One Step Closer
by Trelaina Borges

It all began nearly two and a half years ago on January 8^th 2003. My best friend’s mom found out about an archery program for youth, the Nevada County JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) program ran by Claudia Stevenson. My brother and my friend were going to try it out, but I had no interest in learning archery. I decided to tag along and watch anyway. As we pulled into the Nevada County Sportsmen’s Club on the chilly afternoon, I saw large of number kids there to shoot, I was amazed. My friend and her older sister talked me into trying it out just this one time, so that’s what I did. I introduced myself to Claudia and she got me set up with a bow and arrows. After I shot my first arrow I turned around and said “I’m coming back next week!” I hadn’t realized what kind of sport archery really is, I had almost passed up the chance to try it. There is so much more to archery than just shooting arrows. It is a lot of fun. Archery challenges me and I enjoy challenges.

After shooting for about six months in the JOAD program with Claudia and the other coaches, an advanced program Coached by Charley Washburn and Steve Ross started up, and I was invited to join. That program is now known as the Nevada County Gold Archery Team. We are a youth team that consists of eight members ranging in ages 11 to 17. Shortly after beginning the advanced program, I switched from a right handed bow to a left handed one because of eye dominance. The transition was not easy to make, it took me a while to get used to shooting left handed, but the change was worth it.

My first archery competition was the Pacific Coast Championships in September of 2003. The Pacific Coast Championships is a FITA. Depending on your age and what style you shoot depends on what division you compete in. Recurve and compound shooters do not shoot against each other and neither do men and women. In FITA competitions you shoot four different distances over a period of two days, thirty six arrows are shot at each distance with a possible score of ten points an arrow. The total possible score in a FITA is 1440. I shot as a Cub; my distances were 50m, 40m, 30m and 20m. I was really nervous at the tournament and Charley had to talk me into shooting the first arrow. But once it was over I was sad. The tournament was really fun; I shot a 1027, which for the first FITA I ever competed in was a pretty good score. I didn’t place, but I wasn’t worried about that very much. It was just the beginning. 

At the Grapestakes tournament in September of the following year, I shot an 1153 and broke two state records. Shooting as a Cadet now, my distances are 60m, 50m, 40m and 30m. Later that month I competed in the Pacific Coast Championships again. I placed 1^st with an 1195 and broke the three records I originally broke at the Grapestakes tournament. In the winter months we shoot indoors because it’s too cold and rainy to shoot outside. For indoor season I shot in a JOAD league and an adult league at Wilderness Archery. NAA (National Archery Association) indoor competitions have a possible of 1200 points and JOAD have a possible of 600 points. In January I competed in the California state JOAD and NAA indoor competitions. In the JOAD tournament I shot a score of 548 and in the NAA tournament I shot a score of 1084. I placed 1^st in both competitions and broke all the state records. I was so excited! Then in March I competed in my first national competitions, NAA and JOAD indoor nationals in Salt Lake City, Utah. NAA and JOAD indoor national competitions are held in many different locations around the United States. The final results do not get in until all the locations are shot. In the JOAD tournament I shot a score of 543, six points less than what I shot in the state JOAD. I shot the highest score out of everyone in my division that shot it Salt Lake City, but I still had no idea what kind of scores everyone else was shooting. In the NAA competition I shot a score of 1081; three points less than the score that I shot at the state NAA indoor. I wasn’t sure how I was placed out of everyone in Salt Lake City because one girl, Amanda Pruvis, was seven points ahead of me after the first day. I wasn’t surprised and I hadn’t shot as good as I could have. After I got back home on Monday morning, the first thing I did was got on the internet and checked the standings. I wasn’t nervous shooting, it was after I had finished and I knew that I could have done better that really made me nervous. First I checked the Salt Lake City results; I had shot the best out of Salt Lake! That was really reassuring for me. I finished looking at all the results that were posted and I was in 1^st for JOAD and 2^nd for NAA. A girl named Maggie O’Conner had shot 19 points higher than me in the NAA tournament, but I shot a higher score than her in the JOAD tournament. After all of the results were posted from all the locations, I finished 2^nd in the NAA tournament and the 543 I had shot in the JOAD tournament was just enough to win me my very first national championship! It was such a feeling of accomplishment, but that’s not all it gave me; it gave me confidence that I really can do it.

