Canadian internationals collect for training camp ahead of trials restart

Thirteen of Canada’s top recurve archers attended a five-day camp in Ontario at the end of January as the team looks to stabilise its training schedule ahead of upcoming Olympic qualifiers.

“We have an obligation to prepare ourselves as best as possible for the year ahead and this was a key component of that preparation,” said head coach Shawn Riggs.

Canada has already qualified one men’s place for Tokyo 2020, secured by three-time Olympian Crispin Duenas with his victory at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. The next opportunity to add a women’s quota spot is the 2021 Pan Am Championships in Monterrey in late March.

The final qualifying event for both individuals and teams, where countries can upgrade to full three-athlete quotas in each gender, will take place alongside the third stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Paris, France.

“[The camp was] a good assessment of where our men’s team is positioned coming out of a months-long environment that saw restricted training opportunities,” added Riggs.

The camp was run under health protocols, including significant social distancing, constant sanitisation, repeated COVID-19 testing and mask-wearing at all times when not on the shooting line.

“We’re grateful for the privilege of being able to prepare for the Olympics while in lockdown,” said Archery Canada’s high-performance advisor Alan Brahmst.

Canada’s archers will return to Ontario for its first trials for 2021 at the end of February.

This initial selection event will decide the four recurve men that will compete on the Hyundai Archery World Cup this season. Subsequent trials will select the Olympic team, depending on the ultimate quota secured.