ARCHERY NEWS IN TORONTO, ARCHIVE

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Browse recent news by visiting the Archery News section on the ArcheryToronto.ca index page. This page only archives older news articles (we moved them to a secondary page because the index page was getting too long).

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2016

November 20th 2016

The first snowfall of the season was today (Sunday). Now before people start contacting us with questions, lets answer some FAQ right now:

1. Yes, the Toronto Archery Range is still open during the winter. 24/7, 365 days per year. It is just really cold during the winter. See our Guide to Winter Archery to learn more.

2. No, there is not an indoor range for you to practice in. Not yet at least. We have been working on opening an indoor range for several years now, but we need more people to sign up on the waiting list. Please note the indoor range would not be free. There would be a monthly fee similar to a gym, and since we really need people to sign up for annual memberships the real focus would be on getting people to agree to annual memberships. If you are interested in being on the waiting list contact us and we will add you to the list.

3. Yes, there are a few other places where you can practice - in theory. U of T, Ryerson and York University all have private archery ranges - mostly for students, but joining them is sometimes possible for outsiders. For example the York University range costs $120 per month, and is only open about 8 to 10 times per month. So if you only visit that range 6 times per month it is costing you $20 per visit. A few Archery Tag locations also operate small indoor ranges (usually 1 or 2 days per week, during unpopular time slots).

4. Yes, we do know of a few archery instructors who teach during the winter. See the Archery Lessons page and try contacting a few of them.

5. Before asking any questions we didn't cover please read the Guide to Winter Archery and Frequently Asked Questions pages. Have a great winter!

November 15th 2016

Two of the 20 yard target butts were repaired yesterday (#4 and #5 / November 14th) by park staff. Two more 70 yard targets were repaired today (#11 and #12 / November 15th) by staff, including the one target which had been there since 2015.

Target butt maintenance is actually a safety issue, because if they are not maintained archers have a tendency to ignore safety rules about shooting from the line, which other people see and then think it is okay to ignore other safety rules. Please observe all safety rules. The penalty for not doing so is a $4,000 fine and possible prison time.

November 4th 2016

Shell casings from bullets were found early this morning at the Toronto Archery Range, along with a bullet riddled paper target. Significant damage was done to a target butt. If you saw the person or persons who was shooting guns at the archery range this morning please contact police (54 Division).

Please be advised that shooting any kind of firearms at the Toronto Archery Range is strictly prohibited and carries multiple charges which can lead to $4,000 or more in fines, possible prison time, and a lifetime weapons ban.

October 23rd 2016

Someone left a dangerous prank (potentially deadly) at the archery range. We are not going to say what the nature of the prank was, because we don't want people thinking that it is a good idea to leave dangerous / potentially deadly pranks at the archery range. Fortunately it was noticed by an observant regular at the archery range and promptly removed.

If you see someone doing something dangerous at the archery range, like installing a deadly prank, please call 911 immediately. If you can please try to get their name and a photo of their face. Do not tamper with any suspicious devices if you feel your life is at risk. Call the police instead.

October 16th 2016

The washrooms near the Overlea Parking Lot have closed for the season. They should be reopened some time in May 2017.

September 11th 2016

Television coverage of the 2016 Paralympic Games is in scant supply. You can see some of it on the CBC or NBC, but if you are looking for specific events (eg. compound archery) then you might want to watch it online instead. The CBC for example is only broadcasting "daily wrap-ups", a summary of various events of the games, instead of broadcasting all of the events live. To get a live stream of the events, visit the CBC website. It is unclear what decision making reason is behind the lack of live television broadcasting of the Paralympic Games: Lack of money to purchase the broadcasting rights? Or a false idea that Canadians might not be interested in watching amazing athletes compete?

September 9th 2016

One of the 50 yard targets (the one which collapsed circa August 24th) has been repaired. Unfortunately the other 50 yard targets has also collapsed. Try emailing parks@toronto.ca if you want to encourage park staff to fix the target sooner. (You might want to mention it is a different target, otherwise they might be confused as to which one you are talking about, since it is the northmost target which has collapsed, and the southmost target was the one just repaired.)

September 7th to 18th 2016

The Paralympic Games in Rio are coming up, starting on September 7th until the 18th. Representing Canada at this year's Paralympic Games will be Karen Van Nest of Wiarton, Ontario, and Kevin Evans of Jaffray, B.C. For Karen it will be her fifth Paralympic Games while for Kevin it will be his third Paralympic Games. Both archers shoot compound bows.

In recent years American compound enthusiasts have been hoping to have compound bows added to the Olympic Games (as opposed to only the Paralympics). There is also support for compound archery being added as an Olympic sport in Canada, Mexico, parts of Central America and parts of Europe. However that is where the support stops. Compound archery is not popular in Asia, Africa, South America or other parts of the world. It is a "mostly American" sport, and doesn't have a lot of international appeal. In recent years there has been a push to add Compound Archery to the 2016 or 2020 Olympics, but as it didn't happen for 2016, and now 2020 is drawing closer, it seems unlikely to happen.

Equestrian archery however, despite being more rare, does have international appeal, having been part of archery's culture in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In the history of "Weird Sports at the Olympics" there are certainly stranger things, such as "Roller Hockey" at the 1992 Olympics, "Live Pigeon Shooting" at the 1900 Olympics, and "Race Walking" which has been at every Summer Olympics since 1904. In a games where race walking continues to persist, but equestrian archery has not been added to the roster, it makes people wonder what the IOC is thinking when they pick these sports.

August 27th 2016

A new archery organization operating on Facebook ("E.T. Seton Archery Volunteers") donated some of their time today to cleaning up the Toronto Archery Range. They also donated and installed two new garbage cans near the "lost and found arrow box" at the south end of the archery range. This should help to keep the range clean of garbage. Several years ago the south end of the archery range used to have garbage and recycling bins operated by city staff, but these were removed under Rob Ford cutbacks and the state of cleanliness at the archery range cycled downwards afterwards as litterbugs were more willing to just throw their garbage on the ground rather than walk to the north end of the range to throw their garbage in the only remaining garbage bins.

Also just a reminder to people shooting at balloons on the targets: Please pick up your broken balloons after you are done shooting them and toss them in the garbage. We appreciate that shooting balloons is fun, but please help to keep the archery range clean. Thank you!

August 25th 2016

TRIPLE HOMICIDE IN SCARBOROUGH - Victims are believed to have been shot with a crossbow at point blank range.

WE WILL BE POSTING UPDATES AS OFTEN AS NEW INFO BECOMES AVAILABLE. Last updated August 30th.

Three people are dead and one person is injured and being held in custody as Scarborough police search for clues this afternoon. The incident happened around 1 PM today inside an east end garage on Lawndale Road near the corner of Mason Road/Eglinton Avenue East. According to an anonymous police source the three victims were related - the three were later revealed to be a mother and her two sons. Their identities will not be released until next of kin are notified. Autopsies were scheduled to take place on Friday the 26th.

The incident was first reported to be a possible stabbing, but police now believe the victims (two men and one woman) may have been shot point blank with a crossbow that was left on the floor of the garage. The 4th person is not believed to have been injured with a crossbow and is believed to have been stabbed instead. Police have a 5th person in custody, who is also injured, and is the primary suspect for the murders.

The motive for the triple homicide is unclear. Police have released the name of the suspect (Brett Ryan), a 35-year-old male, who is related to the victims. Three charges of first degree homicide have been laid against Brett Ryan for the slaying of the mother and her two sons.

Right: Facebook photo of Brett Ryan, the suspected murderer.

Ryan is described as a "career criminal". He was arrested in June 2008 and charged with 29 offences, including robbery and disguise with intent, in relation with a string of bank robberies under the guise of "the fake beard bandit". In January 2009, Ryan pleaded guilty to 8 counts of robbery and 8 counts of disguise with intent. He was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison. After being released from prison he got engaged to get married (according to family and social media posts). He was scheduled to get married around mid September.

Other "things" found in the garage may have also been used as weapons according to Constable Jenifferjit Sidhu. It is unclear the nature of the potential weapons that were also in the vicinity, but it is possible they were accumulated with the intention of committing first degree murder. When police arrived 2 of the victims were without vital signs. The 3rd reportedly died at the scene shortly after police arrived and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Jerome Cruz, a neighbour who lives nearby, reports hearing screams that sounded like a fight in the garage. The screaming lasted about 5 minutes before things went silent. No neighbours chose to investigate the cause of the screaming. Cruz said the people who lived in the house seemed normal and "very quiet."

Police investigators later confirmed that a suspicious package found in downtown Toronto earlier today is somehow connected to the triple homicide. Police at the time would not say how the two incidents are related. At 2:30 PM on August 25th police were called to investigate a suspicious package at a condo at 218 Queens Quay, between Simcoe and York streets. A chemical biological radiological nuclear (CBRN) team was called to investigate the package. The area near 218 Queens Quay was evacuated and closed off to pedestrians and traffic. Residents and passersby were told to "to move as far from the building as possible".

Our deep condolences go out to the families of the deceased. We hope the police have the correct suspect in custody and keep them off the streets where they might cause further death or injury to others. Police are asking anyone with info on the incident to contact 416 808-7400.

Update, August 29th: The autopsy reports were announced publicly at 2:30 PM, August 29th.

The cause of death for the female victim was ligature strangulation.

The cause of death for one of the male victims was stabbing with a crossbow bolt in the neck.

The cause of death for the other male victim was stabbing with an arrowhead in the neck.

Police also confirmed that there was no explosives or anything else of danger at Queens Quay, and that the public was never in any danger from the suspicious package found at Queens Quay. They did however confirm that Queens Quay was the home of Brett Ryan. They also confirmed that the fourth person who was stabbed during the incident had been released from hospital. Police said they had significant evidence to prove the murders were premeditated, but did not disclose details. Police refused to release any additional details at this time.

Update, August 30th: The publication ban on the identities of the victims has now been lifted.

The three victims, believed killed by the suspected murderer Brett Ryan, are Susan Ryan, 66, Christopher Ryan, 42, and Alexander Ryan, 29. Susan was the mother of the accused and Christopher and Alexander were the older and younger brothers of the accused. William Ryan, the father of four boys, died last year of natural causes. They are survived by a fourth brother.

