‘Pin shoot’

“Don’t worry about the bad shots,” one young archer advised a friend. “Just think about the good shots to come.” The words of wisdom were shared during a “pin shoot”  held by the Waseca Archery Club; the January 5 event offered archers the opportunity to earn pins from USA Archery to mark their personal achievements. It was the first pin shoot of the calendar year, but marked the end of a six-week cycle for the members and leadership of the Waseca Archery Club. Pins are earned by achieving a certain individual score in a thirty-arrow round; achievements also have requirements for distance and target-type tied to the type of bow used. The pins begin at green and become progressively more difficult until they reach the “Olympiad” pins of Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Archers often earn their first pins very quickly, but the full progression typically takes several years.

The archers in the youth program at Waseca range in age from eight to eighteen. Some at the recent event were aiming for their green pin while a select few were striving to earn the highly difficult Olympiad pins. Luke Jeske, a new member of the Waseca Archery Club participating in his first pin shoot, had already achieved the score to earn his green pin by the halfway point of the round. Jeske is eleven years old, and joined the club because of a friend. Emily Harguth, age nine, was also aiming for her green pin – for indoor archery. She's been shooting for two years now and has earned three pins in outdoor archery. She's also participated in one local and one state competition during that time; she says a real highlight for her is beating out the boys. Carter Walker, age ten and a three-year member of the club, was shooting for his red pin – the seventh in the progression and only two shy of the first Olympiad pin. Carter's older brother Aiden Walker, 12, won first place among his peers at last year's Minnesota State Indoor competition. Aiden has now graduated to a new age group. “I don't think about the score, I just shoot,” Aiden said when asked about his progress in the pin shoot. Both Walker boys say they're enjoying themselves in the archery club and want to stick with it at least a few more years. Midway through the shoot, Aiden could be found giving advice to a friend feeling discouraged. “Don't worry about the bad shots,” he said, “Just think about the good shots to come.”

The members of the Waseca Archery Club practice weekly; a pin shoot is held every six weeks. Archers can participate in two rounds the night of a pin shoot, getting a second chance if they missed their mark or are aiming to earn a second pin in one night, but plenty choose to go home and rest after the first round. The archers take part in tabulating their scores, so they know immediately whether they've earned a pin. It becomes official, however, when pins are handed out at the next week's practice and the new session begins. The pins are displayed on lanyards – a white lanyard for indoor archery pins and a green one for outdoor pins. Many of the archers at the Waseca Archery Club have both lanyards displayed proudly on their belts.