Arrows Fly At Nemaha County Fair
AUBURN – Family traditions, spontaneity and a sturdy hand highlighted the 4-H archery competition Monday at the Nemaha County Fair.
Event organizer Al Witte said 28 archers competed in three age divisions at distances as far as 50 yards.
Witte: “Typically if we can see everybody shooting in the blue line, the score of six or better, they are doing very well. We’ve got some really great archers here today. We’ve got some kids that are doing very well.”
Josie Zimmerman started when she was eight years old and shot 47 of a possible 50 points over her first three rounds. The 11-year-old finished with a score of 491 out of possible 600 points.
Zoe Baltensperger, 14, of Auburn scored 511, using her brother’s old bow. The 4-Her said she just started last week.
15-year-old Aidan Smith of Auburn said he feels fortunate to be able to compete when some other 4-H events have been canceled because of the pandemic.
Smith: “It takes a lot of patience to really get into this and to be okay with missing. There’s nothing wrong with missing. It’s all about practice, practice, practice.”
Through the competition, Smith hit two bullseyes in the 122 cm targets, like those used in the Olympics.
Smith: “I scored way better than I usually would. Normally, if I had shot from this distance last year I probably would have missed every single one, but I’ve practiced a lot. It’s all about compensating for the wind and things like that.”
Tristan Perry is following in his grandfather’s footsteps using a long bow.
Perry: “All his life he hunted and did competitions with long bows and traditional bows, so he got me a bow. That was the first bow I had ever shot, was a recurve – a traditional longbow . I’m the only one who does it, but I enjoy it. It’s something nobody else does. It’s what people used to do. It’s what my grandpa did.”
He said grandpa has provided a lot of advise on using the bow.
Witte: “I’ve told the kids for years that, at the farthest distance that each age group shoots, especially our seniors, most of the competitions are won at that farthest distance because people aren’t quite as proficient.”
Awards will be presented later in the fair, following the BB gun competition.