Notes

This is not the first time a crossbow has been used in a homicide in Toronto. See also Crossbow Murder in Toronto Library to learn more about a separate incident in December 2010 in which an Ottawa man traveled to Toronto and murdered his father in a Toronto library using a crossbow and a hammer.

A crossbow bolt is similar to an arrow, but is typically only 16 inches or less in length. Anything longer than 16 inches is considered to be an arrow. Cocking a crossbow and then loading a bolt takes considerable time and effort, even a person well versed in using crossbows would only be able to load 2 per minute, it would require both hands to reload, and a person under stress and the effects of adrenaline would likely make mistakes that would slow them down because their hands would be shaking. (Ignore what you see on "The Walking Dead", that show has a largely inaccurate portrayal of how long it takes to load a crossbow.)

Under current Ontario regulations, a crossbow can be purchased by anyone over the age of 18, but a person does not need to have a permit or license to own and operate a crossbow. They are sold primarily at hunting stores, conventions, and even larger stores such as Canadian Tire and Walmart sometimes also sell crossbows. Hand crossbows in Canada are prohibited, as they can be used as a concealed weapon. A hand crossbow is any crossbow which is less than 500 mm long.

August 24th 2016

One of the 50 yard targets has collapsed. Due to the delays this year we do not expect it to be repaired any time soon. If you are hoping to put added pressure on Toronto Parks to fix it sooner, try emailing parks@toronto.ca.

August 14th 2016

Author Ernest Thompson Seton (August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) left the land for the Toronto Archery Range in his will to the City of Toronto, resulting in the opening of the archery range in 1968.

This Sunday, August 14th marks 156 years since his birth. We recommend raising a bow and shooting an arrow in honour of the old boy!

August 12th to 21st 2016

Every year Bass Pro offers a "deal" to people looking to get of their old compound bow or crossbow and trade it in for a discount on buying a new compound bow or crossbow. The discount deal is as follows:

$25 off if you make a purchase worth $200 - $399.99.

$50 off if you make a purchase worth $400 - $599.99.

$75 off if you make a purchase worth $600 - $799.99.

$100 off if you make a purchase worth $800 or more.

The deal, like every previous year, is a complete ripoff. People looking to sell their old compound bow or crossbow would be better off just selling it on Craigslist, Kijiji, OODMAG, Facebook, etc, for anywhere between 50% to 80% of the amount they originally paid for it. If the bow is still in very good condition, one should expect to get 80% of its original value.

If you have a $500 compound bow and you want to get a new one of equal value, which is better? $50 trade in at Bass Pro? Or sell it for between $250 to $400 on Craigslist? Clearly the latter is more worthwhile. What does Bass Pro do with all the old bows after they have been traded in? Sell them online themselves, and make a tidy profit off of the fools who traded in their old bows.

The only time the above deal would make sense is if you had an old compound bow/crossbow that was a wreck / broken / barely usable and it had become impossible to sell it.

In other news...

Bass Pro currently has a variety of archery items on sale, ranging from compound bows, crossbows, arrows, portable targets, 3D targets, compound bow sights, mechanical releases, mechanical/fixed blade arrowheads, bow cases, crossbow cases, bowhunting treestands, and harnesses. The brand names on sale include:

API Outdoors® BarnettTM Bear® Archery Bear-X Big Game Treestands BlackOut® BLOCK® Big ShooterTM Carbon Express® Excalibur

DiamondTM Gold Tip® Gorilla® IQ® Millennium Muddy® Muzzy® NAP® Parker® PLANO®

PSE Archery® RageTM RedHeadTM Scott ArcheryTM Stryker® SummitTM TenPoint® Trophy Ridge® TRUGLO® TRU-FIRE®

Note - ArcheryToronto.ca is in no way affiliated or sponsored by Bass Pro. We don't approve of their "trade in deal", but we do like their sales.

August 12th 2016

Yesterday morning 6 target butts at the Toronto Archery Range were repaired, four 20s and two 30s. According to a witness they would have repaired a 7th target butt the same morning, but discovered a wasp or hornet nest burrowed inside the 7th target butt when they knocked it down and decided that they could wait until another day to repair that one. Update, the 7th target butt was repaired on a later date.

What is confusing however is the different message from Jim McKay from Toronto Parks, who assured local archers on August 10th that there would be no repairs done until August 20th at the earliest, because the city had run out of natural tentest, and furthermore had previously stated that the city's budget for repairs had run out. His statements are confusing as the parks staff repaired 24 target butts in 2015, but had only repaired 13 target butts during 2016 as of July 6th. When asked about that McKay states that "The repairs to the butts this year has increased significantly, I believe that we are on round 4 of repairs so far and already we have used up our yearly supply of pressed boards and are in the process of having to buy more material."

According to our records he is partially correct. There has been 4 sets of repairs, but only 13 butts repaired in total. The new 7 butts repaired brings the new total repairs to 20, during 5 sets of repairs. That is still below the record 24 repairs we witnessed in 2015.

Last year we had no problems with repairs. They were done swiftly and promptly, often within the first week or only a few days of any target butts needing repairs. This year there has been several long delays with making repairs and Toronto's archery community has certainly noticed the lack of regular repairs. Add to these statements from Jim McKay claiming that repairs have "increased significantly" and you begin to question what Toronto Parks is up to. Has there been a budget cut to the archery range? Are they cutting back on repairs? Why does McKay think repairs have increased when the numbers are in fact down?

In the past when reporting that butts needed repairs the person answering emails on behalf of Toronto Parks is usually Douglas Jones, and he has been excellent in responding to the concerns and needs of Toronto archers. We are happy to see that the city finally came through and found more natural tentest to repair the target butts. What is confusing however is when Jim McKay says on August 10th that they have run out of tentest and states that it won't be until August 20th for more to arrive; Then on the morning of August 11th six of the target butts suddenly get repaired, and you have to wonder what is happening. How did they find the tentest so quickly? Was it sitting in a warehouse waiting to be used? Or was it rush delivered the night before? It contradicts what Jim McKay said one day earlier.

August 9th 2016

NOTICE - DO NOT EXPECT THE TARGET BUTTS AT THE TORONTO ARCHERY RANGE TO BE REPAIRED ANY TIME SOON. OUR BEST ESTIMATE IS THAT THEY WON'T BE REPAIRED UNTIL LATE AUGUST OR EARLY SEPTEMBER.

Now you might wonder why the target butts haven't been repaired much this year. Last year the 14 target butts were regularly repaired and the city did an excellent job of it in 2015. A sum total of 24 target butts were repaired in 2015, meaning a number of them were replaced multiple times.

So far in 2016 13 target butts out of the 14 have been replaced (once per butt). One of the 70 yard targets has not been replaced since 2015. Unfortunately at present two of the 20 yard butts have collapsed, and the other three 20 yard butts are close to collapsing. We expect them to collapse within the week. One of the 30 yard butts has also collapsed, and the remaining 30 yard butt is close to collapsing too. (August 10th Update, both 30 yard target butts are now down.)

The 50, 60 and 70 yard targets are in comparatively good condition having been replaced in June / July (with the exception of the abovementioned butt which hasn't been repaired since 2015), but 90% of archers don't use those distances. So what are the 90% of archers supposed to do?

Honestly, we recommend a number of options:

#1. Don't bother going to the archery range. Go Pokemoning or swimming instead. Or stay indoors where it is air conditioned. Wait until September to go shoot.

#2. Bring your own portable target. If you want to be shooting more often, this is really your best option if the August heat isn't scaring you away.

#3. Find a different archery range. Outside of Toronto there are a number of privately owned archery ranges which you might decide to visit.

#4. Complain. Email / phone the following people and ask for repairs: Douglas Jones (djonesb@toronto.ca), Jim McKay (jmckay2@toronto.ca), Toronto Parks (parks@toronto.ca / 311). You might also try contacting the city councillor for Ward 26 (Jon Burnside), the General Manager of Toronto Parks (Janie Romoff), or even Toronto Mayor John Tory.

We understand that many of Toronto's archers will not like these options, in which case we strongly recommend you contact all of the people listed in #4 above in an attempt to get results. Again, don't expect any results between now and late August/early September.

August 3rd 2016

On August 5th, Team Canada will begin competing in the archery competitions for the Rio Olympic Games. The men's ranking rounds (for both individuals and teams) will take place at 8:00 AM. The women's ranking rounds (individual and teams) will occur at 12:00 PM. The various elimination rounds, quarterfinals, semi-finals, bronze and gold medal matches will take place on August 6th to 12th.

For a complete schedule of the Rio Olympics archery schedule visit https://www.rio2016.com/en/archery.

See our previous post from May 10th to learn more about Canada's Olympic Archery Team.

The Rio Olympics has been marred by corruption scandals, incomplete architecture, pollution, crime, and a Zika virus outbreak that has caused many athletes to stay home. Some of those athletes who showed up anyway are sleeping under mosquito nets, and even a few are getting endorsement deals from bug-spray manufacturers.

July 20th 2016

Some of the target butts at the 20 yard range are in grave need of repairs. Two of them are puffing outwards and will likely collapsed any day now. The other 3 targets at the same distance are also soft in the middle and will also soon be due for repairs.

Update, the two targets that were puffing outwards have now collapsed. If people want to see them repaired quickly please email Douglas Jones at djonesb@toronto.ca and/or parks@toronto.ca. The more requests they get for repairs, the faster they will be repaired.

