Wow, what an experience; I have just returned home from the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. The weather was calm & cool but the competition was on fire. This was my first multi-sport games and third international competition. I’m so proud of what the team accomplished here and how we were all there for each other through the highs and the lows.
The practice days went really well as we settled into the daily routine at the Pan-Am Village. Mariessa, Virginie, and I really enjoyed chatting with athletes and staff from all the other countries on our quest to trade pins and to collect them all. The weather was fantastic for archery; calm, overcast, with maybe just a little too much cold. And we had the opportunity to hang out with Canadian athletes from other sports in the lounge while cheering on our Canadian teammates on TV.
Welcome session.
Me & Milco, just chillin’.
Thank you Mariessa for sharing this photo of the Canadian PanAm kit.
The food was been really good, I’m going to miss it.
In competition, I settled in quickly and found a groove to eventually improve upon my personal best by 22 points in the ranking round, placing me in 7th just 2 points behind 5th! Our men’s, women’s, and mixed teams all seeded a solid 4th! Practice and competition continued feeling really strong throughout the week. After a good start in individual eliminations, I lost my first round match in a close 6-4 battle with Maira Sepulveda of Columbia. But I was able to maintain focus and keep my emotions and stress under control during my first mixed team competition with veteran teammate Crispin Duenas which included my first two televised head-to-head matches on the big stage! In the end, we unfortunately lost two hard fought matches to the USA in the semi-finals and to Mexico in the bronze medal match to finish in 4th place. The men’s team won gold, Crispin and Eric won gold and bronze individually, and the women’s team finished in 7th. This team has a great dynamic and we are growing closer & stronger by the day!
Team selfie!
Getting some practice in.
Virgine, Stephanie, and Mariessa exploring the Village.
This week was a huge success for me and my development. Not only did I shoot a PB, but I was able to maintain that quality throughout the week as the pressure and the stakes increased. All of the support and preparation has definitely paid off; thank you so much to each and every one of you! Without your support, this year would have looked very different. Looking forward to next year, we will have two more opportunities in the spring (Mexico & Germany) to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 olympics. Please continue to follow/like/share/donate to support our journey to Olympic Gold!
Well, I seem to have done it again. Several more months have flown by without a post from me. I did partially start this blog as a journal for myself, but now that I’m using an actual journal, I sometimes find that it feels a little redundant to write it all out again. But it’s not, it’s helpful to write detailed notes immediately after a training session or tournament, just as it’s also useful to reflect and summarize them later on as well. So now that Spring is almost here, let’s walk through the Fall and Winter together and I’ll show you what I’ve been up to.
First, a quick recap of the Fall. I spent much of the Fall and early winter working on some technique changes, partly tiny optimizations, but also little tweaks to help avoid injury. This is an ongoing process, and it’s very helpful for you and your coach to work with a Physiotherapist to help identify issues that may appear with overuse, or to develop alternate movement patterns that may work better for you, and most importantly, to avoid injury.
Through the rest of the Winter, I worked hard on not only increasing my weekly arrow volume, but also on developing mental techniques and strategies to help deal with distractions, stress, and anxiety, both on and off the shooting line. Additionally, I began working on realistic goal setting procedures. The first real test for my mental game was at the 2019 Lancaster Archery Classic.
I felt a lot more confident this year than I did last year, but I think I had also put some extra expectations on myself that caused some unintentional stress. While my mental strategies worked well and helped me to recover from a poor shot, I found I had difficulty using them on every shot like I had practiced. But that’s a good thing, my results may not have been what I expected, but I learned a lot from the experience that I’ll be able to take forward into my practice and into future competitions. Here’s a good example of a mental game test, in case you were wondering what it looks like when you have an equipment failure and have to shoot a make up end .. alone .. with everyone watching:
Learning from day one, the second day went much better. While I lost my match, I succeeded in meeting (and exceeding) my performance goals!
Much of these new skills has been developed by working with the National Development and Identification Squad, lead by former national head coach Joan McDonald. It’s a wonderful group of athletes, constantly pushing and encouraging each other to do better; to be better. Sometimes, we need a break from the pressure and intensity of training, and what better way to relax and have fun than a gingerbread house building and decorating party!?
