“Opportunity” – Bermuda’s big debut on the world stage

The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda can now be added to the long list of nations and territories to have appeared on the international circuit after three of their athletes shot at the fourth stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Medellin in July.

“In 2020 one of our strategic goals was to have a team compete in their first Hyundai Archery World Cup by 2022," explained Trina Roberts, secretary general of the National Archery Association of Bermuda, which was founded in 1969 and affiliated to World Archery in 2002.

“The [COVID-19] pandemic brought some challenges, however, this year, we had a few archers that were ready physically, mentally and financially.”

Those athletes were all recurve men, with Camerin Pickering (23 years old), Jaydon Roberts (17) and Bernard Wade III (38) making up a trio of Bermudians in Colombia. They were joined by Trina in her role as team manager and her husband, Ross, working as coach (Jaydon is their son).

“Competing in Medellin was an experience like no other,” said Pickering. “Being surrounded by like-minded athletes is always empowering.”

“I also had the opportunity to network with archers from other countries and made some great connections.”

“It was an experience I will never forget,” added Jaydon. “To have the opportunity to shoot with some of the top archers in the world was tremendous.”

“The experience has given me foresight of what is available to me in the future as I continue with my aspirations in the sport.”

While the trio did not score enough in a packed recurve qualification field to move into the individual eliminations round, they did join forces to go up against the home nation in the men's team event, taking a set off a strong Colombia but eventually losing 6-2.

“As a coach I was pleased with the team's performance at their first Hyundai Archery World Cup event,” said Trina. “There is always something to learn and we recognised that more investment that is needed.”

“The further development of our coaches and athletes is beneficial for continued advancement, while the networking with other coaches and athletes was a great opportunity to share and learn.”

“It was a great opportunity for Bermuda to compete,” Ross added about the event which took place just over 3000km from Bermuda's capital, Hamilton. “The networking with other coaches and athletes has directed us towards other development opportunities for our federation.”

For the athletes, the pride felt by representing Bermuda on the world stage was one they will remember for a long time.

“It has always been a goal of mine to compete at a World Cup stage,” said Pickering. “To represent my country at one has been a dream come true. My main objective was just to get out there and shoot the best that I could and  I felt I performed really well.”

“It was a great opportunity for me to represent Bermuda, it was a proud moment and one I would like to have many more of,” added Wade. “I learnt a lot about myself and what is important to get ready for a competition at this level.”

The youngest of the three shooting in Colombia, Roberts went even further about his takeaways from the stage.

“I learnt that dedication, exposure, experience and not being afraid to step out and shoot with more experienced archers is what I need to do to progress in the sport,” he said.

The trio represent a cross-section of Bermudian archery, three of the 16 active athletes at various stages of  development within the territory of just over 64,000 people, which has two archery clubs and features four local competitions a year, open to all. 

“Archery is growing in Bermuda and has been for the past seven years, and there are female archers coming through,” explained Trina. “The mix of ages (in Medellin) was not planned, however, we do see the benefit of it as part of the team’s development.”

“If our younger athletes are ready to compete at the higher level, the more senior athletes will support the junior athletes with their development. This is how our team was chosen for this event.”

For Jaydon, Wade and Pickering, they all discovered the sport in different ways.

“I started archery when I received my first bow at six years of age and then joined a club in Bermuda known as Gold Point Archery,” recalled Jaydon. “My father started an archery range after he retired from target shooting and I was interested in learning how to shoot.”

Despite his older age compared to Jaydon (21 years difference), Wade started the sport later, in February 2013 at a Government Community Education programme, also at Gold Point Archery.

But for Pickering, who started at the same time as Wade, archery was almost destiny.

“I started in 2013, but didn’t start competing internationally until 2016,” explained the 23-year-old. “It was at the Gold Point Archery Range with Ross, but growing up, I had been exposed to several different sports in which I’ve participated in.”

“It wasn’t until I tried out archery for the first time, I found a passion for this sport. Actually, I believe archery found me.”

Archery in Bermuda is now looking further ahead as it hopes to make the sport more popular at home and with it, produce more athletes and, ultimately, more competition.

“Our future plan is to bring more athletes into the sport,” claimed Trina. 

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the federation’s archery programmes in schools, so they are hoping to get back into the schools this year and are also working with the clubs to identify talent who are ready for the next level.

“We also plan to regularly compete in events such as the Central American and Caribbean Games, Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games and, of course, the Olympic Games; to have athletes competing and medalling in major events is a key objective for us.”

For the Medellin trio, Colombia is just another step on their archery path and there is no limit to their goals.

“I want to use the experience I gained from Medellin and other events to improve myself for the next one,” said Wade, looking forward to his next event in Dominican Republic to secure a spot in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Later in the year he hopes to compete for a position at the 2023 Pam American Games and sees many more World Cup events ahead of him.

“I believe that anything you are passionate about you should see it right through to the end,” Pickering added. “I have committed myself to a level where there is no compromise.”

“I’m giving absolutely everything I have with hopes of one day competing in the Olympic Games.”