The April Ready Aim Grow Championship planted a seed of positivity in the hearts and minds of youth. The results were stupendous strength gains, high archery scores, a bundle of flowers, and succulents for the male and female champions. The archer athletes were given the command, “Focus, Form, and Follow Through” and that is exactly what they did from demonstrating proper form in strict slow pushups to hitting bullseyes at targets 15 – 20 meters away. All these athletes had to qualify for this competition and their opportunity to compete is a testament to their dedication and development in archery fitness.
We had a wonderful, warm, sunny day for our event (with three age group competitions) as many youngsters made warm memories that will last a long time.
10 and Under
DJ of X shots winning her first championship! She had the highest score for girls and boys with 71 pts out of 107.“The competition was fun and beyond exciting! I felt accomplished and proud of my results. I remained positive throughout. What a great time!” – DJ of the X Shots, First Place Girl, First Overall, and First Place Team Member
“My experience was fun and I met new friends. It is educational and I don’t want to ever leave.”
– Lilly of the X Shots, Second Place Girl, Second Overall, and First Place Team Member
“The competition was amazing. It was a challenge. It was fun and I tried my best on my first archery competition.” – Nico of the X Shots, Fourth Place Boy, First Place Team Member
Izzy of the Diamond Gorrilas at her 2nd championship and third place girl and only archer to get an “X” with her score of 52x.“Archery is awesome. It helps your muscles and it is really fun because you get to team up with your friends. Archery is when you get to do things that you normally don’t do.” – Izzy of the Diamond Gorrilas, Third Place Girl, Fourth Overall, and Third Place Team Member
“I like archery because you can be creative. You can shoot at targets and earn points. The best part is you can team up with a friend.” – Henry of the Diamond Gorrilas, Third Place Team Member
“It was fun for me. I learn that it is not all about winning. It’s about having fun. Thank you for letting me compete in this this event and see you next time.” – Anecya of the Shadow Arrows, Fourth Place Team Member
Ready Aim Grow Spring 2016 Championship Competitors
11 Thru 13
Sona of the NS Archers was the female champion and. NS Archers with Sona and Nicole won team championship.“My experience was amazing. It mentally helped me and made me feel like I could do anything. We also did pushups and exercises that helped me physically. I loved the teacher, Ms. Alicia. She helped us “rock and roll” and made us absolutely prepared as she had faith in all of us. I loved this experience.” – Sona of the NS Archers, First Place Girl, First Place Team Member
“My experience was good. I was nervous, but I got a good score. It was good to be a championship for the first time.” – Nicole of the NS Archers, Third Place Girl, First Place Team Member
“Today at the spring competition, everyone had fun. During the exercise round, I didn’t think I would get all 6 points, but I did and I was so proud of myself. I have to thank Ms. Alicia for the opportunity to compete in our city.” – Aisha of the Purple Pandas, Second Place Girl, Official Event Scorer
“My experience at this archery competition was that I was nervous at first, but once I started shooting, it all went away. I did better than I ever done before.” – Jenna of the Purple Pandas, Third Place Team Member
“I felt nervous at first, but not now. PS I like doing the pushups. Oh, and I like archery.” – Jessica, Third Place Team Member, Rising Star Archer
“I have really enjoyed archery and learning it with Ms. Alicia.” – Donovan of the Hawkeyes, First Place Boy
The age 11 thru 13 Teams at Awards Ceremony.
13 and 1/2 Thru Age 16
Indaya, 2 time champ, (66x) and Matteo, youngest competitor, (70x) are Champions in the most advanced competition where they compete at 20 meters.“My experience today was breathtaking. I never realized how much better I got since I practiced. I had a terrific time today and I will remember this forever. Since I have a Bible verse to go with it Collosians 3:23-24 and Jeremich 29:11 without forgetting John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoesover believed in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16,” – Indaya of the Camo Hunters, First Place Female and Second Overall
“This was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to spend time with a friend. I can meet new people and improve in a sport. I think archery is something I will always want to do.” – Logan of Blue Thunder, Second Place Male, Third Place Team Member, Rising Star Archer
Congratulations to ALL competitors!!
Cheers to the 2016 Spring Championship!
