Move over Robin Hood. There's competition coming from Arianna Anderson.
The eight-year old Innisfail archer has been shooting arrows since early 2014 and has earned her way to the top of her sport, breaking provincial records and earning several medals.
Anderson currently competes in the juniors program with the Central Alberta Archery Association and trains at the Red Deer Archery Centre.
“I like that it's challenging,” said Anderson. “It takes a lot of practice.”
This spring, the accomplished young archer won a gold medal for the second consecutive year at the Archery Alberta Provincial Championships in Calgary. She also earned a bronze medal, finishing third overall in Canada in her age category for girls' archery, at the Canadian Indoor Archery Regional Championships in Red Deer.
“It feels amazing. I love winning medals,” she added, noting she also won a gold at the regional competition last year. “I just need a silver now.”
In addition to winning medals, Anderson broke the previously held record for girl's archery in her age category (543 points) this year during the provincial championships with a score of 551 points. It is a feat she has accomplished three times.
“My favourite part of provincials is beating all the boys' (scores),” she said with a smile.
Walter Wiley is one of several coaches to work with Anderson and is impressed with the progress she has made over the past two years.
“She does work very, very hard at it,” he said. “She's very determined, she's inspirational and she's extremely good at what she does. Most of all she's a joy to work with.”
Anderson has competed in her peewee age group but has also competed in higher classes for 10 to 12 year olds. “There are some major differences between the two divisions,” explained Wiley. “Size of target is one and distance is the other.”
Her strengths lie in her determination and listening skills, he added.
“She shoots very, very well. It's also her form and her process for shooting. She does everything the same each time. In archery one of the fundamentals is your form and repetition - everything has to be the same each time,” said Wiley, noting she shoots with a recurve bow. “She's got her process down to a science.”
Arianna wants to put her aim and target practice to practical use one day.
She may be only eight-years-old but she's a future hunter in the making.
“I really want to hunt a bear one day,” said Anderson. “I'm never going to quit archery. Ever.”
Arianna Anderson
"I like that it's challenging. My favourite part of provincials is beating all the boys."
