Creek, said Jacob turned in an outstanding performance considering it was his first major competition.

“He’s only 14 years of age and the junior division goes up to 18 so most of the top juniors are three and four years older than him,” he said. “To shoot well and grab a bronze medal at that level of competition is very impressive.”

Like Paton, Jacob’s favourite form of competition is 3-D target shooting, where archers have to hit life-like animal targets at distance.

At the recent competition, targets ranged in size from small rodents up to bigger animals like deer.

“Some of the targets are stationary and some are moving and it’s a real challenge and that’s what I love about the sport the most,” said Jacob.

After a busy summer of practice, Jacob hopes to compete in the provincial indoor championships next March in Armstrong and the provincial outdoor championships next summer in Prince George.

Because of his tender age, Paton said Jacob will get better as he gets bigger and stronger and puts in more practice time.

“There are no shortcuts in this sport … practice makes perfect,” he said. “The good news is he really seems to enjoy practice and he keeps getting better.”

Jacob leaves no doubt he plans on being a competitive archer for many years to come.

“Winning a junior provincial championship would be amazing,” he said. “I know I’ve got a long way to go to get to that level, but I look forward to trying. I plan on staying involved with this sport for a long time.”

Paton reiterated that there are no shortcuts to success in sports and that’s especially true with archery, where you must practice on a regular basis over an extended period of time to keep up with the competition.

The good news is Jacob remains dedicated to practising and doesn’t come up with excuses to miss practice, he said.

Paton said one of his greatest pleasures over the past several years since he founded the archery school in Osoyoos, has been mentoring young archers and several have gone on to win provincial and national titles.

He’s confident Campol can continue that record of success and go on to bigger and better things in the coming years.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times