Archery Returns To Sea Camps Property

BREWSTER – For years, it was a signal of summer within Brewster. The Sea Camps would set up archery targets on the front lawn of the property, and the first visible sign of targets meant summer was truly starting.

That doesn’t exactly happen anymore, since the summer camp is closed, but archery has returned to the property. Brewster Recreation held a five-day archery program  — “Bow Much Fun” — this week, bringing bow-and-arrow shooting back to the site.

The department has operated a summer archery program for years, but this is the first year it’s been held at the Sea Camps Bay Property, according to recreation director Mike Gradone. 

“Doing archery here on the lawn is really kind of iconic for us,” he said.

On the first day of the program on Monday, assistant recreation director Andy Havens and Gradone led a group of 10 kids, first teaching some basics and safety rules of the sport. The archers figured out which of their eyes was the dominant one (thus determining which hand to pull the bow with). 

In front of a row of five targets, they practiced pulling back and releasing the bow using rubber stretch bands. They also went over how to retrieve arrows. Then, it was time for shooting. There was also a quick lesson on how to keep score of points in the different areas of the target.

“This is really neat for us,” Gradone said.