July 15th 2016

The Toronto Archery Range Wish List

There are many things archers in Toronto would like to see happen to improve the Toronto Archery Range. Here is our list of the top ten items:

1. Repairs - The target butts need more regular repairs to keep them in good condition.
2. Shade - Whether it be shade trees planted near the picnic tables, metal patio umbrellas, or a permanent structure.
3. Washrooms - There is a washroom roughly 6 minutes walk to the south of the range, but a closer one would be ideal.
4. More Target Butts - The range could use another target butt at 30 yards and two more at the 20 yard range.
5. South End Garbage Cans - There used to be garbage cans at the south end of the archery range but they were removed under Rob Ford. Since then there has been a litter problem at the south end of the range.
6. More Picnic Tables - The current benches and tables are old and some are in bad shape, so several new tables would be nice.
7. Cement Shooting Line - While the current line is marked by the posts, some people still ignore that rule. A cement line would more clearly mark where it is. When the range was first opened the shooting line was marked by old TTC bricks, but most of those have sunk into the mud over the decades.
8. Water Fountain - Not a necessity as many archers bring their own liquids, but it would be nice.
9. Parking Lot - A new parking lot, specifically for the archery range, could be placed west of the range (south west of the Ontario Science Centre).
10. Children's Archery Range - A set of shorter (closer to the ground) target butts, built on the small strip of land directly south of the range. Target butts could be place at 10 and 15 yards. Rationale: 20 yards is normally a competitive distance for teenagers. It is too far for small children. Having it slightly separate to the adult archery range could also improve range safety.

Got more ideas for how to improve the Toronto Archery Range? Email Us!

July 11th 2016

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is looking for people to perform trick shots on video to raise awareness/money for the foundation. If you wish to participate, simply make a trick shot (it does not have to be an archery trick shot, it could be golf, basketball, tennis, football, bowling, etc), upload it and share it on social media and include the hashtag #TakeYourShot.

To donate to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation you can visit either: http://takeyourshot.org or http://www.thepmcf.ca/Ways-to-Give/Donate-Now.

July 6th 2016

Two of the 70 yard target butts at the Toronto Archery Range fell down / collapsed earlier this week, but have already been replaced. Huzzah.

June 29th 2016

The target butt at 60 yards has been repaired, along with one of 70 yard targets which was in poor shape.

Also just a reminder that if anyone has an old patio umbrella they don't use any more, feel free to bring it to the range and donate it. Several of the picnic tables have holes drilled in them that are perfect for patio umbrellas. It is hot out there folks!

Lastly, if you are going to the archery range and planning to be there a long time remember to bring lots of water with you. We don't want anyone passing out from dehydration or heat stroke.

May 10th 2016

Canadian archers will be competing in the Olympic Games in Rio this summer, including Toronto's own Crispin Duenas - who back in September 2015 broke the Canadian record with a score of 685 out of 720. (For those doing the math, that is an average score of 9.513,888~.)

Other athletes representing Canada at Rio include: Virginie Chénier from Montreal, Patrick Rivest-Bunster from Montreal, and Georcy Thiffeault Picard from Montreal. Clearly Montreal is giving Toronto a run for its money by producing lots of Olympic athletes.

Note - Canada has never won an Olympic medal in archery. Canada's best finish was fifth in the women's individual competition at the 1976 games. That particular feat was accomplished by Montreal archer Lucille Lemay, who scored 2,401 out of 2,880. (Her average score was 8.336,805~.)

The current world record for men's is 699 out of 720, by South Korea's Im Dong-Hyun. (His average score was 9.708,333~.)

The current world record for women's is 673 out of 720, a tie between South Korea's Park Sung-Hyun and Ukraine's Lina Herasymenko. (Their average scores were 9.347,222~.)

May 9th 2016

Canada's Wonderland has provided the Toronto Archery Club (and to a larger extent, Toronto's archery community) with a Promo Code for buying tickets at a discounted rate. The Promo Code is used when purchasing tickets online at: www.canadaswonderland.com/tickets

The Promo Code is: Archery2016

Ticket Pricing Starts at 35.99 plus tax. For groups of 15 or more, please contact Amy Dew at 1.905.832.7506 or amy.dew@canadaswonderland.com.

April 29th 2016

Three of the archery target butts at the 20 yard range have been replaced. Update: All of the target butts at the 20 yard, 30 yard and 50 yard ranges have now been repaired, having been replaced during April. Prior to this the targets were the ones from 2015 and had weathered through the winter.

April 15th 2016

Camp Kirk in Kirkfield (East of Lake Simcoe) is looking for an Archery Instructor to teach archery to children ages 6 to 13. Camp Kirk is a small overnight camp for children who have Learning Disabilities, AD/HD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and/or other types of exceptionalities.

Applicants should be: 19 years of age by June 19th; Previous experience with Archery is mandatory; Strong facilitation and communication skills; Previous experience working with children with exceptionalities is an asset.

To apply, email a Resume + Cover Letter to: Erica Coutts, Director at her email address erica@campkirk.com. If you have questions about the position you can also phone: 416-782-3310.

Posting Expires June 30th.

April 13th 2016

The Overlea Parking Lot entrance is now open for the season. To make use of the Overlea Parking Lot, go to the corner of Overlea Boulevard and Thorncliffe Park Drive (East) and then drive south until you the sign for E. T. Seton Park on your left and the corresponding laneway into the park. Drive in to the laneway, down the hill (now you understand why there is no winter maintenance), turn left when you read the T shaped intersection at the bottom of the hill. Drive over the bridge, go past the 2nd parking lot and continue northward until you reach a large doughnut shaped parking lot. You will be able to see the Overlea overpass bridge above you to the north. Park, get your archery equipment out of vehicle, and walk north along the bicycle trail about 4 - 6 minutes. The Toronto Archery Range will be on your right.

The Eglinton Parking Lot is also open year-round, accessible via Serena Gundy Park. Upon entering Serena Gundy Park, turn left at the Y shaped intersection. The Toronto Archery Range is south east of the Eglinton Parking Lot and is approx. a 10 - 15 minute walk. We strongly recommend you check Google maps so you are familiar with where you are going.

March 10th 2016

Is the Archery Fad over?

According to our sources it may be. Sales of archery equipment have been slumping during Winter 2016 compared to the fan frenzy which lasted from 2012 to 2015. Is it possible people are losing interest in our very addictive sport? It may be so.

The fourth and final Hunger Games film came out in November 2015, the Hobbit film series ended in December 2014, Pixar never made a Brave sequel, but there are plenty of other things in popular culture which continue to fuel archery as a sport: Game of Thrones, Arrow, Vikings, etc. So maybe the fad has just decreased somewhat. Time will tell.

In the meantime maybe someone will make a proper Robin Hood film sometime. We haven't had a good one since 1991, and that is 25 years ago already.

February 22nd 2016

Spring is fast approaching and beyond it lies summer. Already we are getting requests from parents who are looking for archery summer camps / day camps in Toronto / GTA. Unfortunately our list of summer camps / day camps that offers archery is likely incomplete, thus we are asking the public that if they know of a place in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area that offers archery summer camps or day camps to please email us the location of the camps in question and we shall check them out and add them to our list. (Also please send us complaints if you hear of any camps that are behaving unsafely or irresponsibly. Positive reviews are also welcome.)

To be extra helpful please include the camp's name, address, phone number and website. Thanks!

February 5th 2016

So far this winter Toronto has been breaking warm weather records. On February 3rd Toronto saw a record high of 15.5 degrees Celsius, making it great weather for shooting some targets at the Toronto Archery Range. That 15.5° beat a previous record of 14.9° from February 1984, making it the warmest day in February ever recorded in Toronto history.

Compared to last year when Toronto was getting -20° to -15° weather and it is a remarkable shift.

Temperatures during January were also consistently mild and warm with bouts of colder weather, but no record breaking heat. For Toronto archers this meant they could still enjoy a trip to the range as long as they were willing to brave temperatures between -5° and 5° C. For those brave souls who do we recommend reading our Guide To Winter Archery.

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2015

December 31st 2015

Happy New Years Eve! This was an amazing year for archers in Toronto. Also for record keeping purposes, the target butts were repaired 24 times this year. That is a record number of repairs!

December 26th 2015

A father and son duo was cautioned by police yesterday that it is illegal to shoot arrows into trees at an uptown Toronto park. Duty officer Gary Long tweeted about the call on the afternoon of Christmas Day, speculating they may have been trying out a Christmas present which turned out to be correct. The father apparently didn't know shooting arrows a park was illegal and apologized. The pair were sent on their way a little smarter about Toronto's laws.

Unfortunately the officer didn't tell them about the Toronto Archery Range, where they could have immediately gone to if they wanted to continue practicing.

December 22nd 2015

We received the follow well wishes from Sue at Great Lake Arrow. Check out their store at greatlakearrow.com:

"Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a very Happy New Year.

I am very thankful and grateful for your continued support! It has been wonderful getting to know you either via email, meeting through friends, or at a shoot. I wish you every success in your archery pursuits this coming year!

With many thanks and best wishes,
Sue
Great Lake Arrow
greatlakearrow.com"

October 12th 2015

The family of a Kitchener man who was killed with an arrow on October 5th may have to wait a long time for police to find the killer. Michael Gibbon was found lying outside a home in Kitchener on October 5th around 7 AM, after being shot with an arrow. It is believed the archer was shooting illegally in Breithaupt Park across the street around 6:30 AM. Kitchener does not have a public archery range, thus the archer who was shooting there illegally must have known what they were doing was illegal and thus decided to practice very early in the morning in order to avoid being seen.

Kitchener police say they have 30 persons of interest that they have narrowed the crime down to, including a man who was involved in shooting a police officer with a pellet gun. They have also released a composite drawing of a person of interest they believe was in the area at the time of the shooting (image of the suspect is shown on the right).

On behalf of Toronto's archery community we extend condolences to Michael Gibbon's family. We hope that Kitchener police find the scum who was shooting illegally swiftly and that they receive the maximum sentence for manslaughter with a firearm (20 years).

UPDATE, October 20th: Eric Amaral of Kitchener has been charged with first-degree murder in the arrow shooting death of Michael Gibbon of Kitchener, Ont. Amaral, age 29, appeared in court on October 19th to face the charge of murder. Eric Amaral was also involved in a pellet gun incident with a police officer in which he fired at least two rounds at an officer attempting to pull Amaral over. Amaral also has a court order prohibiting him from possessing firearms.

Police have yet to release a motive.

Right: Undated photo of Eric Amaral.

