‘The Barn’ and John's Archery – A YEAR IN REVIEW
WOW! The Barn’s grand opening was 7 months ago. It seems like yesterday. Time flies.
But first things first:
All the brainstorming started with a vision. A meeting took place ‘out in the boonies’ a little over a year ago. A handful of people planned quite a project – one of a kind – and things took their course…
The object of desire was building an archery place to shoot during bad weather and winter time. Basically a gravel pit, a roof and a wood stove. That was the initial concept, easy peasy. Then, everything went almost by itself. Piece by piece fell into its place, and an idea from years ago became true in 2022. All went smoothly and well.
‘The Barn’ and with it ‘Barn Archers’ were born. Not only this but also John’s Archery came to life. More about that later.
The construction of the building was finished in early 2022. The whole interior was done by ourselves with the help of friends, including installing a kitchenette, WiFi for all in the building, an office, the composting toilet, an electronic access system, and so much more. After a lot of research, an online booking system was found, installed and finally went online.
The Barn became home to twenty 3D animals from the Rinehart Signature/Competition series, five archery range butts and three more movable archery butts for the purpose of training and coaching.
The Shop:
In January 2022, Phil Nelson retired. Phil was for decades the first (and only) address to go for traditional archery equipment, gear, service, and advice. He operated his shop by appointment only in Halifax, Eastern Passage. John Cann and his wife Karen took over his inventory the same month. John’s Archery was born.
Turned out, Barn Archers and John’s Archery were and still are a perfect fit. John, who is also an Archery Canada certified coach, is in charge of all the coaching, lessons, archery equipment and gear. Not only for The Barn, but his shop is also specialized in traditional archery equipment only and continues to run the business in Phil’s spirit.
The Grand Opening:
On Saturday, May 21, 2022, The Barn and John’s Archery welcomed the first guests and celebrated the Grand Opening. It was a great event, not to mention Janice’s fabulous designer cake. OMG! Thanks to everyone for making this dream come true.
A short overview 2022:
• The Barn was mentioned in the Cape Breton Post, was on CBC radio and CBC TV (all to find on our website/news).
• Members of ‘The Barn’ and John’s Archery went to different tournaments (local and provincial) to support this beautiful sport and the associated clubs.
• We had three Open Houses on September 17th, October 29th and on December 3rd. All three were very well attended.
• A Halloween shot took place on October 29th for members and friends.
• A Community Welcome Event in Marion Bridge took place on Saturday, November 5th, 2022. ‘Barn Archers’ and John’s Archery Shop attended.
A nice booth was set up to show what traditional archery is about.
• A Christmas celebration and award ceremony for members happened on December 3rd.
• So far John coached 100+ new archers and many more coaching/lessons and equipment tuning and repairs.
• In December 2022, ‘Barn Archers’ counted more than 40 members in total (Barn Insiders and Barn Friends).
Overall it was a fantastic first year (only 7 months) for ‘The Barn’ and John’s Archery.
What’s new and planned for 2023?
• The Barn puts on the Archery Canada Mail Match for 2023. Starting January 7th.
Archery Canada Mail Match shooting is on from mid-January until the end of April 2023 for two days a week on Mondays from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm and Saturdays from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. More information on https://barnarchers.ca/mailmatch/
• Starting January 2023, we will rename the ‘Girls Night’ to ‘Ladies night’ and the day will change to WEDNESDAYS from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
• Starting January 2023, the Insider/Friend/Guest shot will change to MONDAYS from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
• The Ladies’ night games and Wednesday games will stay on.
• The awards ceremony for the Barn Champion 2023 will be in December.
• Various 3D tournaments are planned.
• Open Houses will take place during the year.
As you can see: a lot of activities are on our to-do list for next year and we are looking forward to diving right into it. Our main goal is to support traditional archery but also not to lose sight of the costs of ‘The Barn’. Although we try to operate on a small budget, the animals will need new inserts in the future, and the power bills and taxes have to be paid…
We are so proud of the marvellous traditional archery community around us. All members, families, guests, and friends are committed and are assisting whenever a helping hand is needed. We cannot thank you enough! We couldn’t have done it without you. Our formula still stands and proves to be right: “Together we can do more”.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
May the spirit of this lovely season make all your wishes come to life!
Best wishes from ‘The Barn Team’. Have a Happy New Year 2023!
Barn Archers and John’s Archery
Bridget, Joe, Karen, and John