Issue43 by The New Hampshire (TNH)

The New Hampshire

Friday, April 9, 2010

Unknown UNH Archery Team hits N.C. GOP wants national the mark at National Tournament party head Steele to quit John Terra

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The UNH archery team did exceptionally well in the Nationals competition in March. The team sent four archers to the event, which was held in Andover, M.A. Approximately 500 students attended the event. Two students made their first appearance at nationals, while the other two were returning for their second time. The event was separated into two rounds, with each round then being separated into ends. An end is a specified number of arrows that are shot in a competition before a score is counted. In this event, there were either 12 ends of five arrows, or 20 ends of three arrows. Each arrow was worth up to 10 points depending on where it hit on the target. Pat O’Brien, one of the team’s coaches, explained the competition of archery, distinguishing between the three types of bows. “Longbows are pretty difficult to adjust so they are most like the old-style bows. Recurves are similar to the longbows but are shorter and have curved tips,” O’Brien said. “The final type of bow,” O’Brien said, “is the Composite bows are specially designed to

store energy. They require the most strength to pull back, but once you reach a certain point, it becomes easier to hold and aim, meaning less stress on the arms.” Joe Wilkin and Seth Tremblay, members of the UNH archery team, appeared at Nationals for their first time, and competed in the Men’s College Compound event. Wilkin placed 36th in the event with a score of 1106 out of a possible 1200, and Tremblay placed 49th with a score of 1082, also out of 1200 Richard Berthiaume, a sophomore, competed in two different events, the Men’s College Recurve, and the Men’s Basic Bow. In the Recurve competition, Berthiaume finished 98th, where he shot a 601. In the Basic Bow, however, was where Berthiaume flourished, coming in first with a score of 601. Berthiaume attributes much of his success to the team’s goodhearted nature. “Everyone here frequently jokes around with one anther, especially about me,” he said. “This is a very lighthearted environment.” Even though these men and woman went to a national competition, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have been archers for long. Heather Jackman, a junior and one of the captains, competed

for her second time this year and finished in 70th place with a score of 576. Jackman said she only started playing archery in her high school gym class, but loves the social aspect of UNH’s team. “Everyone here is very sociable, so be prepared to be talked to a lot,” she said. Carla Companion, the head coach of the team, acknowledges the fact that many people are not aware that UNH even has an archery team. “It’s a shame that people don’t know much about the team,” said Companion. “These kids try hard and they don’t get the recognition they deserve.” The team is only 10-years-old. It was originally started in the 1940’s, but was disbanded during the World War II. The team was revitalized at the beginning of the millennium, but is still in the process of trying to gain membership and attention. “It’s great to see new people, even if they stop by just to try it out once,” said O’Brien. The team currently only has around 35 members, but is continuing to grow slowly. “We got some more members when the Lord of the Rings movies were still in theaters,” said Companion. “People wanted to be just like Legolas.”

Gary D. Robertson ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH, N.C.— The head of the North Carolina Republican Party asked Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to step down Thursday, saying the resignation is the only way to end scrutiny of the national party over lavish spending. A day earlier, national party leaders had a conference call with Steele but didn’t bring up the prospect of his resignation — seen as a positive sign for the embattled national chairman. North Carolina’s Tom Fetzer is the first state party chairman to call for Steele’s resignation, a spokesman for Fetzer said. Fetzer said the move would ensure Republicans maximize gains during the mid-term elections. “I believe that the best service you can render to your party at this critical juncture is to graciously step aside and allow the party to move on

from this current quagmire,” Fetzer wrote in a letter to Steele. Steele, who has been a lightning rod for criticism since taking the job last year, has come under renewed scrutiny recently after the committee paid a nearly $2,000 bill at a sexthemed nightclub in Los Angeles. The RNC fired a staffer it blamed for the outing. Also this week, Steele accepted the resignation of his chief of staff and allowed one of his senior advisers to leave in an attempt to reassure GOP donors upset about his leadership. Fetzer, a former mayor of Raleigh, said local activists have been upset in North Carolina over the past few weeks about Steele’s leadership. He told Steele he should step down because “recent events, regardless of who is to blame, have made it difficult if not impossible for you to lead the party in the direction that it needs to go.”

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