Young Masterton athlete Holly Monks is on target and already a double national champion at the age of 10.
Earlier this month, the archer won the national under-14 recurve championship contested over two days of shooting at the national championships in Cambridge, giving her a second national title since taking up the sport four years ago.
The target championship was awarded for the best score from two shoots over two days with the recurved bow, which is used for most major competitions, including the Olympics.
The archers shot a 1440 round, comprising 144 arrows at four different distances [40m, 35m, 30m, and 25m] on the first day and a 720 round [72 arrows at 35m] on the second day.
After two days of competition, Monks’ score totalled 1292, more than 400 ahead of runner-up Melanie Roberts, to win her second national title to go with her under-11 national indoor title she won in 2022.
Monks’ father, John Hart, said she was thrilled, especially as it was her first competition in the under-14s.
“She is still 10, but because she turns 11 this year, Archery NZ rules mean she competes in the under-14 division,” Hart said.
Monks took up archery as a six-year-old after expressing an interest in trying out the sport. Her parents found the Wairarapa Archers club on Facebook, and she took an immediate liking for the sport.
Monks is now in training for the North Island youth championships in February in Tauranga and the national indoor championships later in the year. Ultimately she aims to go all the way and represent New Zealand at the Olympics.
Monks’ coach Iain Hamilton came home from the nationals with a silver medal in the recurve men’s 50-plus age group, and Chris Gorman won silver in the compound men’s 50-plus division.
More than 100 of the country’s top archers contested a range of disciplines over the week of competition.
