Wascana Archers Club History

Wascana Archers is an incorporated club formed by a group of people who were interested in the practice and promotion of the sport of archery in its various aspects. The business of the club is conducted by an executive which is elected annually from the membership.

The incorporation as a non-profit organization under Section 10 of The Companies Act took place on May 17, 1962, ten years after the club originally started. During the first few years club members were able to shoot only during the outdoor season, although a number of winter get-togethers were arranged to discuss the past hunting season and the next summer's shooting. Places to shoot were hard to find and at one time members agreed week by week to meet in whatever open field might be available on the outskirts of the city. Eventually facilities of the Regina Tennis Club were shared during the summers and various buildings were used for indoor shooting in winter. The first semi-permanent location was on the property north of the Boggy Creek golf courses, and there a fourteen target field course was built.

Many archers felt the need for a "permanent home" and in the spring of 1962 the property where the clubhouse and the field courses are now located was purchased. The club is located about 23 km north of the Regina city limits and about 6 km east on Etaples road.

In 1962 the club purchased forty acres of land from the Crown which consisted of mixed woods and meadow. Jake Baker, who farmed the surrounding land under lease from the Crown gave up the right to the forty acres so that the club could purchase the land. Jake was a member of the club at the time. Necessary financing was made possible through the sale of shares to club members. In 1965 Jake Baker gave up his right to farm the land surrounding the property and this made it possible for the club to purchase another twenty acres adjoining the forty acres from the Crown.

Trails were cut out of the bush to accommodate a field course of thirty targets and a fourteen-target target range was set up, all according to international standards. A twenty-target broadhead course was also later constructed to accommodate bowhunters. Property and buildings now represent a value of over sixty thousand dollars. The broadhead course has since been converted to a field-point only 3D course.

Since that time there have been many improvements to club facilities including the fully equipped clubhouse and the purchase of the latest in 3D targets to accommodate all types of shooting. Many members take an active, and often successful, part in the annual game hunting seasons in the spring and fall and find the facilities of the club, particularly the 3D field course, very helpful as this course is set up to simulate hunting conditions.

Ample parking space surrounds the clubhouse and there are good camping facilities, frequently used by archers visiting from out of town.

Although its history is relatively short, the club has been active during a period of very marked growth in interest in archery as a sport. In the early years bows were made of wood with long straight staves. Later the fiberglass laminated bow came into general use and the stiff recurve gave way to the working recurve. Then came the compound bow - at first very crude looking and now refined to the finest piece of shooting equipment that one could imagine. Wood, then fiberglass and aluminum, and graphite arrow shafts have now been replaced with state-of-the-art compound materials. Archers who have been with the club since its origin have seen the rapid progress in this sport and in the sophistication of equipment that was never imagined at the beginning. With the improvements in equipment has come improvement in shooting scores and more successful hunts, so that archers today are obtaining results far better than were considered possible by archers of thirty years ago.

Board of Directors/Monthly Meetings

Monthly meetings are on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM.  During May - October, meetings are at the outdoor range.  November - April to be determined.  All members are encouraged to attend to help vote and voice their opinions on the direction of the club.  Our latest club constitution can be found here.

Wascana Archers was incorporated in 1962.  Our organization holds the following executive positions on our board of directors:

  • President (2 year term) - presides over monthly meetings, annual general meetings, and any adhoc committees as possible.

  • Vice President (2 year term) - performs duties of president when they are unable to act.

  • Secretary (2 year term) - documents meeting minutes, and distributes to membership.

  • Treasurer (2 year term) - receives and deposits monies on behalf of the club, keeps accurate and timely record of receipts and cheques, and prepares annual financial statement for AGM.

  • Membership Director (1 year term) - signs up new members, track current membership contact information, collect forms and payment from local membership resellers, update membership forms as required.

  • Target Director (1 year term) - tracks condition of indoor and outdoor target butts and 3D targets, keeps paper target supply stocked, and makes recommendations when targets need to be replaced or repaired.

  • Trophy Director (1 year term) - orders plaques and medals for shooting events.

  • Publicity/Web Director (1 year term) - updates website content, posts Facebook Club updates, sends promotional posters to other clubs for shoots.

  • Range Directors (1 year term) - cleans both indoor and outdoor ranges. (cuts grass and keeps trails clean of debris, sweeps floor, picks up garbage) and notifies club of any repairs required.

  • Directors at Large (1 year term) - attends monthly meetings, sits on committees, or helps out other directors as required.

  • JOP Director (1 year term) - coordinates range usage for JOP, manages paper work and completes JOP forms for submission to SAA and makes recommendations on any areas to help improve the program at the club level.

  • Canteen Coordinator (1 year non-exec) - organizes canteen for our outdoor shoots, purchases food items, helps organize volunteers working in kitchen, and stocks pop fridge at indoor range.

Affiliation

Wascana Archers is proud to be a Saskatchewan Archery Association affiliated club.  This provides all Wascana Archers with a full SAA membership. Please visit SAA's website for any details or questions about what the benefits and protection SAA provides.

Main Events

Annually, our club has the following outdoor 3D Shoots:
See Events Calendar for exact dates)

  • Annual Spring Bear Outdoor 3D Tournament (April/May)

  • K50 (Known Max 50) Outdoor 3D Shoot (June)

  • Annual Fall Outdoor 3D Tournament (August)

Accomplishments

We are proud to have supported our archery community with hosting the following major events:

  • Hosted 2011 Outdoor 3D Canadian Nationals Tournament

  • Hosted 2014 North American Indigenous Games Outdoor 3D Archery Event

  • Hosted 2017 File Hill Sask Summer Games Outdoor 3D Archery Tournament

  • Indoor MICA and Archery Canada Indoor Regionals