Local teacher breaks records in archery
The local archer still has more records that she broke, which will be released after the necessary verification has been done.
A teacher has recently broken eight records in archery. Kobie du Preez from Hoërskool Barberton has shot 720 rounds, which is done with 72 arrows and shot from a distance of 50 metres.
With all these she broke the Double, Quatro, Elimination African and African records for each round. She also shot 1 440 rounds which are done at four distances, which are category 60-, 40- and 30 metres.
She is a member of the Archers Edge in Pretoria since there is no local club that is affiliated to the South African National Archery Association, which in turn, is affiliated to World Archery.
In recognition of her achievements she was appointed staff shooter for Archers Edge as an ambassador for her sport.
The local archer still has more records that she broke, which will be released after the necessary verification has been done. According Du Preez, the eight records she carries are among the 10 she had before.
“The other two were taken by someone who also managed to shoot the same points I did.”
Her passion started while she was still living in Pretoria a couple of years ago.
“When I started it was an activity that I wanted to do with my husband. We did 3D archery which is done in the veld. My husband earned his provincial colours several times in this discipline.
“I was not good at guessing the distances and decided to try my hand at target archery. I gave it a try when I moved to Barberton since its distance is fixed unlike 3D. It is also done on a level ground like an athletics field.”
With time and a lot of practice she eventually earned her national colours in 2007.
“Unfortunately I stopped shooting for a while due to health problems. Just when I felt fine again our house was struck by lightning and razed to the ground with our equipment in it in 2010.
“We managed to collect equipment again since then.
“Truth is, once you shoot a bow, that is all you will always want to do. Being over 50 I can now compete in the masters category. I decided to do this so that I could take a bit of the pressure off myself.”
To get fit and tone her muscles again for shooting, she started exercising and swimming in September 2015.
“My goal was to start shooting in April 2016, which I did.
“It is almost a year now since I started shooting again. I am blessed that I have achieved more than what was on my goal list. I use a Compound Master Women category to shoot and Heartbreaker Bowtech bow.
“I receive excellent technical support from Archers Edge in Pretoria to service my bow. I have shot my provincial qualification scores already. The season ends at the National Championships that will be held in Johannesburg in May.
“I still have a chance to shoot national qualifying scores.”
Du Preez says she would not have achieved any of her achievements if it were not for the support she gets from her husband. “I really appreciate his constant support.”
The avid archer also encouraged the community to join in this amazing, interesting and fun sport. “My club is in Gauteng and I compete there. It is not cheap to travel there to compete in Pretoria and Johannesburg. Archers are very dedicated people, we target with our eyes closed. Juma Ikanga once said: ‘The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.’
You can find her on @kobiedupreezarcher (Archer’s Edge staff shooter: Kobie du Preez) or contact her at kobiedupreez@gmail.com.