October 10th 2015

Five of the target butts at the 20 yard range have been repaired. Unfortunately 1 of the target butts at the 50 yard range has collapsed (Update: It was fixed later in October). City staff have been repairing target butts at record speed this year largely due to the well organized complaint emails they have been receiving. The faster and more frequent repairs is indicative that city staff have realized that the archery range is now significantly more popular these days than it used to be, and that popularity means the range needs more frequent repairs.

If you want to see the target butts fixed sooner please send an email to parks@toronto.ca asking the city to fix the target butts. The more complaints the city receives, the more likely they are to earmark more funds for repairs.

September 15th to 29th 2015

Bass Pro in Vaughan is having a clearance sale on archery equipment. Compounds bows are $40 to $100 off. Arrows, arrowheads and compound bow cases are also on sale. Note - These clearance sales typically get bigger as December nears, but if you want to be outside practicing now then you can choose to either buy now and practice now or buy later.

August 19th 2015

Two target butts at the 30 yard distance have been repaired by city staff. If you see target butts that need repairs send an email to parks@toronto.ca. Also if you have suggestions for how to improve the Toronto Archery Range, please send those suggestions to the same email address.

August 18th 2015

"Stryke Target Range" is a new archery facility that is having an open house this Thursday and Friday, offering free lanes of axe throwing, knife throwing and free archery lessons. With the opening of Stryke it is pretty clear that Toronto / GTA now has an abundance of archery tag locations - which is why it is important to note that Stryke is NOT an archery tag facility, it is an archery range + axe / knife throwing range. Stryke doesn't even offer archery tag, it is a purely target practice location - which is a welcome change considering the sheer number of archery tag locations in the GTA. It makes you realize that Battle Sports was on the right track when it introduced itself as an archery range / archery tag facility, as it shows what people really want is proper archery ranges.

We should also note that the "Stryke Target Range" is actually in Brampton (240 Clarence Street, Unit #5), just west of 410. So that is quite a drive for most Torontonians. Most locals would probably prefer to go to the Toronto Archery Range instead, which is both free and centrally located.

August 1st 2015

The Samick Sage (a popular recurve bow in Toronto) has been featured on the August 2015 cover of Ontario Out of Doors Magazine. The photograph features Chantal Loucks of Simcoe County and the photographer is Josh Loucks, both are avid bowhunters. The August issue of OOD features two articles of interest to bowhunters in Toronto: #1. "Way of the Bow" on the topic of bowhunting for deer; #2. "Any Way You Slice It" on the topic of choosing broadheads for bowhunting. Learn more about Bowhunting in Ontario by reading OODMAG's past articles on Bowhunting.

While bowhunting took a hit in July thanks to the lion poacher Walter Palmer, in Ontario the sport of bowhunting has never been more popular. Since 2001 hunting in general has seen a rise in popularity, going from 9,641 hunters in 2001 to a high of 25,235 hunters in 2013 - and bowhunters are making up an ever larger percentage of the total number of hunters in Ontario. The percentage of females hunters is also up, as shown by the number of women signing up for hunter education programs. The numbers have climbed from 17.27% in 2010 to 22% in 2014, showing an increased interest in hunting and bowhunting from women in Ontario. Should we be thanking Katniss Everdeen for this? Perhaps so.

The popularity of bowfishing is also up, although it is difficult to estimate by how much as different sources claim the rise of the sport is anywhere between 50% to 100% more popular than it was 5 years ago. Which is a good thing because Conservation officers recently found two Asian carp (an invasive species) in two ponds near the Toronto waterfront. See 2 Asian carp found in ponds near Toronto waterfront on the Toronto Star website to learn more about the invasive species.

July 30th 2015

American dentist and big game bowhunter / poacher Walter Palmer has been in the news a lot recently regarding his poaching of "Cecil the Lion", Zimbabwe's most famous lion. Two Zimbabwe men have been charged and possibly face 15 years in prison while Walter Palmer himself is currently walking around free, but is facing intense media scrutiny and a backlash against his dentistry business. Cecil the Lion was a huge attraction at Zimbabwe's largest game reserve in Hwange National Park. He is believed to have been poached on July 1st, but his body was not discovered until days later.

Walter Palmer claims he thought the hunt was legal, denies bribing the two Zimbabwe men $50,000 USD, and denies knowing that lions are an endangered species. Photographs have since surfaced on the internet showing Walter Palmer posing with a large variety of big game animals, many of which are endangered. Walter Palmer describes himself as "a life-long hunter" and admits that he kept his hunting / poaching of endangered animals a secret "because it can be a divisive and emotionally charged topic". Ignoring the fact that poaching is also illegal.

Walter Palmer shot and injured Cecil the Lion with a compound bow, but didn't actually kill the lion until 40 hours later when the poachers caught up to him and shot him with a rifle. This means the lion suffered for 40 hours. The poachers also tried to remove and destroy a GPS collar fitted for a research project. This shows that they knew what they were doing was illegal. Walter Palmer then posed for photographs of himself with the lion, evidently to show off to his friends back in the USA who are also into poaching endangered animals.

Walter Palmer and the poachers then skinned the lion, chopped off its head and left its carcass. They did not eat any of the meat (ethical hunters eat what they kill).

On behalf of archers and bowhunters in Ontario, we are utterly disgusted by Walter Palmer's actions. We hope he faces criminal charges and extradition to a prison cell in Zimbabwe.

July 29th 2015

Two of the target butts at the 20 yard distance have been repaired. Huzzah!

July 20th 2015

Congratulations to Jason (Jay) Lyon of Winnipeg, Manitoba who won a bronze medal in Olympic-style archery at the Pan Am Games hosted in Toronto. Jay also won a silver medal at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro and a silver in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. Congratulations also goes out to Crispin Duenas, Georcy-Stéphanie Thiffeault Picard, Kateri Vrakking, Patrick Rivest-Bunster and Virginie Chénier for representing Canada at the Pan Am Games. Jay Lyon's final round in the bronze medal match was a perfect 30 out of 30 score.

In related news four archers have been chosen to represent Canada at the Parapan Am Games in August: Kevin Evans from B.C., Robert (Bob) Hudson from Saskatchewan, Alec Denys from Ontario, and Karen Van Nest from Ontario. We wish them best of luck!

July 9th 2015

Two of the target butts, one at 20 yards and one at 70 yards have been fixed. We would like to take a moment to remind people not to shoot anywhere near Toronto Parks staff while they are fixing the target butts. On July 9th a man in a yellow shirt ignored the request of park staff and kept shooting at one the targets, ignoring the request of park staff to stop shooting. This led to an angry shouting match between the man in the yellow shirt and one of the park staff. Part of this argument was captured on video. The man in the yellow shirt was also witnessed ignoring range rules, standing approx. 10 yards behind the firing line and shooting from there instead of shooting from the firing line. The only thing the man in yellow accomplished was to slow down the repairs by being an argumentative nuisance.

So word to the wise, when park staff ask you to stop shooting - just stop shooting and take a break. Sheesh.

The previous day (July 8th) a different man wearing a green headband was witnessed standing out in the field and shooting from that location, and was captured in a photograph. The range was extremely busy at the time and people standing in the middle of the field is a safety hazard. Update - Local by-law officers showed up at the range on July 10th looking for the man with the green headband. If you recognize the person in the photo on the right please contact us and we shall forward that information to the by-law officer.

July 8th 2015

Tickets for the 2015 Pan Am archery events still have not sold out - indeed the same is true for many of the Pan Am sporting events, the tickets have not been selling as much as expectations and the Pan Am Games are looking more and more like they will be a huge financial flop. A $2,500,000,000 financial flop. Yes, you read correctly. $2.5 billion. Many of the structures for the games are behind schedule, not finished, and over budget. The archery venue at Varsity Stadium is one of the few venues that are cost effective.

If you want to buy tickets for the archery events you can visit Ticket Master and buy tickets for the following days:

Tuesday, July 14th, Preliminary at 10 AM - Varsity Stadium.

Wednesday, July 15th, Preliminary at 10 AM - Varsity Stadium.

Thursday, July 16th, Preliminary at 10 AM - Varsity Stadium.

Friday, July 17th, Preliminary at 10 AM - Varsity Stadium.

Saturday, July 18th, Medal Round at 10 AM - Varsity Stadium.

Notes - The Medal Round is the only one which is low on tickets. The other events have many tickets available. Also note that tickets are released in blocks, not all at once. Please also note that the Parapan Am Games will be having the archery events on August 9th and 10th at 10 AM, also at Varsity Stadium. Oddly the tickets are much cheaper for the Parapan Am, but would likely be the more interesting events to watch.

July 6th 2015

A target butt at the 20 yard distance collapsed last week and then was replaced on June 29th. Unfortunately it was followed by a 2nd collapse yesterday (Sunday July 5th) and Toronto Parks may not be able to replace the fallen target very quickly because they have run low on Natural Tentest and are waiting for a new shipment. One of the 70 yard targets also collapsed a few weeks ago and is waiting to be replaced. Because there will be a delay fixing these targets we recommend those archers who can, please use portable target butts.

If you want to see the target butts fixed sooner please send an email to parks@toronto.ca asking the city to fix the target butts. The more complaints the city receives, the more likely they are to earmark more funds for repairs.

June 30th 2015

Winnipeg archer and Olympian Jay Lyon will be representing Canada at the Pan Am Games in Toronto after being removed from the team by Archery Canada and then re-added to the team after he was forced to issue an apology for comments he made on Facebook about Archery Canada's treatment of Kateri Vrakking (see the news item from June 10th). Archery Canada's decision to deny Kateri Vrakking of her chance at the Pan Am Games due to her age, and then later flip flopping on the issue when they were faced with a lawsuit, drew the ire of many Canadian archers who felt Archer Canada was being both sexist and ageist.

Jay Lyon referred to the choice of denying Kateri Vrakking her chance "bullshit" and "pure political hogwash" on a Facebook post in which he questioned the leadership abilities of the executives at Archery Canada. "If Archery Canada had won, they would have ruined a medal potential at the Pan Am Games," Lyon wrote. "Again, their leadership is questionable and I wish they would begin to show a little more respect and equality for female shooters."