Outdoor season is just now getting started again. A few weeks ago I went to a state ranking FITA tournament, The Cotton Boll. I shot a 1256 and broke all five state records and placed 1st. Competing against and shooting a higher score than Junior USAT (United State Archery Team) member, Barbie Cyin who finished 2^nd place in the Cotton Boll. The next weekend I shot in Redding in the NFAA 3-D Marked National Championships. The weather the first day was wonderful, but on Sunday it poured down rain all day long. My fingers were so numb I didn’t think that I could finish shooting. But somehow my fingers survived and I finished the competition with a 1258 out of a possible score of 1540. One of the targets was a fifteen foot tall Bigfoot target from 101 yards. Charley helped me figure out were to aim to be able to hopefully hit it, so I gave it a try, I aimed at a branch on an oak tree about a Bigfoot and a half above his head. Both my arrows hit the target. I placed 1^st, but I didn’t have any competition. I did shoot a higher score than the 1^st place Freestyle Limited Female shooter shot. That was good enough for me. I got another national championship!

The following weekend I shot in a Sacramento Club FITA shoot and shot the adult distances. Female adults shoot 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m. I shot my Olympian score out at 70m. There are a total of eleven achievements. The last three are Olympian, Silver Olympian and Gold Olympian. I’ve been trying to shoot my Olympian score for almost a year now. Once you receive the Olympian, you are eligible to make the Jr. USAT team and eligible to attend an advanced training camp at the Olympic training center. I also will receive a jacket for achieving my Olympian rank. 

In March I began shooting my new sponsors bow, a Sky bow with Sky Conquest limbs. The sponsorship came to me with Charley’s help. I really like shooting with the bow and I am doing great with it. I own thirteen California state records, two California state championships and two national championships. Archery has taught me more than I am able to explain in the wonderful two years I have been in this sport. It has given me self confidence, taught me how to focus, relax and concentrate under pressure. When I shoot my worries seam to go away, they have to because if I have anything else on my mind I will not shoot my best.

Archery has become more than just a sport for me; it is one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I have a lot of goals with archery in the next few years. Just a few of them are to make the Jr. USAT and world team, win JOAD and NAA indoor and outdoor nationals, win JOAD and NAA state indoor and outdoor, break all the national and state records, and make the 2008 Olympic team. 

When I was in Las Vegas for the World Archery Festival, I watched Jenny Nichols, Vic Wunderle, and Butch Johnson shoot. Each one of them is a champion archer, and each of them were completely different to watch shoot. I really enjoyed the experience, and learned a lot from them. Jenny’s shots were all so smooth and each shot looked exactly the same as the one before. Her form was flawless as far as I could see. I’ll get there. From watching Vic shoot I learned that it is really okay to let down when the shot does not feel perfect. He would let down on lots of shots, I had never realized how important it was to let down if the shot did not feel right. Watching Butch shoot really surprised me. He shot so well, but I noticed something different about his form, his elbow was extremely high throughout this shot. I would have called that a form flaw, but he has shot great like that for many years. Watching those archers helped me to prepare myself for the JOAD and NAA indoor nationals. Each shot that did not feel perfect, I would simply let down and begin again. It is really amazing what I have learned just from watching other champion archers. One of the biggest lessons I have learned, I unfortunately learned from experience. I learned that the less socializing I do the better I shoot. When I sit alone and focus on shooting and nothing else, is when I really shoot my absolute best.

I didn’t come into this thinking I was ever going to be really good at it, two years ago I had never even dreamt of being a national champion. Now I have a goal to beat the Korean women in the Olympics and stand on the very top of the podium with the Olympic gold medal around my neck. I want to be a champion archer, not only a state and national champion; I want to be a world champion, an Olympic champion. I am only fifteen years old, but great things are coming my way at a fast pace. I have to give up other things to have the time for archery and it is hard sometimes to pick and choose when you want both. Archery has changed my life. Most of the change has been good but along with the good came some bad too. Most of my weekends are spent at archery competitions or practicing. It has taken away from my other hobbies. If I really want to be a champion, archery is going to have to take time away from other things I like to do. I have to make the choice though. It’s a part of growing up, I just need to get used to it. Choices are a part of life. And I have grown to have a passion at wanting to be a champion archer.

I have had a lot of help in the last two years from many people. I could have never come all this way on my own and I am very thankful for all the support and help that has been given to me from many different people. My parents have always supported me in archery; they drive me to tournaments and practice, they spend time traveling with me to different state and national tournaments. My parents are my main help, without them I would never be able to do this. I am very thankful that they are as supportive as they are. Second to my mom and dad, Charley has been incredibly supportive, encouraging and helpful. He goes out of his way to help me become a better archer. Charley has spent hours and hours helping me to achieve my goals and dreams which are now coming true. In Las Vegas at the World Archery Festival, Charley watched the team shoot instead of shooting himself. Without Charley, I could have never come this far and would have never gotten to do the things that I have been lucky enough to have done. There are no words that can express how thankful I am for all the people who have been there for me, helped me, supported me, and had confidence in me the whole time I’ve been doing this. I will be there, in the Olympics, shooting against the best archers in the world. With each arrow, each competition, each championship; I become one step closer.