The field of elite male archery fitness competitors.
Archer Athletes at the start of the Bow-A-Thon.WINTER GARDEN, FL— On the sunny, cool morning of Saturday, January 30th the determined and dedicated youth archer athletes gathered at the starting line for Florida’s Inaugural Bow-A-Thon in a large park. Five pioneers in this challenging event gave their best efforts in a tough 1 mile cross country run. After minimal recovery, they then shot 10 arrows in less than 4 minutes. They all used the same bows without any sighting devices. The Bow-A-Thon was a skills test as well as a physical test and they all performed well above the expectations the event director and coach, Alicia Weber, had in mind.
“I’m very excited and happy about all their performances and I feel this competition will boost their confidence for future championships,” exclaimed Weber.
The boys and girls cross country had back and forth action with surprise sprint finishes by Indaya and Yeriel who won the running part. They each earned 10 points.
“I felt I could relax on my archery, if needed to because of my run victory. However, I tried my hardest in archery anyways,” commented Yeriel.
“The competition was fun, challenging, and different and something we would try again,” agreed Yeriel and second place runner, Drew. Both boys called this their first ever archery competition.
With minimal rest, the top three finishers in the run (Yeriel, Drew, and Bryce) went to compete in the archery.
Bryce won the archery and the competition with his score of 87 points. This was his second archery fitness victory.
“It was difficult to adjust to archery after the run, but I enjoyed the challenge,” said Bryce with a big smile as he was handed the winner’s mug.
Recovery time was increased before the girls did their archery. Indaya enjoyed her surroundings at this new location with the many big trees and open fields. All competitors were given awards and the top male and female won a champion’s mug.
Indaya won the competition with a total of 92 points out of a possible 110 points. This was her third archery fitness victory. She has been training and competing the longest out of all these competitors. She holds the Girls Youth Record for the Archery Fitness League. Aisha was the second woman and the youngest competitor with her 61 points.
“The competition was pretty fun. The mile was challenging because of the change in terrain and the zig zagging course,” agreed Indaya and Aisha.
New archer athletes, Yeriel and Drew, took 2nd and 3rd place males with 70 and 63 points respectively.
This taxing competition was by Invitation Only as certain skill levels need to be met. The competitors proved to be great champions. Bring Out The Champion In You and enroll in innovative athletic programming with Alicia @ Awinningway@gmail.com
The enthusiasm of the X-Shots drive to run and shoot archery combined with the idea their Coach, Alicia Weber, dreamed up became a reality in December for their last day of the fall archery fitness program. Weber competed in a 5k Beach Running race where she was chased by Zombies six times. She sprinted to keep them from tagging her and she was successful in escaping from them and winning the race (first place female) and the victory was her 106th overall career victory and the inspiration for her new game “Tag Team Archery.”
Inaugural Tag Team Archery
CLERMONT, FL—Sundance Archery Range was packed with spectators and two teams Tall and Short (which included a tall male athlete, Yeriel, and two short females from the X-Shots) and Lego Arrows (2 males with one being Bryce the 2015 male varsity Ready Aim Go Archery Champion).
The teams competed on a rolling surface. They had 4 minutes to earn as many points as possible by running 100yds successfully without getting tagged by the other team and then racking up additional points by shooting 3 arrows at 25 yards for score. The competition proved to be adrenaline pumping, action-packed, intense, and challenging.
It gave the uber athletic and competitive X-shots the excitement and running they were craving. It also attracted two new archers to join their team. In fact, one new archer, Yeriel, made the final winning shots to help his team, Tall and Short, take the victory in the inaugural tag team archery. Yeriel and another new student, Jack, were given only one quick instruction on archery and they are already excelling in their new sport with flying colors.
Play-By-Play of the Inaugural Tag Team Archery Game
Round One After both teams played their first 4 minute rounds the Lego Arrows led with a score of 30-11. Bryce of the Lego Arrows had a great round of archery to extend the lead.
Round Two The determined new archer, Yeriel, from team Tall and Short was not going to focus on how far ahead the Lego Arrows were, but instead he focused on gaining ground with each arrow. He increased his team’s score to 32 points. Tall and Short now led 32-30.
