Archery shoot begins tonight in Jamestown

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Tonight marks the first of three days of competition at the 17th Annual 3-D Indoor Archery Shoot in Jamestown.

The competition at the Jamestown Civic Center is hosted by the Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the Stutsman County Wildlife Federation.

Archers from all over North Dakota as well as South Dakota and Minnesota are expected to compete, according to Jamestown Parks and Recreation Director Doug Hogan.

“On a good year with decent weather, we usually get anywhere from 200 to 250 people out to the shoot,” he said.

As for this year’s turnout, Hogan said “you can just never predict it,” considering the recent weather.

This is the fourth of 16 shoots on the North Dakota Bowhunters Association’s 2012 tournament schedule.

The NDBA was established in 1952 to promote and expand the sport of archery in the state, according to its website.

Darrell Belisle, membership and publicity director with the NDBA, said Jamestown puts on one of the best indoor shoots in the state.

“It’s a pretty big deal out here — there’s quite a following for events like this since we’re really the only state who has this many indoor archery tournaments,” he said.

Blaine Jacobs, a member of the NDBA and the National Field Archery Association, said he enjoys how the shoot is a good time for all ages.

“It’s great for competitors because they can work on their accuracy, but it’s really a family-oriented atmosphere out there also,” he said.

In previous years, Jacobs has seen shooters from Montana and even Canada take part.

“People get scared when we advertise the shoot as a tournament, but we encourage people to come out and watch even if they don’t feel like participating,” he said.

This year’s events include a 25-targets 3-D round, a challenge round, cub course targets, team shoot and 300 round. The 300 round is a qualifier for the state indoor tournament set to take place March 30 to April 1 in Williston.

The four shooting styles in the overall competition include freestyle bowhunter, freestyle limited bowhunter, freestyle limited and traditional. Each type of shooting style and the equipment permitted for each varies. For a detailed explanation of these styles, visit the NFAA’s website at www.nfaa-archery.org.

There are five age divisions: seniors (55 and over), adults (18 and over), youth (13 to 17), cubs (8 to 12) and mites (under 8).

There is no general admission fee and all mites compete free of charge. Shooting fees for the numerous competitions will vary.

Registration and shooting times are set for 5 to 7 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Shooting times will continue for an additional two hours after registration closes. Anyone is welcome to register.

For more information, contact the Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department at 701-252-3982.

Sun reporter Brian Willhide can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by email at bwillhide@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, bow hunting, news, archery