However Lyon's sharp and intelligent words apparently struck a nerve with the executive director Scott Ogilvie and other executives at Archery Canada, who decided to impose their will by stripping Lyon of his spot on the Pan Am Team and then forcing him to issue an apology in order to get his spot back. "It’s viewed as contravening the code of conduct, code of ethics and the athlete agreement" said Scott Ogilvie. Apparently he and his fellow executives have very thin skin and feel that criticizing the Archery Canada executives counts as unsportsmanlike behaviour.

"I don’t feel I’ve done anything wrong. I was just expressing some concerns. It’s shocking that they have to attack me in this manner," said Lyon, who was reinstated to Team Canada after he was forced to issue an apology. Scott had previously represented Canada twice in two previous Pan Am Games, an Olympic Games and got silver medal at a Commonwealth Games.

Facebook and Twitter came alive in the wake of these events with many non-members of the Pan Am Team voicing their opinions on Archery Canada / Scott Ogilvie's competency to lead. On a public relations level Archery Canada would have been smart to just ignore Jay Lyon's comments instead of bringing down a media frenzy on the topic of Archery Canada's leadership. The clear response from Canadian archers is that they support the position of Jay Lyon and that Archery Canada is operating like a "mini Mussolini" according to one Twitter post.

Archery Canada’s National Coach and Toronto resident declined to comment on the scandal. "You have to ask the people who are taking the action," said Joan McDonald. Clearly she would not want to rock the boat in an organization that evidently doesn't like older female archers. Anyone in a position to lose something would logically try to avoid upsetting Archery Canada's executives.

June 10th 2015

Kateri Vrakking of Toronto, age 42, is being denied a place at the Pan Am Games being hosted in Toronto this year, even though she placed in the top 3 during the trials. The trials are designed to separate the lesser athletes from those athletes considered to have the best chances of winning. Canada only gets to send 3 female archers and 3 male archers to the Pan Am Games, so if you place 4th or 5th you normally don't get to go.

So why then is Kateri Vrakking being passed over in favour of a younger 19-year-old archer who only scored 5th? Especially when you consider than Kateri's score during the trials was more than DOUBLE what the 19-year-old managed to do. (Kateri got 194.1859 points whereas the 5th place person only scored 80.1849 points.)

Archery Canada has been declining to comment on the situation to the media, leaving people to draw their own conclusions... Archery Canada is being ageist. They want their female archers to be 'young and sexy', applying an ageist rule to female archers because older female archers are considered less attractive. Clearly someone at Archery Canada should be fired for not doing their job properly.

A hearing was held yesterday (June 9th) to appeal the poor decision, but the results of the hearing have not been disclosed yet.

To learn more read Woman, 42, says ‘ageism’ bumped her from Canada’s Pan Am archery team.

Update June 11th - Archery Canada has reversed its decision to block Kateri Vrakking from participating in the Pan Am Games. In an email Archery Canada's executive director Scott Ogilvie called Vrakking’s allegation of ageism "false and unfounded", but given Archery Canada's reversal of their previous decision Mr. Ogilvie now looks like a liar. Maybe Scott Ogilvie should also be issuing an apology to Kateri Vrakking.

To learn more read Archer faced ageism on road to Pan Am Games.

June 6th 2015

SAFETY ALERT!!!

Please be advised that all archers using the Toronto Archery Range should follow the Safety Rules at all times and also to follow common sense when it comes to safety violations that are not actually listed in the safety rules. All of the examples below would qualify as reckless endangerment and carries a fine and possible prison time.

Nocking an arrow and pulling back a bow while other people in front of you are collecting arrows is clearly a dangerous act because if you misfired you could seriously injure or even kill someone.

Jokingly aiming a nocked arrow at a friend and pulling it back. Again, a misfire could result in serious injury or death.

Shooting broadheads at a portable target butt you brought yourself. Let us be clear here: No broadheads should be used at the Toronto Archery Range, regardless of what target you are shooting at. Period.

Behaving in a reckless and immature manner (this includes public drunkenness) that could potentially get someone hurt.

Nocking and drawing a bow from any distance that is not the firing line. Standing way behind the firing line with people in front of you, or standing really close to the 50, 60 or 70 yard target butts - close enough to Don Mills Road that a misfire from a powerful bow could cause an arrow to be launched onto street level.

Drawing back a compound bow with the arrow aimed at the sky during the draw cycle. If you cannot pull a compound bow straight back then that bow is too powerful for you and you should be using a lighter poundage.

When in doubt about whether you are doing something safe, use common sense and don't do it. If other archers start yelling at you for doing something unsafe, please listen and learn. Do not argue with them and pretend what you are doing is safe when you know it is not.

Archers are encouraged to report unsafe behaviour to police or park staff. Also if you see someone doing something clearly unsafe please snap a photo of them so they can be publicly shamed for their actions. Email us with your safety concerns if you spot someone doing something unsafe and/or share photos of unsafe behaviour on one of the websites for various archery clubs in Toronto.

Keep the archery range safe for everyone.

May 29th 2015

A new world record for bowfishing grass carp has been set in Alabama. Bryan Hughes, a local bowfisher and owner of Backwater Outdoors in Gurley, Alabama shot a 93.3 lb grass carp during a bowfishing tournament. The fish was so big it flatlined their 80 lb scale and they had to get a bigger scale to weigh it properly. The previous bowfishing world record for grass carp was 87.8 lbs.

In Ontario carp bowfishing season starts each year on May 1st and goes until July 31st. If you are looking for bowfishing equipment in the GTA try Bass Pro in Vaughan or Dufferin Outdoor Supply in Orangeville.

May 15th 2015

BATTLE OF THE ARCHERY TAG LOCATIONS

[Updated July 30th 2015.]

"Archery Dodge Arrow" is becoming increasingly popular in the Greater Toronto Area. Currently there are 8 locations in the GTA that offer some form of 'archery tag'. "Archery Tag®" is a Registered Trademarked franchise company (and the name is a misnomer, as people don't actually play "tag" with the arrows - it is more like a game of dodge ball), but other companies have appeared offering identical services for people wishing to shoot their friends with foam-tipped arrows. They include:

Battle Archery (8052 Torbram Road, Brampton)

Battle Sports (26 Ashwarren Road, North York)

Get Ready Archery (213 Sterling Road, Toronto)

The Archers Arena (1140 Sheppard Ave West, Units 3 and 4, North York)

The Archery Circuit (3791 Victoria Park Avenue, Suite 8, Toronto)

The Archery District (770 Birchmount Rd #22, Scarborough)

The Archery Game (Unit 18, 2501 Rutherford Road, Vaughan)

The Archery Terminal (1100 Courtneypark Drive E, Unit 3, Mississauga)

There may be more locations which will be coming to the GTA by late 2015 or during 2016. Are that many 'archery tag' locations sustainable however? When is someone going to open a normal indoor archery range? We shall have to wait and see who wins the Battle of the Archery Tag Locations.

Note - A number of locations are offering various discount rates so you can really shop around if you are looking for good value, but a bigger question is the level of quality service the location provides. As of July 6th we have added the prices and a comparison chart, Archery Tag Locations in the GTA, so people can browse the prices, the major differences between locations and decide for themselves which locations they prefer.

May 14th 2015

The last of the five target butts at the 20 yard range has been repaired. If you see target butts that need repairs, please email parks@toronto.ca. Update May 16th: One of the target butts at the 50 yard range has fallen down. Update June 12th: The target butts at the 50 yard range have been repaired, as has the 60 yard target butt which fell down during the last week. One of the 20 yard target butts which had been up since March 8th also was in bad shape and was repaired too.

May 7th 2015

Two of the target butts have been repaired at the 20 yard range. More will likely be repaired in coming weeks.

In related news a number of archers are trying to convince Parks and Rec to increase the number of target butts available to six at the 20 yard range and three at the 30 yard range. To express your support of the initiative email parks@toronto.ca and ask them to add two extra target butts, one at the north end of the 30 yard distance and one at the south end of the 20 yard distance.

May 4th 2015

With May here the number of people visiting the Toronto Archery Range will climb sharply. With so many people visiting the range we would like to remind people of several things.

1. ALWAYS follows the safety rules posted near the entrance to the Toronto Archery Range. Failure to do so can result in fines and/or jail time.
2. Behave responsibly. No drinking or smoking within the range as per Toronto by-law.
3. No dogs allowed. City staff put up new signs at the entrances due to recent complaints.
4. If you see target butts, benches or picnic tables that need to be repaired please notify the city by emailing parks@toronto.ca. The more people who ask for repairs, the faster the repairs get done.
5. Please throw your garbage in the garbage cans when you leave. Don't leave it on the ground or on the picnic tables. Keep the range clean!

March 9th 2015

A number of changes has taken place recently at the Toronto Archery Range.

#1. Two of the target butts at the 20 yard distance now has new Natural Tentest for the upcoming season. More tentest will be replaced in the coming months.

#2. The shooting line now has new posts clearly marking where the shooting line is. Please stand at the line when shooting at the target butts.

#3. The 90 yard target butts have been moved so they are now lined up next to the 70 yard target butts (bringing the total of 70 yard targets to 4), to bring them closer to the 70 meters that Olympic shooters normally practice at.

February 3rd 2015

Last month "Archery District" opened its doors on January 3rd and since then it has a flood of interest in its "archery tag" games inside its 6000 square foot facility in Scarborough at 770 Birchmount Rd., near Ellesmere Road. Similar to laser tag and paintball, archery tag uses foam tipped boffer arrows (similar to those used at fantasy LARPing events) and bounce off the people being hit by them.

In the first couple of days Archery District was open they got several hundred people showing up wanting to try archery tag. Anywhere from 6 to 20 people can play archery tag at a time, everyone receives a 15 to 20 minute instructions on how to properly aim and shoot a bow (none of that crazy Lars Anderson stuff) along with various rules that all participants must observe to play effectively and safely.

After the tutorial is over, the participants are split into two teams, with a safe zone in the middle where people can also take a break from being shot at. The goal in the game is to shoot all of the enemy team's targets, while simultaneously elimating opposing team members by shooting them with arrows.

More info is available on archerydistrict.com. Prices are $24.80 per person per hour. They also host events and there are plans to offer memberships.

