Shawn Hiibner and Delaney Wise are ready to compete in the BC Winter Games in Penticton February 25-28. Photo by Trevor Nichols
A pair of straight-shootin’ local 9th graders are on their way to represent Oliver at the BC Winter Games.
Delaney Wise and Shawn Hiibner will compete in the games’ archery competition later this month, going up against some of the best shooters, aged 14-16, from across the province.
Both are fairly new to the sport (Hiibner has been shooting for about three years, and Wise for about a year and a half) and the provincial competition will mark their first foray into higher level competition.
And while the games will be a chance for both shooters to dip their toes into deeper competitive waters, for Hiibner, the decision to try and qualify for the games was made somewhat on a whim.
“At first I really didn’t want to, I just didn’t think I was good enough, but then [Wise] decided she was going to try out and I just decided why not?” he said with a chuckle.
While you have to be able to reach a certain score to even qualify, he ended up being the only male from the area with his kind of bow to sign up, meaning his path to the games was fairly simple.
While Wise’s decision to try out for the games might have been a little easier (she said she had been thinking about it for a while, and “just decided to go for it”), she had to compete against two other shooters to claim her spot in the games.
Their performances came thanks to months of training, taking on extra practice time by showing up to the range on nights reserved for adults, and training on progressively smaller targets.
Ron Ostermeier coaches both Wise and Hiibner. He explained that the BC Winter Games “is a stepping stone from a local club to a bigger competition,” and will be the first real taste of high-level shooting for both of them.
He said he’s been watching both Hiibner and Wise’s scores go up each week at practice, and is impressed with how quickly both have been improving.
He said he doesn’t really know what level of competition his students will be up against, but expected them to do well, getting close to, or even placing depending on what kind of days they have.
“They’ve got the right attitude,” he said. “I don’t think they put too much pressure on themselves [and] I don’t think their expectations are too high.”
Wise and Hiibner didn’t seem too concerned with results, but both said they are aiming to shoot personal best scores at the games.
Wise, who has topped out around 160 points in practice, said she wants to score between 150-200. Hiibner, whose personal best is in the 170-point range, is also aiming for the 200-point mark.
“I just want to do my best, and have fun, and maybe try to get something. But if I don’t, at least I had fun,” Wise said.
The BC Winter Games will run from Feb. 25-28 in Penticton. Along with archery, the games feature curling, skiing, badminton and more than a dozen other sports. For more information visit www.bcgames.org.
By Trevor Nichols
