More than 70 archers attended the Brandeis Archery Club’s annual Shamrock Shoot on Saturday, a historic turnout. Boston-area archers of all ages gathered to compete in the tournament, which also served as a fundraiser for the Archery Club.

Some archers were teens still in high school, others were retirees more than 60 years old. Other colleges in the area sent competitors, including Harvard University, Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to Archery Club team member Nicole Porter ’19. 

The seven-hour shoot, hosted in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, began at 10 a.m. The event consisted of a roughly two-hour set of qualifying rounds, followed by a lunch break. After the break, archers competed an elimination round, where they faced off against the competitors in their category through a bracket.

Archer Michael Litke ’19, who did not compete in the tournament due to a back injury, helped with the tournament set-up and take-down. Litke told the Justice in an interview that he was pleased with how smoothly this year’s Shamrock Shoot went. At the shoot last year, he said, “We didn’t finish cleaning stuff up until midnight.” 

Parents, spouses and friends watched the shoot from behind, facing the targets while sitting on the bleachers and folding chairs. Many spectators brought tripod-mounted scopes to see the arrows hitting the targets, the closest of which were more than 50 meters away. At such a distance, the slender arrows can be difficult to discern, especially for older spectators. 

Litke joked that “archery might be the most boring spectator sport in the world,” but the audience was enthusiastic in its support of the athletes.

Archers were judged on their ability to hit stationary targets at 50 meters and 70 meters, depending on what kind of bow they were using. Recurve bows have limbs that curve away from the archer when the bow is unstrung, while compound bows use a system of cables and pulleys to propel the arrow. In addition to the type of bow, archers can also choose whether they shoot with additional bow pieces that improve accuracy, including weights and scopes. 

Three Brandeis Archery Club members took home awards at the end of the shoot. Anisa Haque ’18 and Joey Wong ’19 won second and third place, respectively, for female collegiate recurve shooting. Wes Baker ’21 won second place for male collegiate recurve shooting.

The first-place trophies were 3-D printed by Litke and Alex Carter ’18, another Archery Club member. 

However, due to technical difficulties, the awards were not ready in time. 

Shooters were informed that the trophies for first place would be sent to winners in the mail once they had finished printing.