Most of the time we talk about results, performance, and what was learned at a competition, but I think it’s important to talk about the less glamorous parts of the sport too. It takes a team to make an athlete, and archery is no exception. Most athletes (if not ALL athletes) would not be where they are today without the help and support of friends, family, teammates, and club members. It’s all of these people that help with travel, planning, training, scheduling, equipment maintenance, and SO much more. As an example, at the Peel Archery Club and The Archers of Caledon, we close the range to repair all of the butts at least 2 or 3 times a year. Without the help of club members, this process would take much longer, and at times be more than a couple people could handle; those mobile butts are so heavy we need a crane!
I am very thankful and grateful that my hard work, passion, and performance improvements have been noticed with an invitation to attend one of the national team’s week long training camps in Florida. It was great opportunity and a lot of hard work, it was a very enjoyable and rewarding week of training with Team Canada. Not only was it great to get some outdoor shooting in before the season starts next month, but I learned so much and gained some valuable new mental tools to add to my collection. I’m thankful for the opportunity to shoot with, learn from, and to build friendships with the team. Look out, world!
Immediately after returning home from the training camp, I had the opportunity to put the new, and existing, techniques and strategies to good use at the Ontario Provincial Championships, followed a week later by the Canadian National Championships, and a selection camp for the team travelling to Chile at the end of March for a Pan-Am Games qualification tournament. It was a pretty intense month of training and competition, but a good opportunity to test and implement my mental strategies, especially toward the end where the intensity ramped up just as I was getting sick.
At Provincials, I had a big oops toward the end, but I was shooting really well and had found a good flow and mental state, allowing me to stick to my strategies and hold out to win gold by a few points.
A week later, at Nationals, I had a slow start and started getting into my head a little. At the break, I was able to talk with my coach and friends, which allowed me to mentally reset and refocus on my process. I managed to shoot a personal best second half of 290/300 (my first ever 290), and win the silver medal. This was the day where I started feeling sick, but I knew the next two days were extremely important since they were the selection camp. I got as much rest as I could while also staying well fed and hydrated, and I took lots of notes about all the things I had learned in the past couple weeks.
The morning of Day 1 of the camp started really well with a new 36 arrow 70m personal best of 318/360, but toward the end of the second set of 36 arrows, the sickness began to hit me. The effort of drawing the bow was quite a lot, and I had to take a while between arrows to catch my breath and recover from the effort exerted. Thankfully, I was shooting next to a wall I could use for balance between arrows. I still managed a 301 second half for a new 70m personal best of 619/720! The rest of the camp went very similar to that, I’d get some rest overnight and at lunch, but after a few hours, I was spent. Those were two long, rewarding days spent with some of the strongest, kindest, and most passionate women I know. Their friendship and support make the hardest days so much easier! Since it’s now official, I can announce that I am one of 9 athletes selected to the Final Pan American Games Qualifier in Santiago Chile!
After taking a week to recover from being ill, I’m finding it really difficult to get back into the groove that I had found myself in earlier in the month; my strength and conditioning have both declined a little. With just less than two weeks before we leave for Chile, I’ll be working extra hard to not only regain what I lost, but to improve it while also avoiding injury and getting sick again. Representing Canada at the international level has long been a dream for me, and I don’t plan on letting my country down. This opportunity to test myself and my strategies at a higher level fits right into my plan to continue learning and improving on my journey to win Olympic Gold.
Taking into account my expected competition, travel, and equipment expenses for this year, I have decided to start a Go Fund Me Campaign to help offset some of the costs. Please have a look at the campaign, share it, and if you can, please donate; every little bit helps! Additionally, please share and donate to my teammate Mariessa as well!
Our current women’s team is getting stronger, and now that our national development program is taking shape, I can tell you to watch out for Team Canada to have a very strong international showing over the next several years!
