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Australian barebow field archer and homeschooling mum of three. From my son’s first archery session to proudly representing Australia at World Field 2026.

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My Archery Journey I started archery in October 2022 when my son asked to give it a try for his seventh birthday. We enjoyed it so much that it became part of our weekly homeschooling routine. Over the next two school terms my love for archery continued to grow, while the kids’ interest slowly faded away. In April 2023 I joined my local club, Bellingen Archers, and bought myself a cheap beginner’s setup. At the time the club had around ten members, with only five shooting regularly. The core group consisted of four older gentlemen who were incredibly knowledgeable, welcoming and generous. I affectionately call them “The Four Dads.” They shared their equipment, patiently answered every question I had, and encouraged me as I immersed myself in learning to shoot. Around August they convinced me to compete at the NSW State Field Championships in Armidale, a two day Field shoot. Field archery is shot over 24 targets set through the bush, using elevation, uneven terrain, steep angles and varying target sizes from 5 to 50 metres. It’s a bit like if archery and golf had a baby. Strangely enough, no one had actually explained that to me before we arrived. We warmed up on the practice range before I was led into the bush. It was at that moment I realised just how underprepared I was. I spent the first half of the day convinced I was going to lose every arrow I owned. By the afternoon I had started to relax, and by the second day I was genuinely enjoying the challenge of field archery. Looking back, my score wasn’t anything special but I still managed to come first in my category. In September 2023 the club encouraged me to represent NSW at the National Target Championships in Samford Valley, Queensland. I signed up despite suffering from a serious case of imposter syndrome. I found myself rubbing shoulders with some of Australia’s biggest names in archery, although embarrassingly I didn’t even realise how accomplished many of them were. I kept expecting someone to tell me there had been a mistake and that I belonged somewhere else with the amateurs. Together with another shooter from my club and a third teammate from Sydney, we won silver in the Women’s Barebow Team event, earning me my first national medal. Although my shooting was respectable, I felt my individual score had let the NSW team down. I returned home determined that would never happen again. The first thing I did was buy a target for my backyard. Training became serious. In February 2024 my world changed when my older brother, my closest family member, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. His prognosis was 18 months. I continued homeschooling my 3 kids, training in my backyard, and with The Four Dads at Bellingen Archers while travelling regularly to Sydney to care for him. During this time my brother and my boyfriend surprised me by buying me my first “real” bow. I won the NSW State Indoor Championships before going on to win bronze at the National Indoor Championships. I also set a new Queensland state record at their Short Course Championships, achieving the qualifying score required to once again represent NSW at the National Championships. In October I travelled to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, stopping in Sydney to visit my brother. He had lost a significant amount of weight and was deteriorating quickly. I managed to convince him to eat, filled his freezer with meals, and reluctantly continued on to the competition. That week I exceeded every expectation, winning two gold and four silver medals. After the event one of my mentors suggested I start preparing for the Field Nationals the following March. I had to tell him there was no chance, they were scheduled on my brother’s 50th birthday. I returned to Sydney, collected my brother and brought him home to Bellingen. Over the following weeks my time was divided between caring for him, my children and trying to maintain some level of training. In November he agreed to move into our home permanently, so we converted our garage into a granny flat in time for my brother to move in, a week before Christmas. I’ve never seen tradies respond so quickly in Bellingen as they did during those weeks. It was extraordinary. 2025 With my brother just moved in, I was fortunate enough to spend the final three months of his life caring for him. He celebrated his 50th birthday on the very same weekend the Field National Championships were being held. Looking back, I am incredibly grateful I wasn’t there. One week later he passed away. During that time archery became an occasional escape rather than a priority. Training was no longer at the forefront of my mind. After he died there was certainly relief, not because he was gone, but because his suffering had finally ended. The reality of dying from cancer was nothing like Hollywood portrays. After months of living in crisis, I found myself completely adrift. Slowly, I returned to training and began rebuilding some sense of normality. That year I became President of Bellingen Archers, won both the NSW State Indoor and Field Championships, and broke my own Queensland state record. In November I returned to Canberra to represent NSW at the National Championships, winning two gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Ironically, I came home disappointed with my performance. As I write this now, I realise what an achievement it actually was given everything that had happened. I knew I still had technical improvements to make, but I was determined to compete at the 2026 Field Nationals. 2026 This year my focus has been entirely on field archery. Without a field course at Bellingen Archers, I’ve found myself travelling across New South Wales, often sleeping in my car at archery ranges while chasing minimum qualifying scores (MQS) and the experience needed to earn Australian team selection. I won gold at the NSW State Field Championships, finishing 90 points ahead of my nearest competitor while achieving the required MQS. In May I travelled to Adelaide for the National Field Championships. The organisers had invited two world-record-holding champions to showcase the sport. I was completely intimidated. They turned out to be wonderful people and phenomenal archers. After two gruelling days of qualification rounds we moved into match play. In the team event, I found myself up against Erik Johnsson’s team. Erik is a multiple-time world record holder. Against expectations I matched him arrow for arrow, helping our team win the match. Unfortunately, our run ended in the next round when we were knocked out by Olympian Simon Fairweather’s team. In the individual event, however, I let my own mind get the better of me. After leading for the first three targets, I lost focus on the fourth and final target and was knocked out by Lina Bjorklund, the world Champion from Sweden. After all my hardwork I now find myself the third-highest ranked Australian with the required MQS, and have been selected to represent Australia in the green and gold at the World Field Championships in Yankton, South Dakota, this September. It has been an incredible journey from taking my son to try archery for his seventh birthday, to wearing the Australian uniform less than four years later.

Kat goes to World Field