Locked and loaded: DLSU Archery Club sets target for the future

The Green Archer has served as De La Salle University’s representative for its varsity teams since time immemorial. More commonly associated with the school’s ever so popular basketball team, the Green Archer has gained fame and has become synonymous to success, being the standard bearer of a very strong sports program.

It is rather ironic that despite the famous moniker, archery is one of the lesser followed sports in DLSU. In this article, The LaSallian will be taking a peek at the University’s real-life Green Archers, the Archery Club, and see what they’ve been up to as of recent.

Life as a club

With the UAAP not hosting any archery tournaments, La Salle’s resident sharpshooters were left as a club team rather than a varsity team. This caused the Office of Sports Development (OSD) to give them less priority in terms of funding, which was a problem back then.

“Before, yung OSD, yung priorities nila more on the varsity teams. But maybe they realized na kahit club lang pala, they can still produce athletes that can compete sa national and international levels,” Archery Club president Jeconiah Barrenechea said on their club’s increasing support.

Last October, the club participated in the annual recruitment of sports clubs at the Henry Sy Grounds. There, they were able to sign up a lot of prospective recruits, reaching over 100 applicants. All of the applicants were required to attend an Archery 101 orientation that the club hosted, wherein they taught the basic forms of holding a bow and arrow, as well as the handling
of equipment.

For those truly interested in learning the sport, they will have to undergo a training program.

“We have a mentoring program; it’s one on one. It’s where we teach you archery and we monitor your progress. All you have to do is go to the practice range [2nd floor of the Enrique Razon Sports Complex], you don’t have to own a bow. Just go here on your free time and meet your mentor, who’s also a student. The program runs for eight sessions,” Barrenchea said, adding that the program has been running for three years now and has produced several
competitive archers.

The club doesn’t have a coach, but they do have a club advisor in Dr. Eric Punzalan, who’s currently a professor under the chemistry department. Alumni members visit the club from time to time to give tips to the present crop of regulars and trainees.

Good track record

Despite having no league to call home, the club has been very active in several different archery competitions throughout the country. Whether they join as a team from La Salle or as individuals, they have already reaped several awards, making the school proud.

Every year, La Salle’s archers participate in an annual contest known as the Tri-league. Here, they face sharpshooters from UP and Ateneo in a battle of skill and accuracy.

“Sa Tri-league, we were champions for four consecutive years,” the president added.

In addition, selected archers from their stable have joined big competitions such as the National Games, wherein a good performance could possibly translate into a National team stint. Several alumni have already made their marks in the prestigious tournament, some of which have already competed and won awards in the international circuit.

Future legacy

Looking forward, the Archery club will be busy in the coming days. The Tri-games will be held this coming December, meaning the team has to double their practices to reassert themselves as the tournament’s best team since the last two contests were won by Ateneo.

With the bow and arrow’s growing presence, they also plan on gathering archers from different UAAP schools in hopes of petitioning archery as an official sport for the country’s premier collegiate league.

“Since may archers na from UP, may archers na from La Salle and Ateneo, we’re looking for some archers in UST and Adamson so we can formalize yung request for Archery to be part of the UAAP,” Barrenchea, who hopes that its approval can help develop the sport in the country, said.

One development in particular that the club looks most forward to is the building of an archery range in the sixth floor of the Razon building.

“It’s on the planning stage palang, pero hopefully by December or January, mangyari na siya. As you can see, our current range is small and can’t handle that many people. Pag nagawa na yun [archery range], it can help us out.”

Barrenchea is happy that these developments are taking place, and while he may no longer be in school by the time these projects reach completion, he hopes that the future members of the club will benefit fully from the changes.

“I hope that the archery team will continue until hopefully magka-anak ako that will study here in La Salle and become part of the team also,” he said.