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Residents invited to check it out in 2 other sessions

By Ayanna Eckblad

It was a gorgeous summer evening Wednesday as members of Albert Lea Recreation hosted their first session of archery tag at Eberhart Park.

Archery tag is a combination between archery and dodgeball in which players shoot foam-tipped arrows at the opposing team with the goal of getting others “out.” Similar to dodgeball, players are out if they get hit by an arrow. However, if someone catches an arrow, the player who shot it is out. All players wear protective face masks during the game.

Recreation Manager Bob Furland said he learned about the game when Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Laskowske spoke about it.

“We thought we’d give it a try and see how it turns out,” Furland said. “I think it might take a little time to grow, but it should be a lot of fun.”

The next step in bringing archery tag to the community involved doing research on the sport. Furland had help with this from summer recreation assistants Sam Charron and Avery Benda.

“They truly organized everything,” Furland said.

They watched many videos on archery tag, learning the basic elements of the game as well as techniques, official rules and even how to assemble the bows.

“We had never heard of it,” Charron said. “But we found lots of videos, we learned all the rules, we practiced a little bit at Central Park. That was fun.

Benda added they also had to scope out different parks in the city to determine which would best accommodate the game. In the end, the group decided Eberhart Park was their best option.

People began arriving at the park Wednesday, ready to learn about the new sport. Although many of the players were children and teenagers, the invitation was open to all and there were a few adults playing as well.

Furland, Charron and Benda showed players without a lot of archery experience the basics of handling and shooting a bow. They then explained the rules of the game, broke up into teams and the first round began.

Because this was the first time for many of the players, the game was fairly relaxed and gained a more competitive atmosphere as time went on and participants honed their skills in the game.

Albert Lea Recreation plans to host archery tag two more times over the summer. There will be a break for fair week, but it will pick up again at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7 and 14. According to Furland, the hope is for the game to gain enough traction and interest in the Albert Lea community to start a league.

“I think it will be a good time for people to come together, all different ages can play this,” Furland said. “And hopefully people from the community can come out and enjoy the time doing something with a little bit of physical activity.”

Parents who came to get their children involved in the game expressed their appreciation of having a free community activity open for people over the summer.

Those who are interested in learning more about archery tag can visit the sport’s official website, archerytag.com. People can also find informative videos on YouTube.

To learn more about archery tag in Albert Lea, follow Albert Lea Recreation’s Facebook page or call the Albert Lea Recreation office at 507-377-4370.