Having sharp metal tear through your skin isn’t fun, but Archery is! So lets shoot foam arrows! It’s Vegan Style Archery! Where nobody gets hurt!
Repurposing the ancient and majestic craft of Archery for a new world of pacifism where no beings are harmed and everyone has fun!
Since my first game in 2015, I have considered Archery Sports to be my favourite sport! By “Archery Sports”, I mean the game that Wikipedia calls “Combat Archery“, but that many people refer to as “Archery Tag“, because of the large American franchise with facilities around the world under that name. (Other companies and common names include Bow Battles, Battle Bows, Arrow Tag, and Arrowsoft Sports).
Here are a few quick videos of my games in an open field, to give you a sense of the actual flow of games. Forests and fields can be set up with objectives for anything from a 2 minute game to a 2 hour game.
If you are joining me for a game and need the essential info, click here for the Read me first.
My goal is simple; to get people outside playing my favourite sport. Possibly the best sport ever, because it combines:
*Lots of running and arm exercise
*Skill facters that allow young kids to play almost on par with adults
*Great team building and communication
*Creative thinking around game set up and strategies.
*AND a game structure that doesn’t have a single ball, so all players are moving and engaged at all times, not waiting on a key player to make the next goal.
Almost like paintball, but:
*No paint mess on trees and way less waste!
*Softer hits and no bruising
*No modern war-like vibes that are hard to take in a world of real conflict
*No gun culter. And yes, bows were also weapons, but in the far past.
While Archery games used to be the domain of expensive arenas, that all changed with the invention of PVC bows, made from water pipes. I have been building PVC bows and foam arrows since 2018, and in 2021 I had the time to refine my designs, and build enough gear to have 30+ players. One day, I am hoping to get a video series out, covering everything that I have learned. I got started with the amazing videos by Nick at Backyard Bowyer and I hope I can contribute something to the field of PVC bow making.
When I first started making gear, I was doing it with kids, because I was working at a school and it was a great way to get kids excited about using tool and making things. They all wanted to play the game, and there was no way we were taking field trips to Archery Tag at $25 per kid per hour. The first 30 bows we built were terrible and all broke quickly. In 2021 I took the time to refine my own skills and get good at making durable bows, and mass producing bows.
And one day…. it’ll be time to scale up and create a video tutorial that anyone in the world can use to make their own gear. Whether it’s a summer camp, STEM space for kids (or adults), school, or parents and kids in the garage. Any handy person can facilitate this activities with relatively few tools.
Over a series of videos, I’ll cover:
*Making bows and pressing jigs for mass production,
*Making foam arrows that will survive the hardships of the games,
*What materials I’ve found that work best,
*Breakage and repairs
*Finding ideal urban and wild terrain
*Games that work well for different group sizes, various terrain and different conditions
Here in Vancouver (and sometimes nearby), I have been hosting games for years, mostly for homeschooling meetups, but also for other groups, orgs and random folk in various parks.