Van Blerk brothers set sights on SA World Champs

Two of the Archery Association of Namibia’s (AAN) finest marksmen will this weekend take on the best in the world at the prestigious International Field Archery Association (IFAA) World Bowhunter Championship.Henk van Blerk and Hofmeyr van Blerk are set to compete against over 400 archers from various IFAA member countries in the Adult Male Bowhunter Unlimited and Adult Male Freestyle Unlimited divisions, respectively.The championship, scheduled from Sunday to 3 May at South Africa’s Elgro River Lodge in Potchefstroom, will see Henk depart today, while Hofmeyr is already in South Africa.The event will feature two days of 2D targets and two days of 3D targets, all unmarked and set at distances of up to 54 metres. An added challenge to raise the stakes is that archers are not permitted to use any rangefinding aids. Each archer must estimate the distance of every shot using only sight and instinct.Hunting for more medalsAs the only archers representing the country, the Van Blerk brothers will be aiming to bring home medals from the tournament, as they did at the 2007 IFAA World Bowhunter Championship held in Switzerland.At the Swiss championship, Henk emerged victorious in his division, claiming a gold medal, while Hofmeyr secured silver as runner-up.Henk has been competing in archery for nearly three decades and has since accumulated a total of six world medals, which include three gold, one silver and two bronze.Notably, he finished sixth at the 2022 World Field Archery Championships in Estonia, despite having taken a decade-long break from the sport.Hofmeyr has earned four world medals to date: one gold, two silver and one bronze.World champs preparationsSpeaking to Sport Wrap about the upcoming world championship, Hofmeyr admitted that bowhunter competitions are by far the most challenging of all archery events he has competed in.“It is the equaliser event of archery because of the unknown distances. You can be the best shot, but if you judge distances wrong, you will miss,” he said.He has thus made distance estimation the focus of his preparation heading into the tournament. “I feel confident that distance is key. The shooting aspect and the difficult terrain, I am not concerned about. During my 21 years of archery, I have encountered most of the difficulties one could face regarding terrain and weather,” he remarked.Meanwhile, Henk encountered challenges during his preparation, citing the lack of a bowhunter range in Namibia, though that did not deter his training.“I have participated in any style of shooting available just to practise my shooting form. Judging distance is something every archer must train for individually, as it takes a lot of time, trial and error,” he noted.Despite the tournament being held at a notoriously demanding venue, Henk remains undaunted. “It’s a very exciting location, and I am not concerned about the shooting aspect of the competition, but rather the challenges of judging distances over various types of terrain, such as hills, valleys and water.”– mariud@nsh.com.na

Van Blerk brothers set sights on SA World Champs

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Van Blerk brothers set sights on SA World Champs

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