The hospitality of Lac La Biche County residents has hit the mark for athletes taking part in the 2024 World Archery Field Championships.
British competitive archers Sophie Meering and Imogen Sullivan-Bell are among the more than 250 athletes taking part in the games that run from Sept. 16-22.
Meering has been shooting competitively for the past two decades, while her teammate took up the sport five years ago.
For both women, being involved with archery has enabled them to travel to different places both at home and abroad, socialize and meet new people, and have an exciting escape from their daily lives.
“I get to travel the world with it…I get to do something other than working full-time, so I get to go and shoot my bow in my spare time,” said Meering, who lives close to Birmingham in England’s West Midlands, where she works in the marketing industry.
Sullivan-Bell, from the British city of Reading near London, is a nurse when she’s not taking aim at targets. She too tells Lakeland This Week that she is drawn to the variety of the sport, as well as the opportunity to shoot in picturesque locales.
“There’s always something new and something different to enjoy, and you get to shoot in really scenic, beautiful places as well,” she said.
Meering has one international competition under her belt – the European Field Championships, which were held in Italy last year – while this is Sullivan-Bell’s first time shooting on the world stage.
Meering explained that in order to quality to get a spot on the British team to compete internationally, archers must get three set scores over the course of two years, with those who have the top three highest scores getting selected.
Prepping for any major sporting competition requires many hours of practice, with archery being no exception. Meering put a considerable amount of time and dedication into getting ready for the Lac La Biche tournament, and was fortunate enough to be able to do much of that training close to home.
“There’s a field course that I found 15 minutes from my house, which has been very, very helpful,” she said.
Great experience
Sullivan-Bell stated that she feels “really excited” about competing in the 2024 World Archery Field Championships. Even though she has only been shooting field archery for about a year, she felt confident in her skills going into the week-long international archery tournament.
Her teammates, coaches and other members of the British contingent, she added, have been impressed with the hospitality that has been shown.
Sullivan-Bell, who had been visited Canada previously, found much to like during her time in Lac La Biche. In addition to competing against and getting to know the other international shooters, she also took in some of the local sites and met people from the area.
“I love it…I’ve only been to Canada briefly once before…I find everyone really friendly…I love the scenery, and the weather’s just better than back home surprisingly,” she said.