Round Three The third and final round was reduced to 2 minutes. Each team had all their teammates run at the same time, while trying to escape from the opposite team closing in to tag like a huge octopus. The Lego Arrows came back and took the lead 35-32. However, team Tall and Short still had their final 2 minutes of game time, where all the final action took place. All three made it thru their run successfully, which put the score to a tie of 35-35. Since, Yeriel was first to complete the run, he was first to complete his final 3 shots of archery. The time showed 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining. Yeriel, with his adrenaline pumping as he felt the pressure, hit all three arrows on target and took home the win for his team with a final score of 54-35 just in the nick of time.
“We are thrilled. We want to do this again!” exclaimed all 5 competitors as they leaped in the air. Today was just a scrimmage, but an official match is in store for the future.
Six varsity archery fitness teams throughout Central Florida in Alicia Weber’s Archery Fitness League converged for a one of kind competition testing physical and mental skills as well as self-motivation, team cohesion, creativity, and originality. The competitors had to qualify to compete in this advanced competition known as the “Ready Aim Go Championship.†Sixty three percent of the competitors called this their first-ever athletic competition and it was also the first time most made a varsity team.
“I have never been to anything like this before and it’s very exciting,†said Janet Kelley one of the nearly one hundred spectators that watched the championship.
The first competition was the Ready Aim Go Championship for ages 7-9 and it was a scaled down version of a longer competition for older students (10-14), which took place immediately after the youth event. In all cases, all the competitors received the same training, trained and competed on the same equipment, and all put in only 7-8 hours of training this fall before competing in this highly advanced event (cross country running bean bag toss relay event followed by a timed barebow category archery event with shooting at various distances for score).
“I am very proud of all my students. They exceeded all the goals I have set for them. Learning to become focused and do these types of multi-tasking events at this age is challenging, but they succeeded with flying colors, literally,†said Event Director and Coach, Alicia Weber who trains all these students in various developmental programs. Some students traveled more than an hour away to compete on November 15th at Sundance Archery Range where archery is sponsored.
All six teams had to create their own identity and team name. Many designed their own shirts as Coach Alicia Weber encourages creativity and originality. Some students wore multicolored shirts with designs.
“We like the creativity of this competition where we design our own shirts and come up with our team name,†agreed the three young ladies on the Diamond Rainbow Husky Archery Team who wore colorfully designed shirts.
Izzy, the team captain, added, “I don’t care about winning. I just care about having fun.â€
Ready Aim Go Championship (ages 7-9) Highlights
The fitness relay event tested running ability, reaction time, throwing skills, and accuracy to toss a bean bag in a bucket under pressure. Most importantly, the fitness event was selected to build team cohesion, while the archery tested individual focus and self-motivation. The older group was also challenged with a steady NE wind, which appeared at 10:30am with 15-20mph wind gusts.
“I feel excited and really glad that we won. It took a lot of work because of the wind, but it was a very good experience for our team. The format of the competition and the training leading up to it made our team become closer friends,†said Sebastian representing “The Rubies†on the winning team in the (age 10-14) championship competition.
In the first championship (ages 7-9), the Shadow Arrows won with a 12 point lead. The male archery winner was Colin from the Shadow Arrows, while the female archery winner was Ryele from the Diamond Rainbow Husky Archers. The girls had a 21 percent lead in the fitness event, but the boys from the Shadow Arrows gained ground in the archery to win the competition where the fitness and archery carried equal weight in the scoring.
In the second championship event (ages 10-14), the coed team of The Rubies tied with the girls team known as The Secret Service. It came down to the “x†in archery to determine the winner and The Rubies got two “X†dead center points in the archery competition to take the win with a final score of 504xx.
The top male archer was Bryce from the X Shots and the top female archer was Indaya from the Secret Service.
The X-Shots had the leading fitness score with the fastest relay time of the day of 46 seconds for the 3x100yd bean bag toss cross country relay.
Ready Aim Go Championship (ages 10-14) Highlights
“I liked everything about this competition. The archery was tough, but the running was not difficult. I felt very good for our team to win the run and go into the archery with more confidence. It was my first competition and I can’t wait to compete in the next one,†exclaimed the highly-motivated Lilly of the X Shots who opted to compete in the harder competition when she is under 10 years old.