Update May 2015: According to our sources there are multiple new "archery tag" locations coming to Toronto in 2015. Archery District is going to have a lot of competition in the near future. Yet still no word on an indoor archery range. The demand is out there for an indoor archery range, but because "archery tag" is more profitable no one has stepped forward to shoulder the burden of opening an indoor range for general archery use. See Archery Tag Locations in the GTA to learn more.

January 8th 2015

The Hart House Archery Range at the University of Toronto opened its doors to registrations on January 8th, at 8 AM in the morning. Normally Hart House only allows in University of Toronto students or alumni, but sometimes does allow in non-students too. At the start of each university semester they have registration days, often early in the morning. This practice seems to discourage membership.

In contrast the Ryerson Archery Club is having its first day on January 14th. To become a member you need 2 things. The first is money. It is $60 for a membership or $10 for an one-day drop-in pass. The 2nd thing is you need is to either be a Ryerson student or have a Ryerson Community Member Card (costs approx. $45 to get). Thus for $105 you get access to the Ryerson Archery Club's indoor range, but only during official club hours - Mondays 4 to 7 PM, Wednesdays 4 to 6 PM and Thursdays 4 to 6 PM. Those club hours means if you work a normal 9 to 5 job, you probably don't have the schedule that matches the times they are open. So yes, the Ryerson Archery Club is cheap to join - but the hours they are open are horrible and it is really meant to attract students.

1st UPDATE, Jan. 23rd - An accident happened at the Ryerson Archery Club practice held on Jan. 22nd wherein the glass backboard of a basketball was hit by a ricocheting arrow, shattering the glass. The glass was cleaned up immediately, but other events held in the same gym were postponed or cancelled. When the club returns on the 26th the club members will be shooting the width of the gym instead of the length, which will hopefully prevent future damage from ricochets from happening. Club leadership is trying to determine a longer term solution that will allow the more skilled archers more of a challenge. (Note - Freak ricochets can fly up to 20 meters back towards the archers shooting, so if the distance of the width of the gym is less than 20 meters there is also a danger the archers can get hit with their own arrows.)

2nd UPDATE, Jan. 25th - The Ryerson Archery Club is now FULL and no longer accepting new members.

What Toronto really needs is an Indoor Archery Range that is open to anyone, and the maintenance costs come from membership fees just like a gym membership. If you like the idea of an indoor range in Toronto contact us to put your name on a waiting list for opening an indoor range. Once we have enough potential members we will find a space, lease it and open an indoor range that is open to all people - and has much better hours.

December 23, 2014 - March 1, 2015

Mirvish is showing "The Heart of Robin Hood" on stage at the Royal Alexandra Theatre (260 King Street West) from December 23, 2014 - March 1, 2015. Theatre productions of Robin Hood are quite common historically and you can read up on the history of Robin Hood plus the history of Robin Hood in theatre productions on Mirvish.com.

This particular production places greater emphasis on the role of Maid Marian, casting her as a hero rather than as a damsel in distress. As is usual for Robin Hood theatre productions there is a lot of archery, swordplay, swashbuckling and even singing.

See the Trailer for the Heart of Robin Hood on YouTube

Ticket prices vary between $45 and $105.

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2014

November 21st 2014

Katniss Everdeen is back in the new film "Mockingjay Part 1" and the film has her changing bows (again). If you've been keeping track she started off with a traditional flatbow (similar to a Cherokee design, with a small bit of deer sinew wrapping on it) at the start of the first film, "The Hunger Games", and then switched to a silver-coloured recurve bow during the games (and had to learn to adjust her aim since she was used to aiming to the side a bit for longbows). During the 2nd film "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" she switched to a Hoyt Buffalo. In the newest film she has switched again, this time to a modified version of a Martin Savannah - a bow which normally pulls between 40 and 65 lbs, far beyond the physical capabilities of many young would-be preteen and teen fans who seek to emulate Katniss Everdeen (portrayed by actress Jennifer Lawrence). Note - The photo on the above right is of a different bow, not the Martin Savannah.

You can see the specs for the Martin Savannah on MartinArchery.com. The bow is priced at $579 USD. The modifications made to the bow make it a much lighter poundage (18 pounds) and therefore much easier to pull, and easier to pose with during filming for long periods of time - and also to short-string the brace height for unrealistic aesthetic reasons. If you watch the film you will notice scenes wherein the bow's brace height is ridiculously high. For maximum performance it is recommended users stick to the standard brace height.

No word on whether Martin is planning to release a weaker or Junior version of the Savannah. Martin does however have a Junior bow that is similar to the Savannah: The Martin Sliver looks similar, but is available in 18# (and therefore makes it a good candidate for teens aged 14 years and up). [Note - This is not an advertisement. Just random archery trivia.]

The Hoyt Buffalo from the 2nd film is similarly unsuitable for younger archers, with draw weights of 35 to 65 pounds. When the 2nd film came out however Hoyt expanded the list of colour options for the Hoyt Buffalo so it is now available in 5 different colours. During the 2nd film we also know that she was using Easton X-7 Eclipse arrows (which cost $90 for a set of 12 unfletched shafts). Lastly, if you've seen "The Avengers" first movie, you will recall seeing Hawkeye was also shooting a Hoyt Buffalo (suggesting a lack of imagination in Hollywood, or perhaps advertising product placement genius on the part of Hoyt). Priced at $799 USD the Hoyt Buffalo is also well out of the price range of many beginning archers. (If you shop around you can sometimes find it on sale however, especially end of season clearance.)

For archery afficionados who know a lot about the different brands or styles of bows being able to spot which bow is made by which company is a combination of memory skills and archery trivia knowledge. The two bows in "Deliverance"? Both from Bear Archery. The bow in seasons 2 and 3 of "Arrow"? The Oneida Kestrel. The new crossbow Daryl gets in season 3 of "The Walking Dead"? The Stryker Strykezone 380. Ygritte's bow in season 4 of "Game of Thrones"? A recurved replica of the Meare Heath flatbow (a historic bow found in a bog south of Wales, carbon dated circa 2690 BC); The recurved replica was custom built for the TV show.

November 4th 2014

Winter is coming! Check out ArcheryToronto.ca's "Guide to Winter Archery in Toronto", which includes tips on how to stay warm, how to find your arrows in the snow, what to use for a target and more. Stay warm this winter and keep practicing despite the colder weather.

November 1st 2014

For those of you who love The Walking Dead, Daryl and crossbows, there is currently a contest at Best Crossbow Source (bestcrossbowsource.com) which is offering a draw with two Barnett Jackal crossbows for two lucky entries.

The Barnett Jackal model is geared towards beginners, but for the Daryl fans out there who are either looking to hunt or just shoot at zombie targets the Jackal provides all the power you need for impressive accuracy. The crossbows package also includes a quiver, a set of 3 arrows with field tips and hunting broadheads, a red-dot sight and a basic maintenance kit. For more details you can see the crossbow package on Amazon.com where it is currently on sale for $275.79 USD.

To enter the contest visit the sidebar right below the Best Crossbows / Crossbow Reviews sections, find the registration form and input your e-mail. The winners will be contacted via email and should receive their crossbows within 5 to 10 business days after receipt of your shipping address. Your email will not be used to sign you up for a newsletter, spam or anything of that manner. The contest ends November 23rd 2014.

Please be advised that crossbows are not allowed at the Toronto Archery Range, but you can always practice in your garage, basement, family farm, cabin up north, etc.

October 1st 2014

Deerhunting season is finally here!

Just a reminder, there is a strict by-law prohibiting practicing with broadheads (both fixed and mechanicals) at the Toronto Archery Range. The by-law rule is there to prevent people from accidentally being shot with a broadhead (which is significantly more deadly than a field point). Due to a number of recent complaints the Toronto Archery Range will be getting additional new signs posted near the 20 and 30 yard targets listing the by-law rules.

Also another reminder, archers have been finding crossbow bolts at the archery range - again, a violation of the by-law. Due to safety concerns by-law officers will be frequenting the archery range more often to check in and make sure people are practicing safely - and pass out fines to anyone shooting in an unsafe manner.

September 29th 2014

On Sept. 28th an incident occurred at the Toronto Archery Range where two individuals were standing in front of the firing line in the vicinity of a man who was shooting. This was a clear violation of Rule #1 of the By-laws and Rules governing the archery range, as enforced by Toronto Municipal Code 608, and it was Reckless Endangerment with a Firearm (archery equipment is considered to be a firearm under the Criminal Code).

When asked by one of the local archers that the two individuals stand behind the firing line they instead became irate and proceeded to harrass and threaten the archer with bodily harm for two hours before eventually leaving. If you recognize the two people in the photo and know their names please email us so their names can be given to the police. Criminal harrassment and threats of physical violence have no place at an archery range.

September 16th 2014

Winter is coming and do you know what that means? End of season archery sales. The closer to December we get the bigger the sales will get too. So if you are looking to buy new equipment, now is a good time to start browsing archery stores and websites for sales on equipment. (Especially online stores, which often try to get to rid of extra stock before the end of the year and to prepare themselves when new 2015 equipment appears on the market.)

The sales will get hotter and hotter too. Currently Dick's Sporting Goods is offering a deal where they give you a 6-pack of free arrows when you order an Diamond Infinite Edge on their website. See details here. Meanwhile 3riversarchery.com has a "trading post" where people can buy 'lightly used equipment', mis-cut arrows, etc. Another great way to get a hot deal. And this is just September. Expect to see sales like "50% or more off bows" by the time November and December roll around.

Autumn is also good for browsing classifieds websites for used equipment. People try archery, discover it was more difficult than they thought, or they purchased the wrong bow, or they really loved archery and decided to upgrade to a better bow. Whatever the reason, Autumn is also a great time for purchasing used equipment on Craigslist and used bows/arrows on Kijiji.

September 7th 2014

The Brockley Archery Club has opened an indoor archery range in Hamilton. The location is at 170 Brockley Drive. See hours and details on the Brockley Archery Facebook page.

If you are looking for an archery range closer to Niagara, try Archery Niagara. The range is located at 1238 Townline Road, Niagara-On-The-Lake.

