Their application hit the mark, so the Ryerson University Archery Club could be taking up bow and arrows as early as the winter semester.
On Friday afternoon, Samson Wong, a second-year industrial engineering student, and his fellow coordinators found out they secured $5,000 in funding for the fledgling archery club.
With word that they’re receiving funding, the club is prepared to take the next step of setting up a range on campus.
The new club’s agreement with Ryerson University Athletics gives members access to the Kerr Hall Lower Gym. Wong said using that facility will make it easier to prevent damage, both to people and the space itself. There’s also storage space located in the immediate vicinity. An indoor range also means the club can meet and shoot all year round.
Wong says they’re planning on working with instructors Daniel Ng, Colin Low, and Jimmy Kang from Target Pro Archery, a north Toronto archery retailer.
“They know that we don’t have a lot of money right now — so they’re offering their services for free for now until we get our finance straight, and then we can start paying them,” Wong says. “That was really big and very generous of them.”
Over the past year, Wong and his fellow organizers have been generating a lot of interest. Their Ryerson University Archery Club Facebook group already has more than 200 members.
For Wong, the influx of popularity comes from popular culture; many popular movies and TV shows — The Hunger Games, Disney’s Brave, Game of Thrones or various anime titles — feature archery prominently.
“A lot of these things play a major role, and I think it’s helping archery to become a more popular sport, which is a good thing.” he said. “It’s a fun sport, it trains discipline, and I think it’s something that helps students.”
The club got its start this summer, when Wong and fellow archery club organizer and engineering student Jodh Anandjit reached out to coaches and equipment suppliers and put together an application for Ryerson’s Project Funding Allocation Committee for Students. The committee funds projects that it deems to improve student life.
Queer-identified, chaotic neutral writer, activist, atheist, feminist, retrofuturist, introvert, nerd, misanthrope and journalist. Suspected cylon.
Michael completed his Masters of Journalism at Ryerson University in 2015.