Rhodes archers hit new targets
Despite a lack of participation, Saturday and Sunday’s Founders Indoor Challenge proved a huge success for the Rhodes Archery Club.
Ettioné Ferreira, their Development Officer and a Compound Women’s archer, qualified for Eastern Province Colours, while Men’s Recurve Cadet archer Yashin Naidoo broke the national double round record, improving it from 1037 to 1060.
Other accolades on the day went to Greg Viljoen (who won the Recurve men’s division), Compound Open men’s champion Anton-Pierre Swart, Recurve Cub Boys winner Justin Tuck, and newly appointed Club Chairperson Lance Ho, who claimed the Compound Men’s prize.
Ho expressed his delight at the quality of archery on display, claiming that it was “a good sign for Eastern Cape Archery” ahead of the eagerly anticipated Indoor National Championships in Pretoria, which will take place from 23 to 25 October.
Meanwhile, Ferreira expressed her delight at having improved on her performances in previous years, saying, “It was really great to finally reach that point where I’ve struggled to get to for a few years now.
“This is the first time I qualify, so I’m pretty happy”.
Ferreira also hailed Ho’s impact on her performance, crediting his coaching for improving her form, technique and equipment, adding that, without his influence, she “wouldn’t have been able to shoot this well”.
Although Ferreira has done enough to qualify for provincial colours, the final decision rests with the province and she will only find out in January whether or not she has been successful.
However, she was the first Rhodes archer to qualify for colours this year and Ho welcomes the feat.
Ferreira’s praise is just one of many accolades that Ho, who was South Africa’s coach and Assistant Team Manager at the World Junior Championships in Yankton, South Dakota, has achieved this year.
The Founders Indoor Challenge was the first step towards completing his plans to make the Archery Club even more competitive in 2016.
sport@grocotts.co.za