It was a win that came down to the last arrow for Lakeland Archers member Ian Bouvier at the Canada Winter Games tryout in Edmonton on November 20 and 21, where he had to be the closest to the target for a chance to represent Alberta at the Winter Games in Halifax.
After enduring two faceoffs with his competition, a PanAm Games competitor, Bouvier was able to beat his opponent by inches and secured a spot on the Alberta archery team.
"It is the first time I have ever beat him. I knew I could do it if I concentrated," said the 19-year old, who competed in the Alberta Winter games two years ago and made it to Team Alberta.
If Bouvier and the Alberta team do well, they could have a chance to secure a spot in the Summer Olympics.
But Bouvier hasn't always been talented with a bow and arrow, and he became interested in the sport when he went to the archery lanes to shoot five years ago. After practicing a few times, he became interested in the sport and now practices on average 2-3 times a week.
"It takes a lot of practice but it is fun," said Bouvier.
Archer Emma Chaput landed in third place in the same competition, just missing out on the chance to go to Halifax.
Although the 17-year old won't be joining Bouvier in Halifax, the archer says she was happy to get the experience.
"I like it because I get to compete against myself and beat my personal goals," said Chaput.
Having started archery when she was 13-years old, Chaput practices two times a week at the local archery lanes.
President of the Lakeland Archers Rene Schaub is proud of the two athletes who proved that they can compete with anyone else in the province.
"It's really nice to see that kids from a small town can beat archers from major cities. It's payback for all of their hard work," said Schaub.
