by Paul Davison
Way Back When Whatever Happened to the Polar Bear Open?
J
ake Veit is a genuine, certified, archery nut. I first met Jake nearly forty years ago when we both lived in District 5 of the Ohio Archers. There were about nine active archery clubs in District 5, and once a month, all year ‘round, Visit
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“NFAA and WAF news for all archers” 38 Archery Magazine February / March 2008
we’d meet at different clubs for an “invitational” shoot. These invitationals were always outside, and generally consisted of NFAA field, hunter and (2D) animal rounds, depending on the time of year. During the wintertime, we also played archery golf. Jake and I both live in the Atlanta area now ... about 8 miles apart. Jake’s job took him from Ohio to Idaho to Arizona to Georgia, while my job took me from Ohio to Georgia in one step. Our surprise “reunion” took place at an annual state archery meeting in 1985. Jake was more active in archery than I during this transition period. He was the Idaho State Secretary, as well as one of the three finalists for the NFAA Executive Secretary job in 1980. Jake was also Chairman of the NFAA Certified Instructor Committee while living in Idaho. Since moving to Georgia, he
has personally built, moved, and/or rebuilt more outdoor and indoor archery ranges; and directed more tournaments, than probably any other person in the country. Jake recently gave me a DVD he made from an old 8mm home movie he shot back in Ohio during the 1970’s. It showed a little bit of all kinds of archery activities; including field, target, indoor, archery golf, and Jake’s passion: teaching archery to kids. This movie brought back a lot of memories ... especially with regard to shooting outdoors in the winter. Field archery in belowfreezing weather on a snowcovered range was particularly challenging. My home range had flush brick yardage markers, and trying to locate the markers beneath six inches of snow was very tiring ... especially when shooting a Hunter or Animal Round with their odd yardages
and numerous walk-ups. Have you ever shot an arrow into a frozen excelsior butt? It’s a real challenge to pull the arrow out. The heat of friction when the arrow enters the butt will melt the ice around the shaft, but by the time you get to the target, it will re-freeze to the excelsior. More often than not, a chunk of frozen wood shavings would still be attached to an extracted arrow. When we shot an Animal Round in the winter, I would sometimes mount blunt tips on my big-shafted arrows. The blunts wouldn’t penetrate too deeply, but they sure made a mess of the animal target faces. There was also the rodent problem. The little critters had a habit of making their nest in the shot-out cavity right behind the bullseye. Have you ever pulled a bloody arrow out of the 5-spot? I have. Jake’s old movie also showed us “playing” archery golf in the winter. [See Feb/Mar 2003 Nostalgia Corner for complete description.] In Ohio, nearly all golf courses were closed for the winter, but a couple of lowbudget, public courses would let us set up an archery golf layout (as well as use their warm clubhouse) for a small fee. We also had access to two cluboperated, stand-alone, archery golf courses in central Ohio. We golfed in some really miserable
weather, but never regretted it for a minute. Insulated boots and watch caps with hoods were standard. To keep our shooting fingers from getting numb, most of us had a shearlinglined pouch attached to our belt, with either a solid or liquid fueled hand-warmer inside. We couldn’t wear puffy goosedown jackets because of the bowstring clearance problem. No wimps allowed here! On one of the coldest days I remember shooting outdoors, I backed into winning the Open Division of the State Archery Golf Championship. It was on February 24, 1974, near Bowling Green in northwest Ohio — an area known for its flat land and high winds. I was fortunate to get my round completed in the morning ... a few minutes before the wind chill hit about 0° F. The three favorites, all from the same central Ohio archery golf club, unselfishly “retired” before completing their round because one teammate showed signs of hyperthermia. Although I shot one of my best rounds, I still feel that the championship was somewhat tainted. Another outdoor winter archery game is Ski-Arc, which combines cross-country skiing and archery. It is similar to the Olympic Biathlon except for bow and arrow instead of rifle. Ski-Arc is an official FITA
“discipline,” but it is rarely played in the United States, except possibly as an event in the Utah Winter Games. Although there may be a few “Polar Bear Open” tournaments today, I haven’t heard of any ... even in the moderately cool Mid-South. Please, somebody out there tell me I’m wrong!
Archery Magazine February / March 2008 39