Emmett Kapaniuk, 16, of Whitehorse has been selected to compete in the 2022 Youth and Masters Pan Am Championships (YMPAC).

The Championships take place May 30 to June 5 in Halifax.

Athletes from countries across North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean will take part.

Kapaniuk will be competing in the Compound Cadet U18 Class.

“I was pretty surprised when I was selected just cause I was selected later ... it feels really good to go down there and represent Team Canada and also represent the Yukon,” said the young archer.

Kapaniuk explained how this came about.

“Around November they announced that they were going to hold tryouts for this event down in P.E.I. so I spent December onward until March training here at the horse stable arena.”

The arena is the Northern Tempo Equestrian Centre, which is off Burma Road, along the Klondike Highway.

“We were able to shoot in there throughout the winter, cause when it’s -40C out, it’s not very enjoyable shooting in the snow with all-metal bows and stuff. So it’s really nice to be able to shoot in there,” recalled Kapaniuk.

“And from there I flew down to P.E.I. where the tryouts were being held and performed there and then about two weeks later, I was informed that I was selected and that I’d be flying down to Halifax later this month to go compete for them.”

Kapaniuk is ready for the competition.

“I’m feeling good about it. I’m feeling good about my equipment and my shooting. The nerves haven’t quite set in yet. Hopefully they won’t ... I’m feeling good going down there ... the trials was my first big one to get the nerves out of the way and find what needs to be improved upon, so we’ve just been working on that, so we’re dialed for when we go down to Halifax.”

Kapaniuk has a method for dealing with nerves.

“I’m a big music guy. Most of the time I do well when I’m distracting myself so I’ll keep myself busy. And then usually I have a set playlist that I listen to ... that always gets me in the right mindset, gets me into the zone.

“Just try my best to not overthink it or go there with high expectations or over-expect how I’m gonna perform. Just go down there and remember that for this one, it’s my first international competition so I’m down there for the experience and if I do good, that’s good. If not, I’ve got lots to take away from it.”

Kapaniuk hasn’t had very many events to prep for this competition.

“Only the tryouts,” he said.

“The last competition I shot at outside the Yukon was 2019 Nationals, so it’s been a long time since I’ve actually competed in a tournament.”

The 2019 Outdoor Nationals were in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

As for his goal at the event, “get experience ... learn how the international competitions work and then I’m hoping to place top six, which would be a really good finish. I feel like that’s reasonable with who will be down there,” related Kapaniuk.

Next up after the Pan Am Championships is the Canadian Nationals.

“We’ll fly back and keep on working on the 50 metre, because I’ll be down back in P.E.I. for Nationals.”

The Canadian Nationals take place July 21-24 in Charlottetown.

The length that Kapaniuk shoots is 50 metres.

“For compound that’s the standard. That’s all international is, is 50 metres,” related Kapaniuk.

“And then for recurved ... once you get to my age group, they shoot 60 metres. And then for the junior and up – the older group – they shoot 70 metres,” he added.

Recurves are more of a standard bow with sites and rods and are used at events like the Olympics.

How long it takes the arrow to arrive at the target depends on a few factors.

“Depends on the bow,” said Kapaniuk.

“When you’re shooting super-high pounds, it’ll probably get there in a second. Mine’s probably second and a half, two seconds. The recurves can take three or four seconds in the air to go down to 70 metres.”

Kapaniuk leaves for the Pan Am Championships in Halifax on Monday.