IT was a full house at Eliza Archery on Sunday (16 March) for a female-only archery event in celebration of International Women’s Day. The day was free for all participants, with female coaches on hand to help, and 2024 Olympian Laura Paeglis in attendance.
“This is something we are passionate about,” said Alec Potts, owner of Eliza Archery, and founder of the not-for-profit Peninsula Target Archers that hosted the day. “This is the first time we’ve held this event, and it sold out, which we are very happy about. “We have opened especially on a Sunday to host this event, and made the event free, with free equipment provided to maximize participation.”
Potts grew up in Mt Eliza and began his archery journey in 2008. He competed at state and national levels and won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. “Archery is a wonderful sport in terms of equality,” said Potts. “There are very few sports where an entire family can compete together. “An entire family can’t play footy together, but in this sport, they are on equal footing. “And success is not based on gender. Men and women both stand on the same shooting line.”
Peninsula Target Archers have always prided themselves on their female participation, with the club at one time having the greatest proportion of women members of all archery clubs in the state. “It is a testament to the great work our female coaches do,” said Potts. “In particular Kim Taylor, who has competed across the state and nationally in archery titles and continues to inspire our female members.” “Of course, with the success of our Women in Sport day on Sunday, female participation in archery has been highlighted as a priority, and something we’ll continue to build on.”
Feedback from the participants indicated the day was a great success. “Thank you for a wonderful day! Such a great experience,” said Steph. “Thank you for putting this day on. I’ve been wanting to try out archery since my 20s and I finally got to do it in my late 40s. I really enjoyed it!”, said Tanja.
Eliza Archery is an indoor archery range based in Seaford. Bookings can be made online at elizaarchery.com
This piece was produced in collaboration with the Victorian Government’s Office for Women in Sport and Recreation.
