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Sundre hosts hundreds of archers

About 300 archers of all ages descended upon Sundre this weekend for the 2018 Canadian Indoor 3D Archery Championships.
archery
Contestants take aim on Saturday, April 28 during the 2018 Canadian Indoor 3D Archery Championships at the Sundre Arena.

About 300 archers of all ages descended upon Sundre this weekend for the 2018 Canadian Indoor 3D Archery Championships.

Many of them attended Saturday morning’s opening ceremony at the Sundre Community Centre, where a variety of targets were set up for participants to practise on before proceeding to compete at the Sundre Arena, curling rink and high school gym.

Local and regional officials as well as dignitaries attended the opening ceremony, which was ushered in by members of the Sundre Royal Canadian Legion Branch #223 who marched in the colours led by piper Dale McIntrye.

MC Betty Ann Fountain, the municipality’s development officer, started the ceremony by acknowledging Sundre’s presence on Treaty 7 territory as well as the Metis people of Alberta, and then welcomed to the stage Doreen Bergum, Metis elder for Region 3 of the Metis Nation of Alberta.

“Today we stand tall with gratitude and great pride in the spirit and footsteps of our ancestors,” said Bergum, who was born in Olds and raised in Sundre.

She offered a spiritual prayer, guiding the crowd to first face east, the direction of the sunrise that represents new beginnings and youth as well as the white race; followed by facing south, the direction of summer, warmth and abundance that represents women who are the gateways through which our spirits come to earth as well as the yellow race; then west, the direction of the setting sun and the autumn season that represents elders and ancestors as well as the red race; and finally north, the direction of winter that represents men as well as the black race.

She concluded by praying for guidance as people move forward to find solutions and ways of helping First Nations, Metis as well as Inuit children and families.

“We also pray for peace among the four races of humankind.”

Sundre resident Kayleigh Wolfe sang O Canada, followed by Comrade Chaplain Tim Kirby marching off the colours.

Introduced to the stage one at a time were the following: Earl Dreeshen, MP for the Red Deer–Mountain View riding; Jason Nixon, MLA for the Rimbey–Rocky Mountain House–Sundre riding; Sundre mayor Terry Leslie; Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie; Cheri Funke, Sundre’s deputy mayor; Tracey Klettl and Tim Mearns from the Elkridge Archery Club; and Aaron Bull, Archery Canada vice-president.

“Although a relatively newer club, you’ve done an amazing job in the community of reaching out to youth and archery enthusiasts in order to provide a tremendous recreational opportunity,” Dreeshen said in acknowledgement of the Elkridge Archery Club.

“By virtue of hosting the Canadian championship this year, it’s clear that you are building something special and meaningful to the community.”

Nixon expressed unreserved pride for his hometown and Mountain View County.

“All of you who are here to visit I’m sure are going to agree with me by the end of the weekend that this is one of the best communities that this province has to offer,” he said, also praising the “tremendous amount of work” that volunteers invested to make possible the event.

On behalf of the municipal council, Leslie extended a grateful welcome.

“This is a great big deal for Sundre — we appreciate you being here,” the mayor said.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for all athletes representing elite teams from all over Canada to come forward in Sundre,” he said, also nodding to international guests from Mexico.

“I encourage you to take advantage of our true western hospitality.”

The reeve welcomed guests as well as competitors and also congratulated the Elkridge Archery Club for the organization’s successful pursuit in hosting the annual national championship in Sundre.

“May your arrows fly straight and true,” said Beattie.

The event has been highly anticipated for several months, said Funke, who addressed the numerous youth archers.

“You are the future of Canadian archery. Watch, learn and listen to those who are experienced, try your best, but most importantly, have fun!”

The undertaking was initially an intimidating prospect for the Elkridge Archery Club, said Klettl, who described the organization as a small group with a lot of heart.

“But we had a huge support system from our wonderful community.”

Mearns said a lot of effort was put into preparing the event, and expressed appreciation for everyone who came.

“Who out there took a plane or had to drive more than four hours to get here?” he asked the crowd, prompting roughly half of those attending to raise their hands.

Wrapping up the ceremony with the final address was Bull, who said he had experienced no shortage of hospitality during his time in the community.

“All of the businesses, staff and volunteers have been very welcoming,” he said, going on to praise the Elkridge Archery Club.

“The amount of work that they’ve done in the last five months to put this together is amazing.”

The archery tournament wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, and Klettl hailed the event as a huge success.

“We received very positive feedback from the competitors and Archery Canada on how smooth and organized things were run,” she said.

“Some of the best comments we heard are how welcome people were made to feel to our community. That was one important goal we had, was for the visitors from all over the country to feel welcome.”

Visitors and competitors came all the way from northern Saskatchewan to as far as New Brunswick, with guests from Mexico even making the trip, she said.

“We couldn’t be happier with this outcome! It is truly amazing what we can do in five months when the whole community works as a team.”


Simon Ducatel

About the Author: Simon Ducatel

Simon Ducatel joined Mountain View Publishing in 2015 after working for the Vulcan Advocate since 2007, and graduated among the top of his class from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology's journalism program in 2006.
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