Three Cariboo Archers vied for BC Archery Association indoor target supremacy over Easter Weekend.
Cara Fraser, Lily Fraser and Al Campsall made the trek to Richmond to represent the Cariboo Archers.
The event featured paper targets set at 20 yards (18m) and a total of 120 arrows launched over two days of competition. The inner circle of the target (scoring a 10) is about the size of a dime, to give an idea how precise the archers' aims had to be. Any arrow hitting outside the dime would score 9 or lower.
For all three Cariboo Archers, most arrows hit inside or very close to the centre, reported Al Campsall.
Two-time Canadian champion, Cara Fraser, was hampered by a tendonitis injury, but persevered to finish a very respectable fifth in the very competitive Women's Compound division, said Campsall.
"Enduring the pain, she shot well on day one, but improved her score 20 points on day two – a remarkable feat, given her injury," he said.
Al Campsall won his 31st B.C. Championship and set a new B.C. 70+ Compound record as well. Campsall competed against the younger 60+ men and came out on top of that division.
Not to be outdone by her coach, Lily Fraser, won the gold medal in the U18 Compound category. Lily shot well on day one, but a girl she had defeated in the 2024 BC Winter Games, outshot her by seven points.
However, Lily rallied on day two. Both girls scored 1129/1200 total points and had to go to a tie breaker to decide the winner. Lily had 49 tens and 71 nines and her opponent matched her exactly.
"I had never seen this happen before," said Campsall. Both competitors ended up being presented with a gold medal, and both beat the B.C. record.
There is only one other BC Indoor Target record held by two people – coach Campsall owns half of that record.
"I find it difficult to imagine a better scenario than one of my students outperforming me in a BC Championship," said Campsall, noting Lily's score beat his by seven points and he and Lily's mom Cara are proud of her result.
Lily was then awarded the Rising Star Award 2024 in recognition of the youth athlete with the most outstanding achievements in provincial, national and/or international events in the calendar year.
