How It All Started

For many years, Dad had been encouraging me and my siblings to specialize in Archery as a sport but none of us kids was interested. Maybe because we don't see a lot of kids our age playing Archery. I enjoyed playing volleyball and soccer football. In fact, I played volleyball to represent my school in the Palarong Panlunsod. I play well and was happy about the sports that I am into. During summer breaks, I would enroll in volleyball and soccer football clinics to improve my craft.

 

Maybe, another reason why weren't sooo interested with Archery is because we never know of any friends and acquaintances in Cebu who play Archery. I'm sure there are people who play around because I see the Archery target butt at Cebu City Science High School where my older sister Gabrielle used to go to school to. I also see target butts at the Aboitiz Land along the Reclamation Road.

I knew that my dad used to play Archery during his younger days and dreamed to be a champion archer one day but that dream was elusive. He told us that his parents could not afford to get him a bow and arrow set and so he would just borrow the set of his parents' friends. Yes, he has competed in the Palaro on a borrowed Archery set. Obviously, with no personal set of bow and arrows to practice regularly, he never won in any competition. Poor dad! But knowing my dad, he would have been a champion if he had a set, even just an ordinary, simple Archery set.

When Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games was shown early this year, I watched it and started to have an interest with Archery. It was the character of Katniss Everdeen that struck me. She was the female tribute from District 12 who volunteered in place of her sister Primrose for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. She is the main character of the story. Katniss was close to her father and spent time hunting with him in the woods. There, he taught her about hunting, nature, and how to use a bow and arrow. While watching the movie, I kept on telling myself that I wanted to take up Archery and be able to shoot sharply like her.

The Hunger Games movie made me to think about Archery so often. Little did I know that everyone else in the family was thinking along the same line. Every time we remember the movie, whether at home or together in the car, or while being caught in a traffic jam in our going to and from our schools, the topic of dad's follow up about Archery always surfaces up. Mom, being a pistol sharpshooter herself, was also interested for us to learn the sports. She then started to ask around. Tito Wyndell Tapare, her Clerk of Court recommended us to his friend, Dondon Sombrio. Mom was able to talk to Tito Dondon and we were supposed to start training during the 2012 summer vacation.

Alas, there was a change in Dad's plan. He initially planned to move to Malaysia but suddenly decided to extend his work in Saudi Arabia. So within two days, we saw ourselves packing our luggage for the Jeddah trip. My Ate Gabrielle who just arrived from Memphis, Tennessee, USA was not even able to totally shake off her jetlag yet when we had to leave. Mom was not able to travel with us as she was also leaving for London, UK to attend the conference of the International Association of Women Judges.

I thought the topic on Archery was momentarily closed. But when Mom dropped by in Jeddah from London,they discussed with dad that I will start my Archery lessons as soon as we go back to Cebu.

In my next post, how we found the Cebu Archery Club.