This outdoor season feels like it flew by! There is still one more Caledon shoot coming up, but the summer is pretty much complete. To cap it off, we took a drive to the USA to shoot one of their USAT tournaments; the Buckeye Classic in Dublin, Ohio. The USAT (United States Archery Team) Qualifier Series is a series of four tournaments that USA Archery uses to help determine their national teams. These tournaments are pretty big, with nearly 500 archers competing across several different categories.
I don’t want to bore you with all the details, but there are a few things I feel like I should mention. First, it was a TON of fun! Much like the Lancaster Archery Classic earlier this year, the tournament was really well run and the whole experience was challenging and very enjoyable. And second: it seems to be tradition now that when I shoot a USA tournament, I get to face off against Mackenzie Brown. In the two USA tournaments I have competed in, both times I have faced her; and both times I have been left wanting to continue the match. This time, it took me 2 ends too many to adjust to the conditions and I lost in a quick 6-0 match. In the last end, I felt as though I had finally figured out the wind and would have loved to have just one more end to find out. But that’s the game, you need to adapt immediately and perform on demand. I can’t wait for our next rematch!
Wow, what a week! Norm and I drove the ~1700 km to Truro, NS, alternating drivers every few hours for the 2018 Canadian Field & Target Championships. Although the drive was long and exhausting, the landscape of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Eastern Quebec was absolutely stunning (plus we saved a lot of money over flying).
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For the most part, the weather was amazing. It went from calm, hot, and humid for the Field shoot, to pleasantly warm with a strong headwind for the Target qualifications, then some really strange changing winds for the Canadian Open.
Practice ends for the Junior/Senior gold medal matches.
The finalists of the Junior/Senior Female Recurve Canadian Open.
I managed to keep mentally confident and stick to my focus plan which allowed me to score pretty well in all three events; well enough to win gold in the Archery Canada Field Championship, Target Championship, and in the Canadian Open too!
Congratulations to all of the competitors and thank you to Archery Canada, Archers Association of Nova Scotia, the organizing committee, and all of the volunteers and sponsors for an amazing week of tournaments! Nova Scotia is a beautiful province and I had a great time exploring this past week; I can’t wait to come back!
I didn’t place as well at this year’s Ontario Target Championship as compared to last year, but there are so many good/positive things I’m taking home with me! First, and most importantly, I didn’t injury myself! 😛
The only time it was cloudy all weekend was during Saturday’s official practice. 📷: Elvina Chew
In archery, like many sports, your scores tend to go through peaks and valleys, usually trending upward, as you constantly refine and tweak both your technical and mental skill sets. Currently, I’m on the upward side coming out of the valley I was in for the past month or so. Some recent form changes as well as some changes to my mental focus routine are becoming more integrated into my subconscious shot process and as a result, my shots are beginning to feel really good and I’m finding myself more confident in my ability again.
In qualification, I shot a 7.62 arrow average over 144 arrows to place 4th, and in the elimination rounds a 7.63 arrow average over 24 arrows to tie for 5th. My quarterfinal match against Shannon (a rematch from last week) was another hard fought, back and forth match, with Shannon taking the last set and the win 6-4.
On the way to Ottawa and the RA Centre for the tournament, we stopped for lunch at a pub in Kingston where I saw some of the most “Canadian” bathroom stall graffiti:
I can’t believe it’s been TWO YEARS already and as is [what’s becoming] tradition (or just coincidence), Norm and I shot our first outdoor tournament of the season at The Archers of Caledon‘s first tournament of the season 😛
Tournament setup is complete..
..just as the Sun is setting.
The weather was relatively calm all weekend, and warm. However, Saturday started with light showers, turning to mist and fog. It was a new experience for us, but really cool. It definitely made for an amazing photo opportunity, unfortunately I didn’t take any. Sunday started cloudy and eventually turned into full sun, with a slight crosswind all day.
I have definitely improved over the winter, as three of my four scores were higher than anything I had shot all of last year, and I was able to learn from my one lower score which is now helping me to improve and reinforce some mental habits I found were lacking a little.
Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around all that we have accomplished in the past year. Between all the training, travelling, and tournaments, the time has really flown by! We are beginner archery coaches, and we’ve been told somewhat of a mentor to some of the younger archers at our club too! For me, that’s what it’s all about; learning and improving my knowledge and skills so that I can be a better mentor and teacher to others, while we all have a great time getting outside and being active.