“I was so surprised to come here and see Lilly do this very advanced competition. I think it is excellent,†remarked her great grandmother.
The Fierce Fighters worked double duty in the championship (ages 10-14) as they had a two person team. Aisha ran two legs of the relay with Kevin. They both are new archers and have shown great improvements after their 8 hours of training to compete for the first time in top form. They finished in a very close 4th place team (just 8 ½ points from 3rd place team).
Some competitors liked the fitness and archery events the same, others liked archery the best, while still others like the fitness event the best. However, one thing is certain that they all are looking forward to the next competition.
“It was a fantastic event. All the kids had fun, the event was well-organized, and it was a very positive event. I am looking forward to more events,†said Kyle Caracciolo-Clayton.
In Spring 2016, there will be youth and adult developmental programs, which provide a free competition. “We thank our sponsor, Clermont’s Papa John’s Pizza, for providing the pizza for the championship,” said Weber.
For more info on the Developmental programs contact Awinningway@gmail.com
The first competition (ages 7-9) took place at 8:30am and it was a scaled down version of the competition for ages 10-14, which took place immediately after the first one. In both competitions, competitors began with a complicated bean bag toss cross country relay. Then, they followed with a barebow category archery competition where competitors used the same bows without sighting devices. The winning teams were decided upon the highest combined score achieved in archery + fitness (the highest possible score in the first team competition was 400pts and in the second competition (ages 10-14) the highest possible team score was 800pts).
Review from Championship Team (for ages 7-9):
The first championship competition (ages 7-9) was won by a group of boys from Winter Garden on the team called “Shadow Arrows.” They won with a 12 point lead with a total of 178 points out of 400 possible points. Colin, the oldest and team captain, was their leading archer.
“I love both the fitness and archery components of the championship. I expected our team to do well. It was not too much to expect us to achieve so much in just 8 hours of training,” said Colin who plans to continue in the semester-based archery fitness developmental program, which provides the free competition.
“I took this developmental program just to learn archery and it was a nice surprise to be good enough to make the varsity team and compete in this championship. Only three students in each class will be invited to make the varsity team. Those that do not make it, get to compete in a junior varsity competition,” said the enthused Hudson, Colin’s teammate.
All three on the Shadow Arrows exclaimed,”This is fun and I love archery.”
Review from Championship Team (for ages 10-14):
The Rubies traveled more than one hour away to compete in the (age 10-14) Championship where they won by achieving two “Xs” in archery. The over-achiever, Matteo, (only 8 years old) wanted to compete in the older competition to be more challenged and he was given permission. He earned a “Rising Star Archer” award for his commitment to excellence and challenging himself to harder activities against older kids. His teammates, Sebastian and Morgan, never competed in archery before and they have only begun training once a week this semester. The Rubies beat a team with much more experience than them. The Rubies won the team Championship with 504xx, while the Secret Service took second with 504 points.
The Rubies Show Triumph in Their Big Win in the Ready Aim Go Championship. They broke the tie with the Secret Service by having two “Xs” in archery. Sebastian and Matteo each hit a 10x – the highest score in archery enroute to break the tie and win the championship.
“It’s fun and good to know that I am doing better than people who have been doing archery a lot longer than me,” said Morgan.
“Archery makes kids challenge themselves. It brings out the best in them and the results will surprise parents,” said Ana, Matteo’s mom.
“The archery fitness developmental program is a lot of fun. It does not require too much physical activity and running. I would encourage others to give it a try to experience a lot of excitement and fun challenges. It’s fun to do, but it can be quite challenging to do archery in the wind,” added Morgan who was the second overall female in the windy archery competition on the 15th.
Sebastian and Matteo Draw a “V” for VICTORY after winning the Inaugural Championship for the Development Program.
Parents enjoy coming to watch their kids train in the developmental program and compete in the free competition.
“The kids can increase focus and awareness, which carries over into everything they do. They are taught safety first and foremost and they have to follow strict rules. The kids rise to the occasion and follow the rules. They are very good at taking responsibility and they enjoy the leadership roles the sport of archery gives them,” added the very observant Ana.
