Silvertip Archers

By Tommy Osborne

Silvertip Archers

Silvertip Archers losing facility, need new space

Dec 6, 2023 | 4:37 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Silvertip Archers, one of Prince George’s oldest clubs, may soon find itself without a home. Austin Road Elementary School, the former school turned practice facility, is getting torn down in the spring to make space for a daycare centre. Calling it one of the nicest facilities the club has ever had, coaches and members all say this is going to be a tremendous loss not just for the club, but Prince George as a whole.

“It is a huge loss for the community right now, our club membership, we range from a couple of eight-year-olds all the way up to an 86 year old. Not only do we have the junior archers program here, we also have school kids coming in generally two to three times a week. We have different schools bringing students in for classes, so we are busy all the time here,” said Club Vice-President and Coach Michael Wiebe.

The club is home to several young and talented archers, including 17-year-old Avery Paterson, who competed in last year’s provincial winter games representing Zone A. While she does practice at home, losing a proper facility would rob her of many needed opportunities to shoot alongside other people.

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“I would be left shooting at home and coming here, I get a chance to shoot with my coaches and I get to shoot with other archers as well, which is something really nice for tournaments because you get to shoot alongside archers and get the feel for shooting with other people than just alone,” Paterson said.

In competitions as big as provincials, she added you can shoot alongside up to 100 other people, so if you were only used to shooting alone at home it could throw you off your game.

The club does have an outdoor facility, but that can’t be used in the winter, essentially cutting their season for anywhere from 3-6 months. Unfortunately, finding a new facility isn’t as easy as simply getting a new gym.

“Finding something this nice is really expensive. And unfortunately, as a nonprofit, we don’t have that kind of money to rent at full market value. So we are constantly looking and right now we’re still struggling with finding a place for us,” Wiebe said.

“It’s nice that we have the distance because it’s an 18 metre range, which is the required indoor range and some places don’t have that and it’d be harder to shoot. This is the nicest range that I know that we’ve had out of all of the ones we’ve had since the club opened up,” Paterson added.

The search for a new facility continues, and both Wiebe and Paterson say a new facility would mean everything to them. If you have any ideas or potential locations the Silvertip Archers ask that you reach out right away, you can contact them through its website here.