Sault teen wins medal in archery at North American Indigenous Games

Archery student Ainsley Abitong-Sinobert of Sault Ste. Marie has brought home a bronze medal in U19 female 3D Archery from the North American Indigenous Games.

The games were held in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Dartmouth, Millbrook First Nation and Sipekne’katik in Nova Scotia July 15-23.

The games included over 5,000 teen athletes from 756 Indigenous communities across North America. There were 16 sports in the games but archery, lacrosse and canoe/kayak were the only three traditional Indigenous sports in the competition.

Two days of qualifications had competitors firing arrows at 20 3-dimensional animal targets located along a path through the woods. With varying distances and terrain, the sport is designed to mimic hunting scenarios where athletes have to determine the distance to the target, identify where to aim to achieve maximum points and execute the shot.

Abitong-Sinobert, a 15-year-old student of the Sault’s Arrows in Motion archery school, went into the elimination matches ranked fourth. After winning her first match she quickly earned a position in the finals. Although she lost her first match in the finals, she went on to compete in the bronze medal match, winning by five points against an archer from the Haudenosaunee team.

“I'm so proud of her,” said Arrows in Motion archery coach Lana Perry in a release.

“I've been rooting for her all the way. We had a realistic goal for the event and she blew that away with this showing. This is an impressive result, as Ainsley only started lessons four months ago. I've seen her come so far in such a short time. What's more impressive is that Ainsley is shooting up an age category. Because the U19 Female compound position wasn't filled, an archer from the U16 category can be selected to compete in an older category," Perry said.

Abitong-Sinobert, a White Pines Collegiate student, also competed and placed seventh at the Ontario High School Championships earlier this year.

Team Ontario had five archers competing at the North American Indigenous Games. Three made it to the final and two finished on the podium. Archer Anya Pinel of Dubreuilville brought home a silver medal. Both Abitong-Sinobert and Pinel are members of Ontario's Northwestern Zone. 

"As a coach, I'm coming home excited to promote the sport and recruit more Indigenous athletes for the next NAIG in Calgary in 2027. 3D Archery is my favourite sport and I want to keep sharing that passion with others," Perry said.