Twenty-five young archers took over the Sanders County Fairgrounds Pavilion Thursday from 3:45 until 5:30 p.m. They ranged from fifth to 12th grade and were there as part of the Plains Public Schools after school program. Their instructor, Chris McGuigan, wrote the grant for the archery program.

The archery program has been in existence for approximately nine years and is funded through the Phil Tawney Endowment program that is part of the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The Plains Public Schools also help fund the archery program through buying the equipment.

Each student is given the opportunity to shoot the bows between five or six times. Archers begin their shooting at the 15-meter line from the target with Genesis bows and arrows, both of which are made by Matthews. There are between three to five archers on the shooting line at one time. McGuigan talks with each archer to make sure they are focused and ready to send their arrows down range. The remaining youth are behind a yellow safety line, which is approximately 15 meters behind the shooting line. Each archer chooses his or her own bow from the 10 that are hung on a wheeled rack. Once the archers are ready, Mcguigan gives one blow on his whistle to signal the archers that they may pick up an arrow, knock it, and then release it down range.

The archers on the shooting line fire a total of four arrows each and wait until the other archers have finished, have all hung up their bows, and they hear another set of whistle blows from McGuigan. Three quick blows from the whistle are the signal that it is all clear and the archers’ from the line all walk down range together to the stationary target to retrieve their arrows. McGuigan stands with the students at the targets and talks with the students to inform them of their improvements they have made, the grouping of their arrows, and what each one may consider doing differently so the arrows are closer to the colored rings of the target. The archers then wait for two quick whistle blows to walk back to the shooting line, making sure they are carrying the arrows with both hands.

“This is fun. I like learning how to shoot bows,” Jamyson Leetimm stated.

When he was asked how long he had been shooting the bow he replied, “Just a little bit, Today was my very first day.”

McGuigan had been giving Leetimm very specific instructions on how to use his fingers and where he should be looking to site his bow on the target. Several of the older and more experienced students stayed behind after the other students hadf left and asked if they could shoot longer.

On Saturday, March 4, the Western Montana Archery Tournament will be held at Plains High School in the gym. Approximately four schools will be competing; Plains, Dixon, Hot Springs, and Charlo. The action begins at 10 a.m. and the public is invited to attend and support the students.

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at dwilks@vp-mi.com or 406-826-3402.