Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Some will win, but all take bow

The Evergreen Archery Club is growing, and is host today to more than 200 shooters from five states

Fresh off a first-place finish in an archery tournament last week, 11-year-old Owen Martin, of Puyallup, Wash., was in Spokane on Saturday getting ready for another possible victory today.

He and his father, Matt Martin, made the drive across the mountains to compete in the Evergreen Archery Club’s biggest event of the season – the first leg of a Northwest “triple crown” tournament.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Owen Martin, who was hoping for more success today among more than 200 bow shooters from five states who are expected to compete at the club’s grounds in northwest Spokane. He and his dad planned to pitch a tent at the course despite the chill in the weekend’s weather.

Archers say their sport has been growing in Spokane, partly because of a more aggressive student program in which archery is offered at seven area schools. About 150 families are enrolled in the club, with membership growing by 10 to 15 percent a year.

Much like golf, the sport captivates participants because they compete against others while improving own skills by repeatedly hitting the bull’s-eyes, said Ed Forslof, a club leader. The thrill of the sport often comes after hitting a target several times in a row, the same way a bowler gets a charge out of rolling a series of strikes, he said.

Archery is also popular with children.

“The club is one of the most active clubs in the national archery and school program,” said Jim Cowgill, another club leader.

Today’s tournament will double as a qualifying event for the world finals of the International Bowhunting Organization in New York in August. As many as 60 archers could qualify from the Spokane event alone, Forslof said.

The tournament offers competition in a series of classifications, including youth categories.

While many of the archers in Spokane today are also bow hunters, others pursue archery purely as a sport. One of the key skills is learning to judge distance and raising the bow to compensate for the arc of the arrow, Cowgill said.

Today, competitors will get to shoot at 40 three-dimensional targets designed to mimic animals. On Saturday, a small crowd showed up for a 10-target practice layout.

The club occupies a tract of land along Spokane’s western bluff. Part of the course is on city-owned parkland and another part on adjoining land of a Seventh-day Adventist church, both of which are under lease to the club.

The club was formed in 1962 and previously operated in the Wandermere area, moving to its current site at Palisades Park in 1985.

Mike Prager can be reached at (509) 459-5454 or mikep@spokesman.com.