Sports BELVOIR EAGLE
B Section
and Recreation
March 2, 2017
Timeout A sports innovation Rick Musselman Sports Editor
Photo by Rick Musselman
Archers from various regions across Virginia compete in a 2017 Virginia Bowhunters Association archery tournament, Saturday at Outdoor Recreation’s Indoor Range.
Belvoir hosts state archery competition By Rick Musselman Sports Editor Nearly 30 bow hunters and competitive archers converged at Fort Belvoir’s newly renovated Indoor Archery Range to compete in a 2017 Virginia Bowhunters Association indoor sectional championship tournament, Saturday and Sunday. The event, sponsored by MWR and Outdoor Recreation, gave some of the state’s most accomplished long- and compound-bow practitioners a chance to face off against each other across several age divisions, each vying to ultimately claim the crown of state champion at the end of the year-long tournament. Belvoir Bowhunters; Bowhunters of Rockingham; Kingsboro Bowmen and Sherwood Archers are the hosting archery organizations for the 2017 state indoor sectionals. BOR is the lead club to consolidate all the results. According to Dale Bakari, Belvoir Bowhunters president, staging the competition at Belvoir marked
a special partnership between the installation’s command team and MWR, and the sportsmen and -women from all over the region who have made the archery programs so popular. “Fort Belvoir has enjoyed a national reputation for its archery program and has produced numerous national champions. This wonderful facility is the result of a joint effort by MWR staff and the Belvoir Bowhunters. We’re proud of the building and the archery program here, and believe both have a bright future,” he said. “We’ve hosted this tournament for several years and each time it’s a resounding success, in terms of participation and the support provided by the Belvoir Bowhunters and the MWR staff. I’m very proud of the long tradition and association Fort Belvoir has with the Belvoir Bowhunters and the VBA,” Bakari said. Archers competed in three rounds on Saturday and Sunday in eight age and skill divisions. Participants fired at a regulation, five-disk target
array (40 cm square) and the shooters who planted the arrowhead closest to the centers advanced to the ensuing rounds. “There will also be shoots later this year that will take advantage of our indoor ranges and I hope archers plan to spend some time here enjoying those activities,” Bakari added. George Dickson, Fort Belvoir DFMWR business operations officer; and Kristin Kinnamon, community recreation chief, attended the event on behalf of Col. Angie Holbrook, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Billie Jo Boersma. For more information about archery programs available at Belvoir, call Outdoor Recreation, 703805-3081 or visit https://belvoir. armymwr.com/us/belvoir/categories/ outdoor-recreation. To learn more about the Belvoir Bowhunters visit http://belvoirbowhunters.com. See Archery, Page B3
About a month ago, when rain and wind was battering the region with almost hurricane-like zeal, I realized I’d left my notes from a ball game in my Jeep. Looking out my office window, I kept trying to think up other things I could do without having to go out into that mess. After cleaning my desk, picking up some carpet lint and disinfecting the phone, I realized I was out of excuses, grabbed my umbrella and headed out. No sooner was I on the sidewalk that a gust of wind buffeted the compound, flipping my umbrella inside-out and nearly knocking me down. Indeed, it made it nearly impossible to keep hold of the umbrella, and even in its messed up state, it felt like it was pulling me along like a water ski towline. That’s when the gears in my head meshed and an idea was born. Somebody once said that the best ideas don’t need to be written down to remember, because the good ones stay with you, returning to your thoughts over and over again in random yet cyclic repetitions. Well, with that in mind, this one must have been grand because it stayed with me all day long and I spent my entire commute home working out the particulars. What I envisioned was Umbrella Boarding—standing on a skateboard with an open umbrella, eliminating the need to ever put shoe to asphalt. Now, I figured I’d need not just an ordinary umbrella, but one of those giant golf varieties (although I still can’t grasp how you play golf holding one) and, as it happens, I’d picked one up on sale at a hardware store a few years ago and had yet to find a use for it. Of course, by the time I got home the wind had slackened, and after several ensuing days of deadcalm conditions, the idea went temporarily out of my head. Still, I remain committed to this project; I just hope I don’t have the luck I had the day I saw Mary Poppins and then tried to use an umbrella to float off my dad’s tool shed roof.