With a couple false starts, Spring may have finally arrived here! And while I have been shooting 70m indoors steadily since March (and occasionally throughout the Winter) at Peel Archery Club, I have also begun venturing outdoors at The Archers of Caledon to try to squeeze as much outdoor practice in as I can early in the season. It hasn’t always been very comfortable, but it has always been pleasant. It’s all about dressing for the weather and being prepared, even at -1°C with light wind and snow:
Sometimes however, that Wintery weather is just too intense to go out. As was the case on the April 14/15 weekend, we had a pretty decent winter ice storm that made driving a little too dangerous. Thankfully, last year Norm bought me a small target butt so I can shoot at home:
It’s a tight fit, and with the renovation still underway, a little messy. Once we complete the renovation, I won’t be able to shoot in the basement anymore, so it will be back to the stairwell for me!
This past weekend though was bright, calm, and warm! I managed to get some shooting in outside before coaching on Saturday morning, and the hard packed ice/snow was still there, making me feel like an Elf while I walked to the target and back:
My 70m form has started to settle in and I managed a few good ends and even my first broken nock at 70m (unless you count Norm’s nocks that I seem to always break):
I should probably move my sight. #ThatOneArrow though!
Broken nock.
By Sunday the snow had pretty much all melted, leaving puddles of mud everywhere. It was still really nice out, and I managed to drag some friends out too!
Monday was absolutely gorgeous out as well, and I guess there can be too much of a good thing. By the end of the day, I discovered that I had gotten myself a pretty good sunburn on my face, neck and arms, complete with arm guard lines. An important reminder to always be prepared, even when the weather is nice .. wear sunscreen!
It was much worse the morning after!
And speaking of being prepared; Norm and I will be teaching this year’s Outdoor Orientation Course at The Archers of Caledon! We’re pretty excited.
Another few weeks have passed and I’ve been working away at my new fitness program and trying to make some minor form changes a natural part of my shot process. Having to think about the new changes and make sure that I’m doing them is a bit of a distraction, but the more I train, the more automatic they become.
It took a while, but now that I’ve adjusted to shooting 18m again, I’m starting to see some substantial performance improvements from last year’s indoor season. Last year, my personal best (and only score over 530) was a 532 and while I have only shot the one 530+ at a tournament this year, my league and training scores are frequently higher; into the mid 540s. Just last night at league, I bested my old PB of 544 by 1 point for a new PB of 545. Here are a few recent scores from this month; the first is from practice at Peel Archery Club. The 2nd and 4th are from league at The Archers of Caledon, and the 3rd is from a tournament at Saugeen Shafts by Peterborough Archers.
I’m really enjoying plotting my arrows and using that data to reflect on and pair with my mental image of how the shots felt. ArtemisLite is a free download on Google Play if you’re interested in trying it out.
And finally, the pins I earned from the outdoor season have arrived! During the summer, most of my scores were over 500 and a a few were over 550. That’s what earned me the white and black pins, respectively. I’m getting really close to the WA 18m indoor threshold of 550 for the blue pin too! But since the score must be shot at a World Archery registered event, I only have a few opportunities this season to qualify. Even if I don’t qualify for a pin, I’ll still be very happy with my progress and performance 😀
This weekend’s Caledon tournament marks the end of my first outdoor season. Similarly to what I mentioned at the End of the 2016-17 Indoor Season, this season I was involved in a few more charity events, I set a couple new personal bests under tournament conditions (one at the Canadian Championships), I learned a lot about my form and the sport, I started a physical training plan, I met even more wonderful new friends, had my first injury to deal with, and I even managed to win another medal at a Provincial Championship!
It’s been an amazing few months, and I’m sad that it’s coming to an end. I am just now feeling recovered from my injury and I was just starting to really feel like I was getting into a good groove outside. I guess I’ll just have to figure out how to take that mental state and bring it inside for the Winter season.
Review of Plans and Goals
In my last end of season post, I talked about some plans and goals Norm and I had for the summer. While I didn’t achieve all of my goals, I did achieve many of them, and I’m really happy with how the season has gone overall.
