(provided photo) The MI 4-H State Silver Medalist Unsighted Target Archery Team are (L to R): Alaina Bach, Caleb Bach, Noah Bach, and Miles Brown from Copper Tips 4-H Archery Club in Houghton.

The Houghton-Keweenaw County 4-H Archery Program sent competitors for the fourth year to the 2019 Michigan 4-H Shooting Sports State Tournament. Four members of the Copper Tips Archery 4-H Club traveled to Kimball to compete. Seven local youth qualified for the state shoot at the Regional U.P. shoot in June.

Over 300 4-H participants from 40+ Michigan counties tested their skills against the finest marksmen and archers that 4-H has to offer. Participants competed in 3D archery, target archery, shotgun (trap and skeet), rifle (BB, pellet, and .22), and muzzle-loader, with competitors divided into age divisions. The Copper Tips Archery 4-H Club Team representing Houghton/ Keweenaw Counties competed and won awards in target archery, with unsighted compound bows. 

In his first year competing, Miles Brown of Calumet earned a bronze medal in the unsighted archery Junior Division (ages 12-14). What made this achievement especially noteworthy, was the fact that Miles had switched to shooting left-handed (to match his eye dominance) only one month before the event.

In unsighted archery Senior Division (ages 15-19), Alaina Bach, in her last year of competition, was the silver medalist. She shot a State personal best to top last year’s bronze medalist by 7 points. Her brother, Caleb, had caught a scoring error that originally had her finishing 3rd by 1 point. Noah Bach earned fourth place, moving up one spot in the placing from 2018. Caleb (10 points behind) earned fifth place, in his first year in the Senior Division. The team of four shooters earned the title of the 4-H State Silver Medalist Unsighted Archery Team overall.

“This team shot over 8,000 arrows in preparation for the event, showing up before 7 a.m., in the heat of summer afternoons, and on weekends to practice,” said Jen Bach, Copper Tips Archery 4-H Club leader, “We’re so proud of how they represented themselves and the Copper Country; their diligence and dedication paid off with our best performance yet.”

4-H Shooting Sports is the second largest 4-H project area in Michigan, providing youth the opportunity to safely learn and participate in a life-long outdoor recreational activities with avenues for leadership, personal growth, and achievement. The Copper Tips Archery 4-H Club serves over 50 youth participants, offering experiences to learn personal responsibility; developing confidence, discipline, self-control, and focus through setting personal goals and through the overall structure of the sport. The club promotes standards of safety and ethical behavior, teaching youth about a responsible shooting sport. The Copper Tips 4-H Archery Club was grateful to receive support from the Keweenaw Community Foundation, the Houghton-Keweenaw 4-H Council, the Michigan 4-H Foundation, and the Lake Linden-Hubbell Sportsmen’s Association.

For more information about the Copper Tips 4-H Archery Club contact Coppertips4H@gmail.com. For more information about 4-H Shooting Sports opportunities in the area please contact the Michigan State University Extension office at (906) 482-5830.