On September 1st, 2023, archers from all over Quebec gathered for a special event at Club Sagittaire in Trois Rivières. While the outdoor provincial archery championships are important for all the competitors, those who had been training at SDC in the months leading up to this significant occasion considered it a success even before the competition began.

This was the first outdoor season for our high performance athletes, Galina, Felipe and Daniel under the coaching of Bryan. Firm in his belief that a coach must always be open to learning and capable of precisely executing his own methods under stressful competitive circumstances, Bryan also took part in his first competition since 2016.

Since then, Bryan has been dedicated to building Sports De Combats in Montreal, determined to create a community for anyone interested in archery.

Now, six years later, Bryan, Galina, Felipe, and Daniel stood in a grassy field just moments away from a competition where the placement of every arrow, differing by mere millimeters, could mean finally surpassing a long-time rival, winning the gold, or leaving with nothing but the satisfaction of a good practice.

During the first day of the outdoor provincial archery championships, numerous archers practiced side by side, preparing for the upcoming three days of mental and physical strain. On the second day, during the “double 720” event, competitors shot 144 arrows each, with their focus on the targets and the gold medals. Each time the bowstring is drawn, fatigue accumulates in the body and mind, exacerbated by inevitable equipment issues.

Galina secured the silver medal, while Daniel achieved gold.

On the third and final day, the archers vied for the open provincial cup medals. In a tense one-arrow shoot-out, Bryan was defeated by Jacob Gagnon.

Filipe was narrowly beaten by Brandon Xuereb, the eventual gold medalist and a long time senior recurve national team member.

Galina lost to Catherine Robert, long time rival and amazingly good friend. Galina still walked away with a silver medal for the senior + junior open. And in the waning hours of the final day, Daniel won gold again!

Regardless of the medals won or lost, the act of competing is a statement of survival and potential for Sports De Combats. We left the competition feeling overwhelmingly thankful. 

Felipe, Bryan, Galina, Daniel