The developmental program provides all students an equal opportunity to build skills and then depending on how quickly they develop, they will get to compete for free in either the varsity or junior varsity competition (or they do not have to compete at all).
Review from Junior Varsity Champions (for ages 5-9):
Ten students throughout Central Florida competed in the 10 Arrow 10yd Junior Varsity contest. The top male and overall winner was Manny from Winter Garden with 54 points out of a possible 100 points. The top female and second overall was Sofia from Clermont with 46 points.
“I am happy that everyone gets an opportunity to compete in this developmental program. It is a good motivator. It makes me feel proud to win this junior varsity competition,” said Manny, the Junior Varsity Fall 2015 Champion.
“I was nervous to train under Alicia at first and do archery. I did not think I would be able to hit the target. To my surprise, Alicia was very nice and fun and I hit the target right away on my first day of practice,” said Sofia, a well-rounded athlete who now calls archery her number one favorite sport.
“I look forward to archery each week. Everything is exciting about Alicia’s developmental program. We do a lot of physical challenges mixed in with archery and each day is different,” said Sofia, the Fall 2015 Female Junior Varsity Champion.
After Manny and Sofia won their competition, their self-esteem sky rocketed. They became more eager to to do archery, they became more responsible, they became more motivated, and they became even better in practice.
“Self esteem comes from doing something and accomplishing something.” – Shari Lewis
Sofia wanted to work on the longer distances. She began hitting the target at 20 meters a week after she won at 10 yards.
Manny and Sofia take Victory in Fall 2015 Junior Varsity Competition
Sofia trains in Clermont at the largest archery range available to the Central Florida students in the developmental program. “I really like working at this very large archery range with my instructor, Alicia, as I know many students in other areas don’t get this opportunity,” reflected Sofia.
Keep your eye on Manny and Sofia as they are on pace to make a future varsity team!
Contact Awinningway@gmail.com to join a Youth or Adult Archery Developmental Program.
In just one year, an archer in Alicia Weber’s Coed Archery Fitness League won her first archery competition, qualified for two varsity archery teams, set a world record in a 3-D archery relay, became the only archer out of 25 to hit a bullseye the size of a nickel from 15 yds away, and she competed against competitors twice her age as she made major news as a 10 year old phenom in barebow category archery.
The 10 year old, dynamic archer has taken flight to barebow category archery (the hardest type of archery) where sighting devices and other devices to assist are not allowed to be used. She is a varsity team member in an archery fitness league, which focuses on excelling in barebow category archery and fitness.
Age is just a number here and boys and girls compete together and push each other to become better archers and better people. This is a serious program that is packed with fun, challenges, and the opportunity to build lasting friendships.
The 10 year old phenom archer’s qualities of maturity, determination, and drive send her places where few have gone. She is highly motivated, enthusiastic, and ready to inspire others to succeed too, which makes her a great team player on her varsity team.
She wants to dare you to think bigger and challenge yourself to shoot for the moon. Maybe you can become a star in the archery fitness league too!
You can watch this Phenomenal 10 Year Old Archer shoot without sighting devices at a standard target for score in 15 mph winds with 21 mph Wind Gusts in a Fastest 300 point Challenge!
Join Alicia Weber’s Coed Archery Fitness League at Awinningway@gmail.com
Byer sets the record with 214x as she finishes strong with 4 bullseyes in Round 3 at 10 meters.
Determined Indaya Byer may not have set the record in her first attempts in an archery challenge, but after a victory and 2nd place finish in summer competitions, she was ready.
Indaya Byer’s time came to set the sought after record on the morning of September 26, 2015. On a cooler, sunny day without wind, Byer broke the youth girls record by 2 points.
The challenge is a common one among youth archers, especially those in Alicia Weber’s Archery Fitness League. The archers shoot 15 arrows at 15 meters and 15 arrows at 10 meters for a total of 300 possible points.
Byer knows of Danielle and how talented she is in archery. Byer is inspired and wants to be great too. Byer has now moved up the ranks and taken the top score with 214x points.
No sighting devices are allowed on bows and all competitors use the same brand of bows – Genesis compound bows.
