The Cowichan Valley's archery contingent at the BC Winter Games in Mission admittedly had mixed results.
"It was a pretty good experience," said Cowichan Bay's Sion Griffiths. "Some things were better than others."
"I've had better days," teammate Jason Haney of Youbou admitted.
Griffiths finished seventh overall in the two-day aggregate boys barebow competition, although he recorded the second-highest score on the second day of shooting. Haney placed 11th overall in the two-day aggregate boys compound bow competition.
The pressure and early mornings of the competitions got to the two 14-year-old archers, who train at the Cowichan Bowmen Archery Club.
"I'm not really a morning person," admitted Griffiths, who had to be up before 6 a.m. to compete.
In competition, shooting with groups of nearly 30 archers at a time in an auditorium filled with spectators, Griffiths found himself more intimidated by the archers he already knew, while it was the other way around for Haney.
"You're shooting with people you don't really know, and you don't know their skills," he explained.
By and large, the entire experience in Mission was a positive one for both archers.
"The volunteers were really nice, and so were the other athletes," Griffiths said. "We made some new friends."
"The girls there were cute," Haney added.
The two archers prefer different styles of bow, Griffiths going with the less complex barebow.
"I've tried sights before, but I could never hit the target," said Griffiths, who was inspired to take up archery after reading the Lord of the Rings books, and by his father's Welsh heritage. "I like shooting by instinct better."
Haney, who was introduced to the sport by his father, prefers the compound bow and its built-in sights.
"I've tried shooting [a barebow] but it wasn't working for me," he said. "I tried [a compound bow] and it worked a lot better."