Sweden has once again sent its best to Lac La Biche.
Five-time World Archery Field champion Erik Jonsson is one of the 250 world-class athletes in Lac La Biche for the 2024 World Archery Field Championships. Jonsson and Team Sweden are hoping to add to their countries impressive record on the world archery stage.
Jonsson, who is also a team coach and archery official who has competed and won gold medals in the World Games, the Indoor World Series as well as various World Archery Field Championships, was also part of the Swedish delegation that travelled to Lac La Biche for the World 3D Archery Championships in 2019. While he didn’t bring home any medals in the 3D archery tournament, finishing in seventh-place finish in the barebow men’s competition, he has been looking forward to a return visit to Lac La Biche.
“It was a really nice competition, and I’m very glad to be back,” said Jonsson, who works at a paper mill in central Sweden, and has been involved with the sport of archery for the past 35 years.
For other athletes, the sport, and the Lac La Biche region in northern Alberta, is a newer experience.
A long way from Tel Aviv
For Sharar Kleiner with Team Israel and American field archer Ryan Davis, this is their first time in the area.
A “very green landscape” and peaceful, rural part of the world was the first impression Kleiner had of the Lac La Biche region, arriving after a long flight from Tel Aviv to Edmonton.
The farm fields and forests of northern Alberta, he said, are dramatically different from the busy urban and desert environment in Israel.
“For me, it’s just a bit surreal, because it’s not a part of the world I’m used to being,” he said, describing his host community as charming. “It’s very, very calm.”
Kleiner, who was introduced to archery by his father as a youngster, has been shooting in competitions for the past eight years. He enjoys not only the competitive nature of the sport, but also the fact that it requires an immense amount of concentration, dedication, and attention to detail. He has acquired plenty of experience on the road to the 2024 World Archery Field Championships by shooting at international competitions hosted in Shanghai, Ireland, Bucharest, Romania, and Madrid Spain over the past few years.
According to Kleiner, facilities for practicing field archery are limited in Israel. Therefore, in order to get ready for the Lac La Biche event, he travelled to Austria and Slovakia to practice his shooting skills and stances.
“I have prepared for this tournament a while now,” he said, adding that this will be his main competition for the season.
Bowhunter turned athlete
While he has travelled extensively around his American homeland as well as to different destinations in Canada, the 2024 World Archery Field Championships was the first time that Ryan Davis had been to the Lac La Biche region.
The resident of northern Indiana enjoyed not only the scenic natural areas of Lac La Biche, but also the mild early autumn weather that was considerably cooler than temperatures back home.
“I like the weather…it’s hot at home,” Davis told the Lac La Biche POST newsroom with a smile and a laugh.
For Davis, who was already an avid bowhunter, getting into the sporting side of archery was a logical progression. Since taking up the sport, he has competed in some international competitions, including the 2022 World Games in Alabama, and the 2022 World Field Archery Championships South Dakota.
Davis said he feels confident about the games in Lac La Biche, saying his fellow athletes on Team USA have all been looking forward to the competition, and have really enjoyed the hospitality of their neighbours to the north.
Jonsson, Kleiner and Davis competed in the two day, two round qualifying competitions held at the Lakeland Archers’ Herb Erickson Archery Lanes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The top 16 athletes and top eight teams from the qualifying rounds will go to the shootout rounds on Thursday and Friday, with the top four individuals and teams advancing to the medal round finals on Saturday and Sunday. The championship round will take place at the Lac La Biche Golf and Country Club.
Event organizers encourage the public to attend the competition as well as a number of community events scheduled for the week of competition. A schedule of events for the 2024 World Archery Field Championships can be found at www.lakelandtoday.ca or on the social media pages of the Lakeland Archers.