Nearly a hundred archers from all over Quebec have converged towards the external concentric provincial championship organized for the very first time in Rimouski, whose club Les Archers de Rimouski is the host.
It is thanks to the installations bequeathed by the passage of the Quebec Games from 2023, in Rimouski, that the competition can take place in the regional capital of Bas-Saint-Laurent.
In total, 96 archers participate in the event. The organizers underline that the competition is appreciated by everyone and that the quality of the facilities is in particular for something.
Luc Thibault has been chairman of the board of directors of the Rimouski Club of Archers for ten years.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Félix Ledoux
We have a land that has been adapted to archery. We cannot cry on our field, it makes envious!
sums up Luc Thibault, president of the Rimouski club of archers.
We really see that the terrain was placed for archery, made for archery. We have the hill just behind the balls, so if there are ever missing arrows, we don’t need to go super far. We see that it is well closed and we have the airport too, so we see the flags for the wind
adds Virginie Chénier, Archère de l’Équipe Canada who participated in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This is the first year that Rimouski has hosted the provincial concentric outside outside.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Félix Ledoux
According to Luc Thibault, having new external installations reserved for discipline Make the archery grow
. The Quebec City Archery Federation Opine in the same direction.
There were no installations, no development, which means that since there has been a site, there have been athletes who are a little more efficient
underlines Gabriela Cosovan, technical and administrative director of the Quebec Arc federation.
Gabriela Cosovan is a technical and administrative director of the Quebec Arc federation.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Félix Ledoux
Gabriela Cosovan adds that registrations for the championship organized in Rimouski were closed after only three weeks, because the maximum quantity of participants had been reached.
The appeal of archery
Some Quebec archers are high-level athletes, and others, such as William Handfield-Paré, see benefits that only exceed sports.
[Le tir à l’arc] made me discover a completely different world than video games and movies. […] I play much less now. Sometimes I wonder what I would have done if I had not discovered archery. According to me, I would have continued to play video games even more and I would have [encore plus procrastiné]
expresses this 15 -year -old young archer who has moved from Montreal for the competition.
William Handfield-Paré is one of the 100 participants.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Félix Ledoux
Luc Thibault points out that in the Rimouski Archers club, which also serves the Gaspésie, the discipline is very popular, but it has two components
either hunter archers and competitive archers. The club president calculates that competitors represent approximately 30 % to 40 % of its members.
Virginie Chénier, who has been shooting since 11, raises that sport can attract anyone, from its accessible and inclusive nature.
Virginie Chénier participates in the provincial championship which is held in Rimouski.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Félix Ledoux
It’s a sport for everyone. Just because you don’t have it naturally that you can’t be a good archer
she launches.
The professional athlete mentions that the discipline requires great patience, and that the key to success also involves frequent practice.
The organizers estimate that around 200 visitors moved to the site during each day of the weekend.
The Rimouski Archers Club has nearly a hundred members.
With information from Félix Ledoux.
