Two Yukon archers set Canadian records in their respective age categories on Dec. 16.
Delia Therriault, 12, scored 438 in the pre-cub girls barebow division, and Emmett Kapaniuk, 14, scored 573 in the cub boys compound division of the Multi-sites Indoor Championships of the Americas (MICA) on Dec. 16. The virtual competition required archers to submit their scores manually.
Though Therriault set a Canadian record with her score, she was not old enough to qualify for MICA ranking. Kapaniuk can expect to see his ranking once those scores have been tabulated.
“It feels really good and I’m very happy,” Therriault told the News during an archery practice on Jan. 7.
“I felt pretty confident that I was going to do okay, but I didn’t think I’d do that good.”
Therriault has been shooting for two years. She was introduced to the sport at school in Mayo, and travelled to Whitehorse “every couple weekends” to shoot before moving to the city permanently in October.
“(I like) that it’s not a contact sport, I don’t really like contact sports, (and) you’re in your own bubble so that’s nice,” Therriault said.
Kapaniuk, who grew up playing hockey, agreed that he was drawn to archery because it’s a solo sport.
“It’s just you and yourself and your bow, just trying to do the best you can,” he said.
Kapaniuk has been shooting for four years. His score, which ties with the Canadian record, will be his last in the cub age category.
“It’s not exactly what I was going for but I’m still pretty happy with it. It is still the record, still tied it, still get my name in the books so I’m good with it,” Kapaniuk said.
Kapaniuk said he’s aiming to shoot new record-breaking scores in the older categories as he ages up.
Yukon archers were challenged this year to maintain their commitment to practise without the regular competition schedule of a pre-pandemic season. Since athletes were unable to practise at Whitehorse schools, they found a private training space in downtown Whitehorse. Kapaniuk said he’s committed to a training routine.
“With COVID and all that, we won’t be able to go to tournaments, but we have access to lots of practice and range time,” Kapaniuk said.
“So just trying to build on that, practise at home and get what you need to get done before tournaments start popping up again.”
Both Kapaniuk and Therriault said they enjoyed hitting a Canadian record alongside a teammate, and hope it will help the sport grow locally.
“It’s definitely amazing. Thinking back to where the Yukon started, it was just the four archers going to B.C. for tournaments, and seeing how much it has grown is just crazy,” Kapaniuk said.
“I definitely think (breaking records) starts to get the name out even more for the sport in the Yukon; we’re actually getting big things done.”
Contact Gabrielle Plonka at gabrielle.plonka@yukon-news.com