Hunter Chipley’s skills in archery will be put on display in a major national multisport competition this winter.
Chipley, from Estevan, has made the 2019 Canada Winter Games for Team Saskatchewan in archery, a few months after winning gold at nationals. Chipley was a member of a monthly high performance monthly camp when he was given the nod to be a part of the provincial team for the Games, which are Feb. 15-March 3, 2019, in Red Deer, Alta.
“The Saskatchewan coach for archery for the Canada Games was there and watching how we were doing,” said Chipley. “You don’t have to do an actual qualifier where they eliminate people out. They select you form how you’re shooting, your attitude and how long you’ve been in the program for.”
They liked what he’s been able to accomplish in the sport while competing and practising.
“My form has changed a lot,” said Chipley. “I went out in the summer to Toronto and worked with the Olympic coaches and they showed me a few tricks here and there. So I changed my form and that brought up my score.”
Chipley says he’s been shooting some of the best scores he’s gotten over the last few months. Now that he’s on the Winter Games team, he’ll keep working on the same things he’s been working on and getting better.
“I’m going to try and shoot for gold and we’ll see how it goes from there,” he said.
Chipley’s game experience will start Feb. 26 at Red Deer’s Westerner Park, an indoor venue that is also hosting judo, boxing and table tennis during the Games.
A veteran competitor, Chipley has squared off against many of the other archers at the national level before.
“I haven’t shot against the one kid that is just ahead of me in the rankings because he’s first and I’m second,” said Chipley. “It’s going to be pretty exciting to shoot against him. I’m happy about that.”
Chipley credits Sherman Brown, and his parents Ken Chipley and Monai Wanner with helping him a lot. He’s not sure how much family will be up in Red Deer to watch him shoot.
