Brady Haslam made the trek from Medicine Hat, Alta., to Lethbridge to compete in his second Ironman event.
He’s been shooting for four years now and works for X-Shot Archery, a company that makes lenses for the scopes of bows.
“What it does is — think of it like a telescope,” Haslam said.
“It makes you be able to see the target easier, makes it bigger, more clear so that the shooters can be quite a bit more accurate and see the target when they’re shooting, you know, 50 yards away.”
Haslam says during the past few years, the advancements in bow technology have been astronomical.
“Now if you look at any new bow, boy, there’s cables everywhere, there’s knobs and pulleys. It’s quite complex and it can get pretty expensive too. All that technology allows you to be very precise and accurate with your bow.”
The first Ironman competition in Lethbridge took place in 1993, and for this year’s occasion, it’s expected that 226 people will be participating.
Jude Hooey, the president of the Lethbridge Bowbenders, said competitors come “from Manitoba, quite a few from Saskatchewan, quite a from from B.C., some from Montana, and majority Alberta.”
Hooey added that it’s a complex event.
“People that shoot the Ironman, full Ironman, shoot two rounds of targets, which is 60 scoring arrows and two rounds of 3D, which is another 40 scoring arrows on Saturday. And then one scoring round of each on Sunday.”
Competitors will be taking aim until the Ironman competition wraps up Sunday.