First off, physio and physical training. I definitely didn’t put as much time into hitting the gym and working on cardio as I had hoped to this season. The back injury in July was a major setback, and delayed the advancement of my training program. It did however give me some much needed time to work on the mental side of things and to take a short break, which I feel was very beneficial as my average score for a 720 round jumped about 30 points during my recovery.
The early morning training that Norm and I had talked about doing was actually very successful! Most weeks, we were out at the range Tuesday and Thursday mornings by about 7am. We were even pleasantly surprised to be joined by another archery friend for many of the Spring mornings! Even though getting out of bed is hard sometimes, it was a really fun experience, and one I’m sure we’ll do again next Spring/Summer!
I feel like I have moved away from the weekly arrow counts I threatened you all with, mostly because I created a home just for them, and I felt like it was kind of boring for you. I did however keep up my promise of weekly posts, in a mostly journal type format. I expect this trend to continue, but during the shooting season transitions, there may be weeks where there’s nothing to talk about. I don’t really want to say nothing during those times, so I’ll have to come up with some interesting content to fill the gaps. Now that I have an Athlete Page on Facebook, there’s a good chance that I may do some live or pre-recorded videos. Suggestions have included Tutorials, Q&A, Equipment Reviews, and the like, but I’m always open to hearing other ideas. What would you like me to talk about? What would be interesting or useful for you to see on here?
And finally, goals. I had set out to open the season shooting 510/720 and end the season by getting up into the 550 – 600 / 720 range. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet my 575 or 600 score goals, but they were pretty lofty. Looking at my Tournament Scores chart for Outdoor 720, 70m, you can see that I have definitely been improving. I didn’t start out as high as I had hoped, but I feel very satisfied with how I’ve developed over the season and how I’m consistently scoring in the 550 range now, which is where I wanted to end the season. I learned a LOT about shooting outside, with changing weather and lighting conditions, and how they can affect your equipment and your shot.
And as a reminder, it’s not about how many 10s you shoot, it’s all about minimizing those lower scoring arrows. As evidence, I shot four 720 rounds this weekend, and I had almost the same number of 10s in each of those rounds. BUT, in the two rounds that were about 550/720, I had 12 arrows that scored less than a 7, while in the two rounds that were about 520/720, I had around 21 that scored less than a 7. Sure, more 10s won’t hurt, but less 3s, 4s, and 5s is even better!
Indoor Goals
For this upcoming indoor season, I have a few goals in mind. Firstly, I would really like to be consistently shooting 270/300s and having a peak score of at least 280/300 for a half round and 560/600 for a full round.
Second, there is at least one major indoor tournament that Norm and I have talked about travelling to; the Lancaster Classic in January. If we can get the time off work and afford the trip to Pennsylvania, it will earn us some very valuable competition experience, and we’ll have the opportunity to meet and shoot with so many archers we haven’t met before.
And finally, I would like to keep up, and advance my fitness program and arrow volume so that when Spring comes around, I’m able to go up in draw weight by a couple pounds.
Earlier this week, the evening weather and lighting were pretty amazing, so Norm and I did some more videos! I have already posted the time-lapse to Facebook and I’ve just now finally gotten around to editing Norm’s handheld closeup footage. I had a little fun with it, and tried to synch up different shots together. I’m pretty happy with the result, and how consistent my shot timing is from shot to shot. Be sure to select the 1080p version of quality to see some cool slo-mo arrow flight on the shot as seen from above my head!
Fall is just around the corner and Winter is Coming. I may have mentioned it already, but Fall/Winter classes are starting up soon and may fill up quickly. If you or someone you know are curious about archery and want to give it a try, check out one of the awesome clubs near you! Many of them have multi-week classes or one-off private lessons available. I made a post already about a few clubs in the Greater Toronto Area, but if you’re not near any of them, I’d be happy to help you try to find a club near you 😀
I’m going to create a new page on here that will list (and hopefully map) archery clubs and shops. I know when I started shooting, that kind of information was difficult to find. UPDATE: I created the page!