Shooting arrows to let off steam

By Ryan Percy

Windsor residents are experiencing the thrill of one of humanity’s oldest forms of combat first hand: archery.

A section of the Central Parks Athletics facility, past the batting cages, becomes a battlefield as teams face off in a contest looking like something out of a medieval action movie. Shield-wielding medics rush through a torrent of soft-tipped arrows to revive their teammates. By the end, most are out of breath and all are sweating.

Archery Mayhem is the idea of self-admitted geek Samer Toukan, 29. After experiencing similar combat archery events in Toronto and Montreal he said he wanted to bring the sport to Windsor. The location opened May 2018 and soon expanded out to a second location in Livonia, Michigan. Toukan said the goal is to elevate combat archery as a sport.

“What I’m trying to do is expand the sport of archery,” Toukan said. “It’s something humans have done for thousands and thousands of years, it’s a great activity, a great stress reliever. Kids these days will play it in games, like I did, but will never experience it in real life and so I want to bring the thrill and experience to them.”

At the Windsor location, up to 40 individuals can take the field to compete in both team based and free-for-all game modes. They are given bows, protective helmets, soft arrows and even forearm guards. The bows come in different levels of draw strength and allow anyone age 10 and up to take part, though under 18 need a guardian present to sign a waiver.

Nicole Jones, 27, came to the public event to celebrate a friend’s birthday by trying something new. She said as someone inexperienced in archery she still had a fun time.

“I was worried it was going to hurt more to be honest,” said Jones. “I’ve never shot a bow before, but it was kind of easier than I expected. It was really fun.”

If you are interested in taking up a bow and trying out combat archery yourself, you can reach out to Archery Mayhem through their website to set up an appointment.

With a number of different combat archery venues across Canada, Toukan said the future holds a possible formation of a national combat archery league to regulate rules and promote the sport. He also said his dream is to see combat archery on a sports broadcast network.