Archer Arnold to Represent VI at U.S. Open

Bruce Arnold takes aim as he prepares to compete at the U.S. Archery National Championship this month in Ohio. (File photo)
Bruce Arnold takes aim as he prepares to compete at the U.S. Archery National Championship this month in Ohio. (File photo)

Crucian Bruce Arnold will represent the Virgin Islands in archery at the 2019 U.S.A. Archery National Championships and U.S. Open beginning Aug. 14 in Dublin, Ohio, according to a news release from the V.I. Archery Federation.

The championship is the highest level of target archery competition in the United States and will draw more than 600 archers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and other nations interested in shooting against elite bowmen and women. All archers wishing to make the U.S. Archery Team must compete in this tournament in order to be eligible for selection. This year, the championships will also serve as the first round of the U.S. Olympic Archery Team Trials, with the top 12 U.S. flag archers in male and female Olympic recurve moving on to the second round of competition, to be held before the end of the year. Although, as a Virgin Islander, Arnold is not eligible for the outright U.S. Championship or to make the U.S. Olympic Team, he is eligible to win the U.S. Open, which will be held separately on Sunday, Aug. 18.

Arnold competes in Olympic Recurve archery and will be coming off of an appearance at the State Games of America. In addition to shooting in the individual competition, Arnold will shoot in the Mixed Team competition with Elizabeth Dickerson, a protegee of double Olympic-medalist Richard “Butch” Johnson. Arnold will also shoot in the male team round with Dr. Ali Gungoraydinoglu, a former member of the Turkish National Team, and Brandon Spray, a former member of the U.S. Archery Team.

Kevin D’Amour, President of the Virgin Islands Archery Federation, is excited about the continued international participation of USVI National Team members, saying: “We’re happy that we’re able to send an archer to the U.S. National Championships so that we can continue to gauge how our athletes compare to the best archers in the world.”

The progress of the USVI archers along with updates and photos of the competition will be posted regularly on the VIAF’s facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/VIArchery