Big Sky Open archery tournament starts June 13

GRAND JUNCTION — Archery competitors from all over the U.S. will again descend upon Grand Junction for the annual Big Sky Open, held at the DoubleTree Hotel, June 13-15.
The Big Sky Open is a favorite among archers for not only the competition but as a mini-vacation for those seeking the beauty that Colorado has to offer.
The $20,000 Open is hosted by a small group of target archers and endorsed by the Grand Mesa Bowmen.
The Big Sky Open is a three-day target tournament that draws both professional and amateur archers to an outdoor V-Formation format with distances from 20-65 yards shooting at the same colored targets used in the Olympics.
Divisions in which archers will be competing include: men’s/women’s championship (various styles separated) for guaranteed cash purses; men’s/women’s flights (varied styles shooting together, separated by scores) for cash awards; and male/female youth (17 and under separated by style) for trophy awards.
For those who would like to participate in the Big Sky Open but do not want to enter the individual events, we have a “fun event” that is open to everyone who would like to try their skills at stationary clay pigeons. The Big Sky Open was the first to offer this event back in 1994 and since that time, it has caught on with the National Field Archery Association as a team event, as well as many clubs across the country. This is a two-person event with cash awards to the top teams.
While the Big Sky Open in 27 years has never had a perfect round shot on the black and white or colored targets, the clay pigeon event has had four perfect rounds recorded in 2006.
Becky Pearson of Arizona and Dave Cousins of Maine recorded the first perfect rounds on the clay pigeons in 2002.
The excitement begins on Friday, June 13 starting with the “Go For It” team event.
Archers will register and teams will be drawn for each category of the event.
Friday will be the first team event, starting about 5:30 p.m. The second team event will be on Saturday afternoon. This is a must see! At 65 yards, a clay pigeon isn’t a very large object to try and hit.
Saturday, June 9 will be the first round of individual competition on the colored targets for all styles of shooting. These targets are symbolic of those used in the Olympics. Three arrows per target will be shot, with a possible perfect score of 600 per day. Yardage for all competition is 20 to 65 yards.
The archers come from all over the U.S., looking forward to not only the competition, but to the camaraderie of other archers, making the tournament one of the more fun events to attend. The biggest names in archery will again perform their professional skills and be on hand to talk with others about their shooting techniques.
For vendors, there are still some booths available at the Big Sky Open. For information more information about participating, go by Sportsman’s Warehouse, the DoubleTree Hotel or log on to www.bigskyarcheryopen.com or call (970) 243-1319.