Scrimmage matches a success
This past Friday, we held two scrimmage matches in California to test out our new League format. Sequoia Middle School and Almeria MS faced off in Fontana while Glendale High School brought their team to our Easton Van Nuys Archery Center to challenge our JOAD club/coaches.
The League format is similar to High School tennis. An archery team is comprised of 10 archers. Four of them will do individual matches while the other six do team round matches. The school to win the most matches wins that competition.
“I have been really excited to start this Archery League with OAS because it focuses on team building and matches,” say OAS manager, Keaton Chia. “Every match counts, from first singles to the second team round, so everyone on that school team is important. Also, matches are a lot more fun and exciting for both the archers and spectators.” ^^
Sequoia MS and Almeria MS are two of our first OAS schools and have fielded some of the best archers in our competitions. So we were excited to get their feedback. “[The students] liked the new team format and that we just didn’t go up and shoot against everyone,” says Sequoia Coach, Brad Freeman. “I like it because it gives some semblance to Olympic archery rather than just shooting to shoot.”
For our Glendale/JOAD match, we gathered at the Easton Van Nuys Archery Center. After everyone had finished setting up, warming up, and stretching, both teams lined up for introductions. Each coach introduced their archers which was followed by handshakes and ‘good lucks’. Now it was time to get shooting. Game on!
The team round matches were first. Both teams kept it close even up to the last arrow. In the end, Glendale and our JOAD would win one match each. Starting with the team rounds sets a fun (and loud) tone for the competition as team rounds are more fast paced and the rest of the school’s archers are there cheering them on. Now it was time for the singles matches. First singles from each team paired up to shoot their first match on their designated target. Similarly, second through fourth singles also found their opponents and headed to their assigned places. These matches had a different atmosphere as the archers had more time to calm themselves for every shot and each of them had their own style and attitudes in the match. Once these were finished, the competition continued with the second round of team matches and then finished with the last set of singles matches. The archers shoot against a different opponent for their second match so that they can meet new people as well as gain more competition experience.
Our time with Glendale HS was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Overall, the competition was very fast paced which kept it exciting as evidenced by how much the students and spectators got into it. Having the groups compete as a 10 archer team also changed the atmosphere as it wasn’t just about how one archer did or one team round match, but rather how our school was doing as a whole.
Coach Rene Paguia of the Easton Center shares, “I feel that you have developed a new concept in archery competition…’Strategy’. You can put your best archers in your team but because in order to win the overall title ‘Champion’ you need to win as many matches you can – with it brings the individual archers good or bad to try their best.”