Byer began with 5 arrows at 15 meters followed by 5 arrows at 10 meters and repeated for 3 rounds total.Byer in Round 3 at 15 meters. She regains her focus to pull off the record with the last 5 arrows.
She was smooth sailing in round one as she finished with 70 points. Beginning in round 2, she was even more focused and she felt the “sweet spot” for aiming. She was aware of her body alignment and mastered good muscle control of holding the bow stable and pulling the string with higher resistance. She ended round 2 with 79x (149x so far).
In her final round she became shaky as finger fatigued set in at the 15 meter target. Her scores dropped off. She lowered her resistance and still felt she could muster enough points with her remaining 5 arrows at 10 meters to take this record.
She did her best ever with the remaining 5 arrows at 10 meters, scoring four bullseyes in the process. Her last round came to 65 points. The scores were tallied and they came to 214x – A NEW RECORD!!
Byer was thrilled to get this record. It made her day as she continues to focus on goals and attack many new, exciting challenges in the future.
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving you goals.” -Zig Ziglar
Contact Awinningway@gmail.com to join an archery program.
The final Bullseye Scavenger Hunt of the summer proved to be the most exciting and challenging for youth and adult archers. They agreed it was everything they had hoped and they felt great with their results on August 23.
“The archery scavenger hunt gives something more to look forward to as kids use a combination of their focus and parent involvement in a family friendly activity,†said Ingrid Byer.
“The scavenger hunt is a great way to end the day because competitors are done with archery and now building teamwork with families and new friends,†added Ana Vaccaro.
Ninety-nine percent of the competition consisted of the archery, which took place on the Sundance Archery Range where it is sponsored. Youths and adults began the day by shooting 10 arrows at 10yds within four minutes for best score using bows without any sighting devices. All participants received prizes, but the top two males and females received additional prizes. The remaining one percent of the competition consisted of a photographic scavenger hunt, which gave points for fast walking and finding items in quick fashion at Downtown Clermont Famer’s Market. The participants worked as a team. All participants found 12 items in less than 15 minutes. Carey Miller, Sundance Manager and Archery Sponsor, wins competition and gives high five to runner-up Indaya Byer who enjoyed competing with Miller.
The top male archer was Matteo Vaccaro, 8, with his score of 64 points. Runner-Up was Cody Warner who is 6. Warner improved by 18 points from his previous competition of this same distance.The only adult in the competition was Carey Miller who won first for females with her score of 87xx and this was her first archery competition. The former Champ, Indaya Byer, took second with her score of 84x. This was the first time Byer got an “x†in competition, which is the center of the bullseye and the tiebreaker in archery. Back on August 4, Byer won an “archery fitness” challenge, which took place at National Night Out where she won a head band (which turns into an archery arm guard and finger guard). Five competitors won various head bands during the 2015 “Archery Fitness” Challenge at National Night Out
“I felt amazing. The competition was more interesting with Carey Miller. I am glad she competed,†said Byer.
Some of the kids were longing for this competition. The competitive Matteo Vaccarro is one archer who has been waiting for this day. When he first began training seriously for archery in the spring, he would achieve 64 points after shooting nearly 100 arrows in one hour. Now, he shoots 64 points in less than 4 minutes with just 10 arrows.
“There was no pressure to win because I knew that if I lost, then my friends would win instead and I would be happy for them,†said Vaccaro who showed great sportsmanship.
“This is one sport my son enjoys the most. It’s challenging and helps him focus. The layout of this event is great because participants learn about safety and proper form in archery prior to competing, which helps them to do their best,†said Vaccaro’s mom, Ana.
One beginner, Zeke Archer, really improved after taking the free archery prep session. He really grasped the skills and brought his A game and performed very well when it really counted. Izzy Shea was the only archer shooting with a left bow, while being right-handed and left eye dominant, which is challenging for coordination. She did very well for her first-ever archery competition. Weber reviewing Carey Miller’s top score of 87xx. Miller is active in the Sundance Apt. Community as the manager where archery is sponsored. She believes everyone should take advantage of opportunities and she certainly has taken a Top Shot at this one!
