ZENNA MULLER
Archers from across Gauteng showcased their skill at the TuksArchery Winter Challenge on Saturday 11 August at the Absa Tuks Stadium.
Archers of different ages took part over distances ranging between 60 and 90 metres. The challenge consisted of six rounds and archers had four minutes to shoot six arrows in each round. An archer shoots 144 arrows to try and attain a maximum score.
However, because of unforeseen bad weather conditions, most of the archers withdrew from the competition. “Overall Saturday’s shoot was typical of an outdoor shoot, and the wind played its role. Some archers shot good scores, others not,” said Alex Mauldon, one of the organisers of this event.
Danelle Wentzel from Magnum Archery, currently one of the top five compound (modernised bows) shooters in the world, almost managed to shoot a new South African record on Saturday. Wentzel said that she just wanted to shoot the best that she could and will hopefully compete in the Commonwealth Games in two years’ time.
TuksArchery has over 30 archers and is the fastest growing archery club in South Africa. Mauldon told Perdeby that even though they are still a small club, they plan to increase their numbers through schools in North Gauteng. “Though we are small, the standards we achieve are high: in our training (our coach Johan Steyn went to the London Olympics with the South African team), in the competitions we host (which are internationally recognised) and the standard of our archers.”
TuksArchery’s future plans are to possibly send two or even three archers to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janierio. Their main goal is to host four outdoor and four indoor tournaments. Lutke van Dorssen, chairperson of TuksArchery told Perdeby that they aim to host the best competitions in the country, as people come as far as the Western Cape to take part in these type of events.
Even though the weather may not have played out as the archers would have hoped, it was still a successful shoot and one step closer to the TuksArchery club’s dreams.
Photos: Provided
