SIX NATIONS – Six Nations Tourism, Chiefswood National Historic Site and Ontario 3D Archery (ONT3D) hosted a competitive tournament last weekend for archers of various skills levels.
The event saw more than 125 participants from ages four and up was held at Six Nations Tourism in the Nature Trial, located behind the centre, and in the adjacent field.
Six Nations community member and member of the Ontario 3D archery, Hagwihsas (Hawk) Jacobs, and Alysha Longboat, cultural co-ordinator of Six Nations Tourism, worked closely with Ontario 3D Archery in order to make the event a success.
“It was amazing to see the level of interest and skill we have here on Six Nations and we hope that this new program will inspire more people to take up the sport,” said Longboat.
The weekend long event also marked the launch of Six Nations Tourism’s new Archery Program. As of July 2017, patrons will be able to utilize archery equipment, targets and book archery runs for their leisure, competitions or even field trips.
At the weekend event, ONT3D participants were assigned an A, or B range (distance from the target) based on their age and skill level. Each participant took their shot at up to 64 different targets. “We gave away some pretty awesome prizes, one of which was a $3000 compound bow package from Bear Archery,” said Hailey Daniels from ONT3D. “We also had a number of draw giveaways and some more discrete ways for people to win prizes along the ranges.”
Competitors who pre-registered by June 15, were also entered in to a draw for an early bird prize.
The Cayuga and Mohawk immersion school, Kaweniio/Gaweni:yo, was also on site making breakfast daily to raise money for their school’s construction fund. The school, who students are immersed into the rich Haudenosaunee culture and language, is currently operating out of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The school is working on securing the bank loan they need to begin construction on their new school behind Six Nations Polytech on Fourth Line. The students were able to raise close to $2,000.
The event concluded on Sunday, June 18 with awards taking place at 1p.m. Local residents Hagwihsas (Hawk) Jacobs, and Brad Hill placed in the top five category for best overall score in their division.
