I'm new to this: The Chronicle's Fin Ocheduszko Brown tries archery

Whanganui Chronicle reporter Fin Ocheduszko Brown tries his hand at archery at the Marangai Archery Club in Whanganui. Photo / Olivia Reid

Over the summer Chronicle reporters have been trying their hand at something new, under the supervision of experts. Today, Fin Ocheduszko Brown takes a shot at archery.

My colleague Olivia Reid and I set off to Marangai Archery Club’s range next to Kaierau Rugby Club’s grounds on a howlingly windy day.

Thanks to Google Maps, we pulled up the drive of a friendly man who offered directions to the archery range which we could see but not get to.

Sometimes good journalism requires a bit of danger to capture the story and that’s what we did - jumping the fence with sheer and utter commitment.

As I approached the range, I was intrigued to see what kind of set-up the Marangai Archery Club had.

There were a dozen kids stationed 8m from a paper target attached to a board of gym mats.

There I was greeted by Maureen and Rob McMillan, the club presidents, and taken to my bow.

The McMillans have operated the Marangai Archery Club since it was set up in 2023. They also run the Marton District Archery Club.

Rob McMillan has been handy with a bow and arrow since the age of 8 and has nearly 60 years of experience behind him.

Maureen tells me that there is no one more knowledgeable than Rob when it comes to archery, and I believe her.

They have been based at the Kaierau rugby grounds since 2017 and are still actively looking for an indoor range to use on days when weather is detrimental to the archers' performance.

Now I must say, walking up to my bow despite never shooting before, I was confident that I wasn’t going to embarrass myself.

After all, archery is in my heritage.

I was born in Nottingham, the place of Sherwood Forest and home of Robin Hood - how could I possibly fail?

Rob set me up, corrected my stance, placed the arrow in the centre and left me to my own devices.

He gave me final words of wisdom:

“You want to aim for the blue, six o’clock.

“Pull the string back, more ... more.”

As I listened to his words, I shut my left eye, raised my elbow, inhaled, exhaled, and let go.

The arrow left my bow and fired straight into the yellow bullseye, making a lovely thud.

From here, I knew that yellow bullseye was in for a tough day at the office.

The club operates at the Kaierau rugby grounds. Photo / Olivia Reid

Shot after shot I kept surprising myself with my accuracy, but McMillan’s advice kept ringing in my ears and kept me abusing that yellow bullseye.

In the moment, I was trying to think of a time where I may have put similar skills to use but could not draw any parallels.

I used to play a computer game called Red Dead Redemption II, which required me to be handy with a bow and arrow, but that surely couldn’t translate to real life.

Could it be the work of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games? Again, I very much doubt it - but maybe what you see on screen can aid you in real life.

Now I must confess, the target was only 8m away. Older and more experienced archers are operating in the 50-70m zone - we have to remember that.

At the Marangai Archery Club’s range, they had a separate set of targets at the 20m mark, which I was tempted to try but was hesitant with my self-esteem on the line.

As my session wrapped up, I found myself proud and surprised with my shooting accuracy.

Would I have been as impressive if it weren’t for Rob? Probably not - and for that I must thank him.

In fact, I wish to thank Rob and Maureen for their hospitality and time.

I had called Maureen two days before, out of the blue, and explained the situation and what I was hoping to do.

Without any hesitation, she said “yup come on down any time between 11 and 2 Thursday”.

The Marangai Archery Club sets 8m targets for its beginners and children. Photo / Olivia Reid

When I was heading to the session, I was worried that I may have to fend for myself and teach myself the art of archery because I knew they were leading a group of home-schooled kids.

To my pleasant surprise, I received the utmost care and time from the McMillans and was in their priorities.

It is times like this where I find myself feeling extremely grateful for my job and the opportunities it brings me to meet extraordinary people.

I find that is the same for everyone in the beautiful city of Whanganui, everyone is kind, generous and willing to help, even if there is nothing in it for them.

What I did take from my session at Marangai Archery Club is that archery is a highly skillful, fun sport for all ages and ability.

Rob said their youngest archer was 4 and their eldest was 80 - if that is not all ages, I don’t know what is.