ASA Illinois championship Archery Tournament June 23-28
Archers from all around will descend upon the Mermet Fish and Wildlife Area in Massac County June 22-28 for two annual archery tournaments. The entire family is welcome to watch the competition shooting and talk to vendors. The events run back to back so archers can easily participate in both tournaments.
Things will start flying June 23-25 with the annual Superman Classic Archery Tournament, which is sponsored by the Metropolis Area Tourism Commission.Shooters will be categorized on their Archery Shooter’s Association (ASA) class and will be shooting only against this class. Should there only be one entry in a class, that shooter will be assigned to compete in a “like” class. The pay out structure will be similar to that of the ASA organization.
The Matthews Solocam ASA Illinois Pro/Am Championships will be held June 26-28. The 3-D archery shoot showcases some of the world’s best modern archers — over 1200 of them in fact, including top professional archers — competing for tens of thousands of dollars in prize money. The shoot will include professional and amateur divisions for men and women, as well as a youth division.
Targets are life-sized, life-like, three-dimensional, foam animal targets representing North American game species. Targets include deer, turkey, coyote, bear and other legal game species. The animal-shaped targets are arranged in the woods in realistic settings, at unknown distances, and shooters get only one shot per target. Visitors are encouraged to bring binoculars to check out the accuracy of the archers.
Practice facilities for the Pro/Am shoot open on Thursday and competition begins on Friday. The action kicks into high gear on Saturday with professional and amateur classes compete. The competition wraps up on Sunday.
Spectators are admitted to the week-long event for free. In addition to the competition, much of which takes place in the woods, the shoot will offer an area where vendors set up tents with displays and archery items for sale. Food and drink vendors will also be available.
The Mermet shoot is one of six ASA championship meets leading up to the national championship in August. Participants in this event will be aiming for points to qualify for the world championship.
The 2009 event will be the 13th hosted at Mermet Lake Conservation Area. An Illinois Department of Natural Resources site, Mermet Lake is located on U.S. Hwy. 45, 11 miles north of Metropolis.
