SMETHPORT – Art Hibbard, owner of Alleghany Archery in
Smethport, won the 2009 world championship in the Physically
Challenged Bowhunters bracket of the International Bowhunters
Organization on Aug. 13 in Ellicottville, NY.

“This is the ultimate one,” Hibbard said. “This is the big
one.”

Competing at the Holiday Valley Mountain Resort, Hibbard shot 20
arrows, recording a score of 212 out of a possible 220 points,
finishing eight points ahead of the runner-up.

“The competition was held for several days, but we shot only one
day since we had to shoot at 20 targets instead of the 40 like the
other archers,” Hibbard said.

Targets are concentric circles on replicas of animals of various
sizes. Hitting the “X” in the center ring earns 11 points. Scores
of ten, eight and five points are awarded for arrows landing in the
remaining targets farther from the center. According to Hibbard,
“Depending on the size of the animal replicas such as bears and
moose, the 11-point ring could average one and one-half
inches.”

Archers use a “five-spot” target, taking five shots with five
different arrows.

During the competition, archers may choose their own types of
bows. Hibbard chose a Mathews bow, which he bought about a month
before going to Ellicottville. “A lot of the guys use 70-pound
bows, but mine is a 60-pound maximum,” he said. “I actually shoot
at 56 pounds.”

Nor are there restrictions on the scopes or stabilizers.

Hibbard, who shoots professionally for Victory Arrows in
Wisconsin, said that he designed the vanes on the arrows he used
for the 2009 championships.

This is the second year Hibbard has qualified for the outdoor
internationals. He finished third last year.

Instead of having qualifying rounds at the internationals,
Hibbard said archers qualified earlier this year at Holland,
NY.

In his two appearances at the winter international championships
in 2008 and 2009, which are held indoors in Cleveland, Ohio,
Hibbard won back-to-back championships in his bracket.

Out of his last 120 arrows shot in competition, all but four
found their marks in the ten and 11-point circles.

Determined to improve on his third place finish in 2008, Hibbard
prepared early. He said, “I just practiced twice as hard this year.
I shot 20 arrows in the morning and 20 again at night. Since 60
arrows make up a round, I would count the average scores of three
practices.”

Those rounds were soon averaging about 55 “X’s”.

Hibbard plans to shoot in the winter internationals next March
in Cleveland.

In a press release, IBO President Ken Watkins noted that the
Ellicottville competition drew 2,000 archers from more than 20
countries. Many of the American contestants were from New York and
Pennsylvania, two of the five states with the largest numbers of
bowhunters.