August 25th 2014

TV personality Jeff Thomason of Weatherford, Texas has set a new record for bowhunting a mako shark off the coast of California. Thomason reeled in an 800+ pound mako shark while filming an episode of his TV show, Predator Pursuit. However we should note that the mako shark (both shortfin mako and longfin mako species) is endangered and is listed in the category "vulnerable". At present only certain types of sharks (eg. Great Whites) are prohibited from hunting in California.

August 5th 2014

ArcheryToronto.ca has added a new section of "famous archer biographies" to the website. So far we have added the following archers (in alphabetical order):

Alice Legh

Awa Kenzo

Byron Ferguson

Earl Hoyt

Fred Bear

Howard Hill

Hubert Van Innis

Ishi and Saxton Pope

If you know of a famous archer (historical only please, no fictional characters) please feel free to submit a biography by emailing us. Historical biographies of Robin Hood and William Tell would be acceptable, but "Green Arrow / Oliver Queen" would not be. Maybe someday we will add a pop culture section to ArcheryToronto.ca for all the Green Arrow, Katniss and Rambo fans.

July 17th 2014

The Toronto Archery Range has added a 5th target butt to the 20 yard section of the range in order to accomodate more beginner / intermediate archers who prefer to shoot at the close range targets.

Demand for extra target butts has been increasing - back in the 1960s to 1980s the Toronto Archery Range had additional target butts at the south end of the range but they were ripped out in the late 80s and a fence was added running along the south side of the archery range. Due to all the recent pop culture / media attention on archery this means as long as people keep asking for more targets, those demands will be heard more often and listened to due to the sheer number of people now doing archery. If enough demand is heard it is possible the south fence could be ripped out, moved and additional targets added to the range.

This would mean ripping out the existing fence, mowing down the section of tall grass behind the fence, placing a new fence further south closer to the treeline, and adding perhaps 2 or 3 new 20 yard target butts in the new section of the range. (The small trees growing in the tall grassy area could be left alone to provide shade for archers suffering from the summer heat.)

Note - It has been previously suggested that the Toronto Archery Range could add 10 yard targets, but according to a number of experienced archers ricochets can bounce back 17 to 19 yards, making 20 yards the 'minimum safe distance'.

June 21st 2014

ARCHERY NIGHT IN CANADA was a free event promoted by the Toronto Archery Club and took place at the Toronto Archery Range on June 21st 2014, from 7 PM to just after midnight. As part of the event it was strongly suggesting people purchase lighted nocks just for the event "because it is a lot of fun watching them zoom out there in the dark."

If you are looking to purchase lighted nocks there are several places to go where you can purchase them in the GTA: Bass Pro in Vaughan, Tent City in North York, and Al Flaherty's on Dufferin north of St Clair. Expect to pay $25 to $50 for your lighted nocks. We recommend phoning the place to confirm they have them currently in stock (because sometimes they are sold out) and confirm their price.

The following series of videos were shot as the sun was setting on June 21st as part of a series called "How Many Arrows does it take to Kill a Walmart Guitar?"

June 8th, 10th, 12th 2014

Bass Pro in Vaughan is offering FREE archery workshops for kids (and to a lesser extent adults too) on proper archery stance, the correct finger grip for shooting a bow, and how targets are scored. The archery workshops are on Sunday June 8th at 1 PM, Tuesday June 10th at 2 PM, and Thursday June 12th at 12 PM. Participants also receive a free Bass Pro archery pin. In addition to archery workshops Bass Pro is also offering free workshops on bird watching, camping, fishing, hunting, kayaking, travel safety, water safety and more. Each workshop is approximately 20 minutes long. NOTE - There workshops have been extended into July. See the Bass Pro Canada website for more details.

May 30th 2014

A Toronto school's grade 8 camping trip to "Camp Walden" (south east of Algonquin Park) has been cancelled last minute over school board hysteria over swimming and archery activities at the summer camp. Amesbury Middle School (near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West) students were expecting to be leaving for the trip on June 10th when it was suddenly cancelled, despite Camp Walden having an "exemplary track record and is extremely well supervised".

It wasn't the first time Amesbury Middle School students had been visiting Camp Walden either. Previous grade 8 classes had gone there for seven years in a row, without any safety concerns or incidents. It all boils down to the school board's superintendent, who suddenly demanded "proof" that swimming and archery acitivities at the summer camp were indeed safe. Which is a bit like demanding "proof that god exists" or demanding "proof dogs have souls". All you can do is point to the previous track record, showing no incidents of serious injuries beyond the usual mosquito bites, allergic reactions, or a stubbed toe.

Swimming, for example, is never entirely safe. There is always the possibility that a student might have an accident while in the water and then drown. In Canada, drowning occurs 10.1 times out of every 100,000 Canadians (according to Statistics Canada). Compare that to the murder rate, 1.45 per 100,000 Canadians, and what you realize is that drowning is 6.9 times more likely to kill you than being murdered. Want to know what the accidental archery death rate in Canada is? It is 0. As in 0 out of 100,000 people. That is how safe archery is. Archery is thus mathematically infinitely more safe than swimming. You would think it would be higher than that, but the reality of the situation is that very few people do archery, considerably less people get any injuries more serious than string burn on their shooting arm, and the death rate is basically non-existent.

So the next time someone tells you "archery is dangerous" quote them the drowning rate in Canada and ask them to guess what the accidental archery death rate is. Maybe then they will stop spouting nonsense.

May 8th 2014

The target butts at the Toronto Archery Range have been repaired! Toronto's archery season has officially begun (although technically it never stops). The target butts are typically repaired 2 or 3 times per year.

May 4th 2014

A meteor flew over the Toronto Archery Range during the afternoon of Sunday, May 4th, witnessed by approx. a dozen archers. The fast moving rock from space was reported to have made "a fizzing sound" as it flew over and disappeared on the horizon, leaving a trail of dust in the atmosphere. Media reports say the meteor broke up / exploded in the skies near Peterborough, crumbling into dust under the intense heat and pressure. The shockwave from the explosion was felt by nearby residents. According to NASA the meteor was likely one of many from Hailey's Comet debris trail that passing by the Earth the same week in May. According to Peter Brown, a scientist at the University of Western Ontario who specializes in meteors, the meteor was approx. 1 meter in diameter, composed mostly of metal, likely weighing a few metric tons. It was likely traveling at a speed greater than mach 2 at the time it passed over the Toronto Archery Range.

May 4th 2014

The 6th annual Dwight Archery Shoot took place on Sunday May 4th 2014. The archery event runs every year and is open to all. Bring your own bows and equipment (crossbows are welcome), the event will take place at lot 2845 on Highway 60 in Dwight, Ontario (South West of Algonquin Park). The event includes a 3D Archery Competition. Lunch is provided and the event always runs rain or shine.

April 17th 2014

Today we added a page for Recommended Archery Reading for both New and Experienced Archers. This compliments the free library of archery books on PDF we added yesterday. The recommended reading section is a list of articles from magazines, books and specific blog posts on a variety of archery topics.

April 16th 2014

ArcheryToronto.ca has added a free library of archery books on PDF section to our website. All of the archery books / historical documents found in the ArcheryToronto.ca library can also be found for free on Archive.org and/or similar free PDF websites. Our collection is for educational and scholarly purposes, to be used by archers interested in traditional archery, honing their archery skills, and bow / arrow making. If you have a PDF book or historical document you think should be added to the list - and the item is free from copyright - please contact us to have it added to our Archery Library.

April 13th 2014

The Toronto Archery Club was founded today by a small group of local archery enthusiasts and is looking for more members. To join you can sign up on Meetup.com or via the Toronto Archery Club Facebook group.

The group's long term goals are: 1) To promote Toronto's archery community; 2) To promote archery safety; 3) To open an indoor archery range with a club membership; 4) To promote bow making and arrow making skills. If any or all of these sound like something you would enjoy, sign up for the Toronto Archery Club on Meetup.com.

April 7th 2014

ArcheryToronto.ca is now accepting archery product reviews. If you have an archery product (gloves, quivers, arrows, bows, stabilizers, etc) and you want a review of your product then contact us for a product review, send us a free sample of the product you want reviewed, we shall try out your product and post up the results of our review in our Archery News section plus in our archery product / equipment reviews section.

Review of Jandao and PSE Razorback

Review of Martin Jaguar, Sabre and Panther

Review of Ragim Wildcat and Matrix

Review of Samick Polaris, Sage and Red Stag

Review of the Bear Grizzly

Review of the Bear SuperGrizzly

Review of the Bear Take-down

April 1st 2014

On the first day of April the Canadian Toxophilite Society held a meeting at the Fox and Fiddle in Leaside (near the Home Depot) to discuss various bowmaking techniques. If you want to learn more about bow making and take part in future meetings to discuss bowmaking and various archery topics you can join the group on Facebook. The meeting was in conjunction with the Toronto Survivalist Meetup group, which will also have future postings by the Canadian Toxophilite Society. The April 1st meeting discussed a variety of bowmaking techniques, the bows that some of the members made, and current bowmaking projects they are working on.

March 14th 2014

A Peterborough man has been fine $1,000 and had his hunting license suspended for accidentally shooting his son with a crossbow bolt. The son is in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. The father, Dave Sager, can get his license back after a year and after retaking the hunter education training course. Dave Sager pleaded guilty to causing a firearm to be discharged without due care and attention in a Belleville court. Sager was trying to unload his crossbow when he hit the trigger, releasing the bolt which struck his son.

"How hard is it to watch where you are pointing a gun or bow?" says a forumite on oodmag.com.

"Who the heck unloads a crossbow with the bolt in it anyway?" says another forumite.

Safety first people. ALWAYS REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST.

February 18th 2014

Check out our new page Toronto Archery Camps which lists archery summer camps and day camps either in Toronto, or close to Toronto. Summer is fast approaching so if you have kids you want to learn archery, a summer camp is a great opportunity for them to learn archery, horseback riding and many other funny activities.

