Archers release arrows, tension at championship

~ Shooting at a target is "almost like meditation," said one competitor.

PATTON, Mo. -- Breathe. Relax. Aim. Release.

In the few seconds that Donna Holloway has her arrow aimed and her bow flexed, she tries to clear her mind of everything except the target.

"The target is the only thing in the world," she said. "You can't think of anything else. You have to be patient and focused."

On Saturday, Holloway, her husband, Chris, and about 80 other archery enthusiasts from across the state tried to keep their aim and their minds on target as they participated in the International Bowhunting Organization Missouri State Championship.

The event continues today at the Four Corners Archery Club, a half-mile course that sits on 25 acres near Patton in Bollinger County. Archers from Southeast Missouri, Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis trekked the scenic wooded course, taking aim at three-dimensional foam targets that take the shape of white-tailed deer, wolverines and African lions.

For Donna Holloway -- who works for a dentist in Perryville -- and her husband -- a sales rep for Pepsi -- it's about enjoying nature, spending time together and ... a little friendly competition.

"It's not always so friendly," said Donna, maybe joking. "Is there a bit of satisfaction when I beat him? Oh, there's a lot of satisfaction."

This is the first time in a few years there's been a IBO state championship in Missouri, said club president Curtis Waggoner, a bow hunter for 30 years. So last year, he and 10 archer friends formed a club and applied to get the state championship here. During warmer months, club members spend many weekends out there practicing for the bow-hunting deer and turkey season, which begins Oct. 1.

The course is on property that has been in Waggoner's family for years. The targets are strategically placed and are set up 10 to 50 yards from where an archer shoots. Circular targets -- some bull's-eyes are as small as dimes -- are drawn onto the fake animals, which are made from a special foam so that arrows can be easily removed. The winners in 33 divisions will be announced after the competition ends today.

Archers can use binoculars to see the targets, but the rest is instinct and practice, Waggoner said.

"All your energy and focus has to be trained on that one little spot," Waggoner said. "You can't have anything else on your mind. It's almost like meditation."

That's a nice change from the hectic workaday world, he said.

"That one moment of peace that you have before you shoot, that may be the only moment you have like that all week," he said.

The event is not just for adults. James Ogilvie, a carpenter from Sparta, Ill., brought his 7-year-old son, Trenton, to compete in a children's division.

"It gives us a little father-son time," Ogilvie said. "It's nice being out here to relax together and just spend some time out in the woods."

But for others -- like the Holloways -- winning is at least a part of the object.

"I'm going to beat her," Chris Holloway boasts after a particularly good shot.

That just causes his wife to roll her eyes.

"Uh-uh," she says. "We'll see."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137