Aylmer archer aiming for World Junior championships

Local archer Alexandra Paquette has just won silver in the “World Archery Multi-Site Indoor of the Americas Tournament”, in a three-way tie with two Americans.  Only one point separated the three silver winners from the gold — 583 to 582 points.  Ms Paquette practices her skills at Grande-Rivière, D’Arcy McGee, Hull’s Polyvalente de l’Île and  Cantley high school, giving her five days a week to perfect her skills. She is the number one Canadian pick for the 2017 World Junior Championships, to be held in Buenos Aires next October.  She was selected for the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Yankton, South Dakota, next spring.  She also came in first in the qualifying rounds for the 2019 Canada Games, to be held in Red Deer, Alberta. Ms Paquette is following in the footsteps of her father, James, who has been a coach since 2014, and her older brother, also an archer. She participated in the Quebec Games when she was nine, and won a silver medal in the 2012 edition. One month later, she won silver in the Quebec Championships, garnering her an invitation to the 2016 Quebec Games. Her archery career took off from there, winning competitions, breaking records, and she has won “World Archery” pins, acknowledging her excellence in the sport.  At 15, she received a plaque from the Quyon Lions Club, honour certificates from Archery Quebec, and a congratulatory letter from Pontiac MNA William Amos. She hopes to compete in the Olympics one day.

Now 16, Ms Paquette, completely bilingual, is a fourth-year student in the arts program at Grande-Rivière High School, where she excels in her studies.

Noting that Quebec’s provincial elite team is comprised of boys and girls, her father told the Bulletin, “I would like to see more girls compete in archery because it’s one of the few sports where a girl can be on par with a boy.  That’s what makes the sport great.”