Archery Tournament Right on Target

Competitors practice before they hit the course.

Competitors take aim during a practice shoot out before hitting the course at last Saturday’s tournament in Kalae.

By Andres Madueno

Robin Hood has got nothing on the archers from Molokai. Clear skies and a gentle breeze made for great conditions at last Thursday’s annual Molokai Archery Club Tournament.

This is the 10th year the Molokai Archery Club has hosted the Archery Tournament held in Kalae. About 30 archers from Oahu, Maui, and Molokai were out and about making last minute adjustments to ensure that their bows were tip top for the tournament.

Toni Takabayashi from the Kapolei High School Archery Club was calm and collected as she was gearing up for her first tournament here on Molokai.

Takabayashi, who has been practicing archery for the past three years, was using a compound bow.

“I like getting out to tournaments because I don’t really have time to practice at home cause I have a job,” said Takabayashi. She ended up taking first place in the young adults bow hunter female heat.
 
A double blast from the horn of a red Toyota Tacoma signaled the beginning of the competition. The archers were in the bush from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. competing for the highly coveted Molokai archery tournament 1st place trophy. 

Brian Tachibana, a Molokai local and member of the Molokai archery club, was one of this year’s event coordinators.. 

“I’ve been practicing archery for about six years now,” said Tachibana. He is a bow hunter free style, which means the sky is the limit to how many accessories he can use on his bow. 
 
As the archers returned from the course smiles and congrats were going around.  But the tournament festivities were not over. 

A tie for first place resulted in a shoot off between Leslie Tomokiyo and Lance Yoshimura. It was an excellent display of marksman ship. Both Tomokiyo and Yoshimura hit the bull’s eye, but Tomokiyo edged out Yoshimura by about 2 cm to claim first place. 

There were no hard feelings, just smiles and pats on the back. “He’s the man,” said Yoshimura, “he did a great job.”
 
As each trophy was handed out a rousing cheer went out for each competitor who received one. Even though there were people from other islands the feeling of `ohana and aloha was in the air. Congrats to all the participants who received trophies and a good job to all who participated.