February 9th 2014

Archery advocate and Beamsville Ontario archery range owner Bob Mackie has died in Hamilton General Hospital of a fatal heart attack. Mackie, 60 years old, was the owner of Mackie’s Mountain Archery. Niagara region archers will sorely miss him as he was a pillar of the local archery community, a friend to church groups, schools, Boy Scouts of Canada. It is likely that his private archery range will be closed as the land is embroiled in a dispute with the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

January 8th 2014

BOWTECH has acquired Ontario crossbow manufacturer Excalibur Crossbow. BOWTECH is a leading manufacturer of archery products (especially compound bows), while Excalibur Crossbow is the best crossbow manufacturer in the world. The acquisition brings with it Excalibur's expertise, innovation and quality manufacturing and allows both companies to expand their dominance in both compound and crossbow niche markets.

"BOWTECH brings the most innovative design and technology to the compound bow category. Excalibur shares these values and its recurve crossbows are the finest in the market. Excalibur is a perfect addition to our company's product and brand portfolio," says Ron Johnson, CEO of BOWTECH.

BOWTECH was founded in 1999 and headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. BOWTECH and worldwide sells products under the BOWTECH, Diamond, Stryker, and Octane brand names.

Excalibur Crossbow is located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and was founded in 1983. Excalibur manufactures and distributes the most efficient, reliable, and accurate hunting recurve crossbows in the world.

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2013

November 22nd 2013

"Catching Fire", part 2 of "The Hunger Games" trilogy is now out in theatres and young Katniss fans are no doubt flocking to the theatres. The new film promises to have even more archery in it than the last film. Most of it happens in 3 different scenes. However we want to take a moment to mention other hot 2013 films and TV shows that also have archery in them. #1. Arrow (featuring Green Arrow from the DC Comics). #2. The Wolverine (features a Japanese archer / ninja). #3. Game of Thrones (multiple different archers). #4. The Walking Dead (Daryl uses a crossbow, but what the heck we love him anyway). #5. The Hobbit 2 - The Desolation of Smaug (featuring Legolas, Kili the dwarf, and Tauriel the female elven captain of the guard - and a love triangle between the three of them).

September 9th 2013

Do you know Gary? If you don't know, well Gary Chynne is a regular at the archery range. Here's the scoop. Gary has opened an archery equipment store at 940 Queen Street East called "Basically Bows Archery". His store is for traditional archery products only - so if you love traditional bows, wooden bows, leather armguards and all the traditional equipment then it is a great place to go to find a great selection of traditional archery equipment. See hours and contact info by visiting our archery equipment section.

August 8th 2013

Actors for new TV show "Reign" were training at the Toronto Public Archery Range today. Sadly they were having equipment problems with their longbows, but eventually they were getting the hang of it. It was a lot harder than they were expecting. Photo below.

July 19th 2013

A pregnant cat in Thorold Ontario (south of St Catherines) has survived being shot multiple times with a hand crossbow [hand crossbows are illegal in Canada]. The 6 kittens she was carrying however died. Officials at the Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines report that the pregnant cat was shot 4+ times in the abdomen with 16 cm crossbow bolts from a hand crossbow. [The X-Ray on the right shows an arrowhead still lodged in the cat's abdomen and the skeletons of the kittens inside her.]

The cat - named Cinnamon by the vet staff - was on an IV line Friday and being monitored for infection after surviving surgery. The shelter received a call Tuesday afternoon from a concerned resident who saw the injured cat with 4 crossbow bolts stuck in its abdomen. Investigators are urging anyone who knows anything about the case to contact the humane society.

Animal cruelty convictions under the Criminal Code carry either a maximum prison term of five years or a maximum fine of $10,000. Additionally, animal cruelty charges laid under the Ontario SPCA Act can lead to a fine of up to $60,000 and up to two years in jail as well as lifetime ban from owning animals.

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2012 or EARLIER

December 2nd 2010

In a rental van an Ottawa man drove to Toronto and murdered his father with a crossbow and a hammer in a Toronto library at approx. 4 PM in the afternoon on December 2nd 2010. To read more about this grisly and unusual murder read Crossbow Murder in Toronto Library.

September 30th 2010

On a hunting trip in northern Ontario near the village of Oba (north of Sault Sainte Marie) a 17-year-old Michigan girl has killed a 448-pound black bear using a compound bow from 16 yards away. While the feat of taking down a black bear is not unheard of (and quite common for bear hunters), it was certainly a new experience for high school senior Jessica Olmstead of Battle Creek Michigan.

Her father, Tim Olmstead, has been teaching others to hunt for more than 30 years and says that he's never had a student pick up the fundamentals as quickly as his daughter. Tim says his daughter eats what she hunts, including the bear. (Most hunters are strict conservationists and believe strongly in eating every animal they kill so nothing is wasted.)

July 22nd 2009

Theodore Vandervelde of Muskegon, Michigan died on July 22nd 2009. "Ted" as he was a well known bowyer and craftsman, specializing in traditional bow designs with sinew backing. His bows made from beautiful woods like cherry, osage and sassafras are now collectors items and highly valued by anyone looking for a high quality bow made using traditional techniques and materials.

Years earlier Ted did an interview with the Examiner in which he described his traditional bow making techniques, a helpful resource for anyone looking to get into traditional bow making.

July 15th 2009

What is the difference between murder and hunting?

Hunting is when you hunt something for food, you butcher the meat and you eat it. Preferably nothing goes to waste.

Murder is when you kill something for sport, for fun, and then you leave the person or animal to die. So for example if your name is Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman and you're from Kansas, and you go to Africa, kill an elephant, pose for some photos - and leave it there dead with no intention of eating it - well then that is just plain old fashioned murder. People like that should not be allowed to carry a bow, let alone a rifle, in the first place - because they are killing things for pleasure, not for food or protection.

People like that give hunting / bowhunting a bad name and they should be shunned by all ethical hunters.

Summer 2007

In 2007 Toronto Parks and Recreation decided to ban crossbows at the Toronto Archery Range due to safety concerns because crossbows are so much more powerful and have a trigger that can cause the crossbow to accidentally go off if bumped. Toronto Parks and Recreation / City Hall was actually hoping to shut down the archery range entirely, but was presented by a petition signed by over 200 local archers (including traditional archers, bowhunters and members of Canada's Olympic team) demanding that the range stay open. In order to keep the archers happy they decided to keep the range open, but decided to ban crossbows since they are considerably more deadly and have a greater potential for accidents due to the trigger mechanism. Crossbows had previously been allowed at the archery range since its opening in 1968.

The decision to ban crossbows / attempt to close the archery range was connected to a legal dispute (see details below regarding the October 2000 incident) which didn't even involve a crossbow.

October 9th 2000

On the morning of October 9th 2000, Wieslaw Galka and his good friend Patryk Stankiewicz went out to the Toronto Archery Range to do some practice. The pair were shooting poorly and having lost a number of expensive arrows during a lunch break Stankiewicz proposed an experiment whereby he would deliberately shoot an arrow over the top of the target butt while Galka stood downrange very close to the line of fire to watch where the arrow landed. Presumably, this would lead them to roughly where their lost arrows were hiding in the grass. After finishing their lunch, Galka went down range and Stankiewicz shot the arrow to conduct their experiment.

What followed however was Toronto archery history and a hefty lawsuit. Galka was hit in the eye with an arrow and suffered permanent brain damage. He sued the city and his friend for over $3 million.

Galka was taken from the range to Sunnybrook Hospital and then immediately into the operating room, where the arrow was removed under general anesthesia. Galka was left with grievous injuries including partial deafness and blindness and drastically reduced mobility, and severe brain damage. He also had severe psychiatric needs. As of 2010 he uses a cane for mobility and has limited control of his previously dominant right hand.

Galka sued his friend Stankiewicz for negligent use of a bow and arrow and sued the City of Toronto for negligent operation of the public archery range. However the court found that Stankiewicz realized it was dangerous for Galka to stand in the vicinity of where an arrow might be fired. The court found that by shooting the arrow in these circumstances, Stankiewicz negligently created an unreasonable risk of harm. The court also found that Galka knowingly placed himself in the vicinity of an oncoming arrow and thus also bore 50% responsibility for the accident. Thus, the court found that Stankiewicz and Galka were each 50% responsible for the incident.

The court dismissed the case against the City of Toronto on the grounds that the accident was so unpredictable that the City could not have been expected to foresee or prevent it. Stupidity it seems, is unforeseeable and not to be rewarded.

The Court awarded Galka $1,499,054.50. [Stankiewicz presumably declared bankruptcy. That part of the story is unknown.]

Details of the court case are available by reading Galka V. Stankiewicz, Court File #03BN8727.

Galka tried to appeal the decision in June 2011, seeking additional damages, but the appeal was dismissed.

In a continuation of this story someone in 2010 launched a civil suit saying that the archery range was unsafe. The suit however was dismissed by a judge. The range rules are posted at the entrances, users use the range at their own risk - just like they would any other time they do archery. The archery range is a far safer location for people to practice (with its rules and other archers policing each other) than people shooting in their backyards where they run a risk of shooting a neighbour by accident.

"People do self-police quite a bit, and if someone is not following rules, I think the other archers, get on their case pretty quickly," says City parks manager Bob Crump who also says the range is safe and is here to stay.

"From the perspective of certain types regulations, these are considered firearms and they really do need to be taken seriously," says local archer Tom Adams in an interview with CBC.

If you follow the rules of the range, the place is perfectly safe. Ignoring safety however, well, that is equivalent of riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

Unknown Month and Day(s) 1987

Toronto Parks added a perimeter fence around the archery range to prevent people from accidentally wandering into the archery range.

September 26 1969

The Ontario Science Centre officially opened in 1969, two years behind schedule. It was originally supposed to open in 1967 and be called the "Centennial Centre of Science and Technology", but construction delays caused the official opening to be pushed back two years. Located just north of the E. T. Seton Archery Range, both the range and the Ontario Science Centre occupy the land which was donated to the city by E. T. Seton.

Thus the archery range is arguably older than the OSC, having opened in 1968 while OSC was still under construction.

October 23rd 1946

Ernest Thompson Seton died on October 23rd 1946 and in his will he left the land which would become the E. T. Seton Park on the condition that the city maintains an archery range on the land. The archery range, in its current condition, was opened in 1968 after a petition of 800 people insisted that the city honour its commitment.