Participants enjoyed the farmer’s market scavenger hunt and met new vendors including but not limited to Rent-A-Hen, Encore, Let’s Tie One On, Donna’s Doodads, and Hip Klip Cell Pocket Accessory.
“The scavenger hunt stretches your mind to look for more things. It is similar to archery. I liked going into the Encore shop where I found oversized scramble,†said Byer. Let’s Tie One On provided the prizes to the Top 2 Male and Female Archers. Left to right: Indaya Byer, Coach Alicia Weber, Matteo Vaccaro, Carey Miller (and not shown Cody Warner). Copyright @ AliciaWeber.com
“Leave your comfort zone and challenge yourself to try something new and fun. It feels awkward at first. Once you get the hang of it, then it’s a lot of fun,†said Miller who encourages adults to compete in future events, especially at the Sundance Archery Range where archery is sponsored.
Alicia Weber has year-round innovative archery and fitness programming and can be reached at Awinningway@gmail.com
Three young ladies took on the challenge of training in a varsity dual archery-fitness advanced program and landed a world’s first ever obstacle archery relay record on November 11.
Danielle Siracusano, 13, Alexis Taylor, 16, and Morgan Hassell, 16, opted for archery and archercise (archery and exercise) for their fall archery program.
Alicia Weber created “archercise” and holds 17 official Record Setter World Records in various archercise events. Alicia Weber is the World’s Most Prolific Record Setter in Physical Fitness with over 500 records set since 2008.
The girls trained in a progressive six week program, which focused on cooperative learning, mental and physical conditioning, and advanced archery skills. All the archers had the opportunity to see how far they could grow in the program. They could strive for a level five varsity archery status. Siracusano, Taylor, Hassell, and Nick Linkiewicz were the only four archers to achieve level 5 status.
Determined Hassell picked up a bow and arrow for the first time and jumped from level one to the highest scorer in level 5 in a competition on November 8. She anchored the first ever obstacle archery relay and finished in 10 minutes flat. Their official record is published at Record Setter World Records.
The dynamic Taylor took her gun-shooting background and fast footwork from track and became an instant success in archery and archercise. She had the fastest leg in the relay with her time of 3:16.
Focused Siracusano has shown great leadership qualities ever since she blossomed as the number one female archer in a five day advancement camp this past summer. She led the relay and established the top archery score with her 36 points. The girls garnered a total of 84 points in archery, which are converted to 84 seconds taken off the final time bringing the final time to 8:36.
All the girls began the relay with a 200 yard dash. Then, without wasting anytime they whipped out 15 consecutive pushups. Immediately after that they each performed a different 10 yard multi-dimensional aerobic exercise. Finally, they grabbed a bow without any sighting devices. They had to shoot a quick descending ladder of distances from 50 yards to 10 yards (2 arrows per target).
“I want to do this again and work on improving my time,” said the motivated Hassell.
Emily Woodhouse, a spectator watching in amazement, commented, “It was fun to watch. As a runner, this sounds like so much fun. I hope to join the program this spring.”
“It was very interesting. A lot of young people will want to do this event,” said Meredith Johnson.
For more information in joining the varsity archery program and Central Florida archery contact Awinningway@gmail.com.
Picking up a bow and arrow for the first time and accurately shooting time and time again at long distance targets (without any sighting devices) is a reality for archers training under Alicia Weber.
From age 5-16, archers are excelling in their own ability levels. The past three weeks, varsity archers have been developing at an advanced pace to prepare for a challenging barebow archery competition. The archers need to be able to be focused and follow-through with proper form and bow-handling habits to have successful shots.
The young, determined archers keep rising to the challenges with fervor and zest.
A look at the recent Archery Champions from November 5 and October 29.
On November 5, the Purple Cookie Monsters (seen on the left of the picture) won a team contest against the Fiery Beasts. They shot various distances for speed and accuracy. The final score was 78-71.
On October 29, Nick Linkewicz, (seen on the right of the picture) captured the individual title in the “20yd-25yd Recurve-Compound Shoot” Contest. He won for most bullseyes.
The archers enthusiasm in training carries over into excelling in advanced archery skills.
“There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.” – Norman Vincent Peale
