Birnamwood Bowhunters conclude 2021 youth league

The Birnamwood Bowhunters concluded their eight-week youth league on March 11.

“This has been a good league for the kids,” said Rich Olson, member of the Birnamwood Bowhunters and representative of the Wittenberg-Birnamwood school board. “It is good for the kids to get out of the house and learn about archery skills and safety.”

The Birnamwood Bowhunters started in 1949. They are member funded and have received a lot of donations to make the club what it is today. The club meets once a month. The youth indoor league takes place at the Birnamwood Bowhunters club house, N9193 Trout Lane in Birnamwood.

The Birnamwood Bowhunters have placed an emphasis with the youth league on teaching children the basics of archery, as well as safety.

“This league is set up, so we can raise the next generation of ethical and responsible archers,” Olson said.

The club and youth league ran into a problem this past year though with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We didn’t get to attend our monthly meetings,” Olson said. “We were not able to spend a lot of time with the youth either.”

The club was able to work out a solution to get the youth league started again in 2021. The club enacted a signup schedule where students were able to put their names down on a time slot and come in at that scheduled time. This avoided the possibility that too many children and family members would gather at the club house at once. Rules were also set in place that everyone in the building was to wear a face mask as well as socially distance. Only three shooters were allowed to shoot at once, rather than the normal five.

“We were able to develop a signup sheet, where the youth and their families could come in at a time that works for them,” said Olson. “It has been pretty successful, as we can get the kids practicing without having a group of 20 all together waiting.”

With the challenges that the pandemic presented, the members of the Birmanwood Bowhunters found a silver lining.

“Because people were scheduled to come in at different times, this gave us the opportunity to devote more time with each child and help them develop their skills individually,” Olson said.

Olson believes that it is important for the youth to have access to this league because it doesn’t only teach them about safety and responsibility when handling bows, but also allows them to spend time outside of the house with each other.

“This youth league is good for the kids to get out and be active instead of staying inside and looking at a screen,” he said.

The league welcomes any youth to join and learn, Olson said.

“If you don’t have an interest in sports, or you don’t have an interest in the fine arts, this is a place where kids can come,” he said.

This league also teaches youth how to be respectful towards one another. In this league, not everyone is on the same level or at the same skill set, so teaching respect is a priority for Olson and the Birnamwood Bowhunters. Due to the differing skill sets and ages within the league, some of the youth have acted as mentors for each other. Olson and the club let the youth know that everyone can shoot at their own pace, rather than rush.

“People come in at different levels in their bow abilities,” Olson said. “We want the kids to go at their own pace, rather than have everyone shooting as fast as they can.”

During a normal season, the Birnamwood Bowhunters expect to see 40-50 kids involved in the league. With the pandemic this year, that number was cut down to 16. Olson hopes, as the pandemic slows and eventually ends, that more youth from the greater Wittenberg-Birnamwood area will get involved with the club.