FRIDAY, JUNE 22: As 87-year-old Herbert Anderson’s arrow thuds into the centre of the target a ripple of applause and cheers breaks out amongst the small crowd of onlookers.
‘Great shot Anderson” shouts Carleen Griffith.
His wrinkled face breaks into a broad smile of satisfaction as he is congratulated on the shot.
Meanwhile, by his side, the old Somerset Cup Match star Albert Hunt points his bow carefully down the range, fixes his sights and pings off an arrow towards the target rings.
It misses, but the 86-year-old is unfazed and loads the bow again under the watchful eye of instructor David Semos.
“I enjoy every sport,” says Mr Hunt.
“But I had never given archery a go before I came to WindReach.
“It’s a lot of fun and I think my cricketing skills help.
“Now I look forward to coming down here every week.”
WindReach has run an archery programme for disabled men and women for several years, but it was only at the beginning of this year that they opened it up to seniors too.
Now every Wednesday a group of half a dozen residents from Yellow Roses Rest Home in St David’s make the trip to Warwick to try their hand at the sport.
Ms Griffith, a recreational therapist at the home, said: “They all look forward to coming down here on a Wednesday.
“It builds up their moral and it keeps them active.
“They have a great time.”
The seniors are joined by some familiar faces like Sia Castle and Matthew Greenslade who have been attending the charity’s archery programme since it began four years ago.
There are also participants like Robert Lewis who suffered a major heart attack last year and lost his short-term memory.
The 44-year-old had just gained a Masters Degree in Psychology when he was struck down.
Now the archery programme is helping him to get back on his feet again.
Ms Castle, 41, who is wheelchair bound, has represented Bermuda in para-archery competitions abroad.
She said: “Archery has given me the chance to do things I never believed I could. It has given me a sense of accomplishment I did not think I could get from sport.”
Head trauma
Mr Greenslade, 30, suffered major head trauma as a result of a motorcycle accident in 2002.
He says: “Archery has given me a new lease of life.
“It’s a social thing to do and it keeps me out of trouble.
“If I was not here I would be keeping myself exiled from society. I enjoy the companionship and the social side of the programme.”
This Saturday Ms Castle and Mr Greenslade will join other able-bodied as well as disabled archers at the Third Annual Archery Competition, which will take place at WindReach for the first time.
Troy Farnsworth, the charity’s adaptive sports coordinator told the Bermuda Sun: “We have tried to open the archery programme up to all sections of the community like the seniors and it has proven a great success so far.
“People with any kind of disability can give it a go whether it’s teenagers with spinal injuries or seniors with mental impairments.
“It’s open to the young and old. This weekend’s competition should give budding archers of all ages and all abilities the chance to show what they can do and it should be a lot of fun as well.”
The Archery Competition begins at 10am on Saturday and runs until 1pm. Registration costs $25 per person and all participants must have had some previous experience in the sport.