It is not every day that a small town produces a world-class athlete, but Kat has done exactly that. Less than four years after picking up a bow for the first time, our very own local Kat has been selected to represent Australia at the World Field Archery Championships in South Dakota this September. She is currently ranked third in the nation!! To have a homegrown talent rise so rapidly to the absolute top of her sport is nothing short of remarkable. This is an incredible opportunity for Kat to represent not only Australia, but our own little town on the global stage. What makes her journey truly special is how much she gives back. Despite her busy training schedule, she volunteers as Bellingen Archers Club President to keep the sport alive locally, and generously gives up her spare time to run a weekly homeschooling archery session, nurturing the passion and skills of our local youth, while homeschooling her three children. She has given so much to our community, and now it is our turn to back her. Because archery is entirely self-funded, the community is rallying to help cover her flights, accommodation, and competition expenses. How We Can Get Her to the USA – Individual Donations: Every single dollar helps. If you are in a position to contribute, pitching into her funding page will directly ease the financial strain of travel. Business Sponsorship: We are looking for local businesses who want to proudly sponsor a world-stage athlete and showcase their community pride. Raffle Contributions: We (the homeschool archery group) are organizing a fundraising raffle and are seeking donations of products, vouchers, or services from local businesses and individuals. Her full, incredibly moving story is attached below along with her funding link. Let’s rally behind her and show the world what our little town can achieve. You can message me directly if you’re a business who would like to contribute to the fundraising raffle or sponsorship.
Kat’s Story:
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.
Funding page:
https://asf.org.au/campaigns/katskin-fryz-b/kat-goes-to-world-field
