On the mark: CFB Halifax Archery Club restarts

S3 Kate Briand (left) looks on as S3 Noah Locke gets ready to fire his arrow during a trial shoot night for the newly re-formed CFB Halifax Archery Club. Photo: Joanie Veitch, Trident Staff.

Joanie Veitch
Trident Newspaper

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After a hiatus of more than eight years, the CFB Halifax Archery Club is back on the shooting range.

Officially starting up again on April 1, the recently re-formed club has been running trial shoots over the last few months in the drill hall at S-120, the Consolidated Seamanship Training Facility at Stadacona, with new and returning members from the former club participating.

Judging by the amount of traffic on the club’s Facebook page — Front Line Archers — the resurrection of the club has generated a lot of interest, says CPO2 Ian Smith, one of the organizers and a member of the club’s executive board.

“We currently have 66 members on Front Line Archers. Many have been keenly following the club’s progression over the past two years. Many of those members have been out for our trial shoots and the feedback has been positive.” 

From the early 1990s until 2014, when the former drill hall was demolished, the CFB Halifax Archery Club was a popular and competitive club.  The club was originally formed to give military families an activity they could do together on base. Some members of the club went on to compete at an elite level.

Despite the years of resounding success, as some of the key organizing members got posted away from Halifax, the original CFB Halifax Archery Club began to lose some momentum.

Then the club’s home, the old drill shed, was deemed unsafe to use and that became the final arrow in the club.

Equipment was stored in a shed beside the Naval Museum of Halifax at Stadacona, and that’s where it sat until a few people began tossing around the idea of restarting the club.

“CPO2 Sebastien Rose and Sgt Steve Muirgatroyd (Retired) had the idea to restart it. Sebastien assembled a group of volunteers to fill specific positions within the club and we all started working to make it happen,” says CPO2 Smith.

An executive board came together last year to organize the club and although COVID-19 pandemic caused delays, plans to restart gained momentum last fall. CPO2 Smith credits CFB Halifax Leadership and Personnel Support Programs for their “outstanding” support along the way.

Anyone interested in purchasing a club membership can visit the Fleet Gym or call the front desk at 902-427-3524 between the hours of 0900-1500 (Mon-Fri).