This spring, the St. Edward’s community welcomed a new club sport centering around archery. The archery club is here to serve as both a hub for community and a space where students can simply shoot some arrows. The club is open to both newcomers and seasoned veterans of the sport, as the organization’s student officers are well versed in archery themselves, and they are more than willing to guide and teach anyone wanting to try it out.

On Jan. 30, the organization held their very first practice in club history. They provided all equipment necessary, although some members and officers chose to bring their own. They had plenty of spare bows and, of course, there were arrows and targets. 

They started off with a short briefing of establishing proper play, when officers would yell code names for when players can grab a bow, start shooting, put down the bows and retrieve the arrows. The practice consisted of several such rounds, rotating between different participants on a turn basis.

The officers also spent a lot of time making sure any newcomers to archery were given proper training before they started in a round, and they also provided hands-on guidance during the round itself. Participants waiting in between rounds connected via trading tips and simply talking about archery. They concluded the event with some hot chocolate for warming up in the chilly weather.

Both the club president, Charlette Jones Sharitz, and vice president, Lindsey Soltis, had been lovers of the sport for years before coming to St. Edward’s. Sharitz was looking for an archery club when she first joined St. Edward’s, and when she realized one wasn’t just going to appear, she took up the task. 

“It ended up being a thing of ‘If no one else will, I will,’” Sharitz said. 

Since then, the archery club had long been in planning, so the officers had greatly anticipated the first meeting. 

“It was very rewarding when we were finally allowed to have an actual range on campus because now other people can come and join us,” Soltis said. “I’m ready to teach people. I’m ready to see people grow,” Sharitz said. 

The archery club will be practicing every Friday this spring semester, in the parking lot behind the Alumni Gym from 3 to 4 p.m. The officers have high hopes for playing competitively in upcoming semesters as the club continues to grow. 

“From now on until hopefully forever, we hope to pass it (archery club) down whenever I and my vice president graduate,” Sharitz said.

The brand new archery club is up and running this semester. Started by two long-time archery lovers, they’re seeing their efforts come to fruition, and they plan on carrying this momentum forward, with hopes to play competitively not too far. The club welcomes players of any and all skill levels, and the officers have spared no effort in providing equipment, making sure people feel welcome, properly training new players and establishing an encouraging and comfortable environment for the sport.