SANFORD — Standing in a line, the archers drew back their bows and released the arrows that sought their paper target.

Upwards of 80 archers from southern Maine and New Hampshire took part in the USA Archery state championships over the weekend at Black Sheep Archery in Sanford, demonstrating their skill in an activity that reaches back thousands of years.

Winners go on to indoor national events in the spring and an outdoor event in the summer. The progression could put a winner on the path to the Olympics.

In the early days, archery was used in hunting and combat, according to the World Archery Association.

These days, it is a competitive sport, one that inspires both young people and adults.

Just ask Emma Harmon of Sanford, who started with the North Star Rangers — the local USA Archery group — a year ago, when she was 9.

“My mom was telling me about it, and I said I’d try it out,”  she said after her turn. “I instantly loved it.”

So does Adam Carlise of Candia, New Hampshire, who has been an archer for 25 years.

What does he love about the sport?

“Everything,” he said. “And you’re rewarded for what you put into it.”

What an archer puts into it, said Paul Bock, who opened the Sanford  shop four years ago, is patience, lots of patience.

“You need patience, and muscle memory,” he said. “Archery is a repetitive sport. It comes down to muscle memory.”

Paul and his wife, Sue, became involved in the sport when their son, Liam, now 19, was 6 or 7.
Liam brought home a flyer about Cub Scouts from school one day, with a photo of an archer on the back.

“I want to do this,” Paul recalled his son telling him.

And he did.

Paul and Sue Bock began offering archery classes from a 26 foot snowmobile trailer in Old Orchard Beach, setting up at Scouting camps and fish and game clubs before opening their shop at the corner of Cottage and Spruce streets in Sanford.

They offer leagues, lessons, the USA Archery North Star Rangers group and more.

Siobhan Droney of Hookset, New Hampshire, said she got involved in archery  because of her son, who began lessons with the Concord Parks and Recreation Department.

“I was being the loud, obnoxious mother and they thought it would keep me quiet, so they put me on the team,” she said with a grin as she drew back her bow. “Our whole family is involved. It is a great family bonding activity.”

Sue Bock watched the archers as they lined up and each prepared to shoot an arrow toward the target, 18 meters away.

Each archer competes in their own age group, and also their equipment group —  determined by whether they use a compound bow or a recurve bow.

“Patience and perseverance,” said Sue, an archer herself whom her husband said is number 1 in the country woman’s master division. “It looks easy, but you don’t hit a bullseye the first time out.”

Emma Laconte of Sanford has been an archer with Black Sheep Archery for three years. She said no matter how well or how poorly she’s shooting her arrows on a given day, she feels good about her chosen sport and the encouragement she gets at the shop.

“I still get cheered on by Sue and Paul,”

she said.

Emma Harmon agreed.

“I love the teamwork, I love being here,” Harmon said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.

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