Archer dreams of Olympics, but targets weapon law first

ROCKFORD -- She used to walk 50 meters down Peach Tree Avenue, then turn and fire arrows back across the street into the garage of her family's home in Cannon Township.

Now, she packs her bow and target into the back of her Grand Prix and drives to a friend's farm in Belmont, where she sets up and takes down her equipment each day.

Neither scenario is ideal for Marie DeRegnaucourt, a young archer with dreams of the 2004 Olympics. One is too dangerous. The other is too much of a hassle.

"It's easier just to step outside your back door and shoot," said Marie, a 16-year-old junior at Rockford High School.

The family has since found a new home to help Marie reach her goal, but there's just one problem: Rockford's weapons law, which prohibits discharging weapons within city limits. So they're seeking to have the law changed.

"If Marie wasn't in training for the Olympics, we wouldn't be moving," said Jeff DeRegnaucourt, the teen's father. "We love the house, and the lay of the land is absolutely perfect for Olympic archery training. Everything about it is tailor-made for what we need."

The DeRegnaucourt family searched for more than a year for a new home. They needed a back yard large enough for Marie to practice without worrying neighbors. They found what they thought was the perfect place, a 5-acre lot along the east side of Summit Avenue, north of 11 Mile Road. The family closes today on the purchase of their new home.

Algoma Township, where gun hunting is permitted, lies across the street. But on the east side of Summit -- inside the city limits -- it is illegal to shoot a bow and arrow. Marie now hopes a proposed change in the law will allow her to continue pursuing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

The family has asked city officials to take another look at the ordinance, and the Rockford City Council on Monday will consider a change that would allow archery target ranges under certain circumstances.

Mayor Neil Blakeslee said the DeRegnaucourts' request is prompting a review of a law that he feels is "too restrictive" regarding an "activity that a lot of people in town enjoy.

"As this request came up, we came to the realization that not just hunting, but even target practice was prohibited in the city," Blakeslee said. "We want to get a more reasonable ordinance on that issue."

The city in 2001 cited a local hunter for shooting a bow and arrow after a resident found a deer hanging in a tree. The hunter had killed the deer with a bow, gutted it and hung it out to dry.

He complied with state regulations by tagging the catch with his hunting license; the name tag made it easy for the city to track him down. Officials charged the hunter with a misdemeanor violation of the firearm code.

The proposed amendment would not remove restrictions against hunting in the city, but it would make an exception for bow and arrow practice. Blakeslee said he favors the change, as long as certain safety guidelines are written into the ordinance.

City Manager Michael Young said he would present an amendment permitting target ranges that meet standards set by the National Field Archery Association. Guidelines require a property to have a certain amount of distance both behind the target and on both sides of it.

For the 70-meter range used most often by Marie, there would have to be at least 35 meters behind the target and 15 meters on either side, according to NFAA standards. The Rockford proposal also might include a minimum two-acre lot size, Young said.

"There are going to be some pretty strict standards," he said. "There will be plenty of safety guidelines built into it.

At 1,300 feet in depth, the lot at 9410 Summit Ave. would comply. It would allow Marie to shoot her daily regimen of 144 arrows without threatening neighbors or transporting equipment.

"It's important for me to practice as much as possible," Marie said. "I'm aiming for a very high goal, and to get to where I want to go, it takes a lot of work and dedication.

"It would be easier to practice if I didn't have to worry about taking all my equipment out and making sure it's put together right."

Marie also could shoot during the winter at her home. She awoke at 4:30 a.m. last winter to practice for an hour before school on the tennis courts at nearby Champion Health &Fitness. She now hopes to practice year-round at home, shooting on snowy days from inside the house to a target in the back yard, as her parents open and close a sliding door.

Marie is one of the top 25 adult female archers in the nation, according to rankings published by U.S.A. Archery. She strives to improve her ranking by competing regularly at national events such as the World Trials in California, where she will be this weekend.

The top 15 or so archers in the nation get invitations to the U.S. Olympic trials next June, when they will compete for a spot on the team that heads to Athens, Greece.

I guess this modification is better than nothing, but why not just allow target practice? The lawsuits against any damage would make the homeowners super cautious. I bet you would be hard pressed to find that any people had been hurt by wayward arrows.

It is just about control, control, control. British Olympic pistol shooters now must go outside of the country to practice their sport.

While I commend her for her efforts to change a bad law, I also think the sensible thing to have done would have been to just practice as discretely as possible in her back yard. Bows are quiet and chances are her neighbors would not be upset by her target practice if they even noticed it at all. Afterall it's just a teenage girl with a target bow, not a bunch of camoflage wearing rednecks getting drunk and shooting things up.

I've got the same problem here. I have a double fence and I use hay bales and plywood for a backstop. One day the neighbor gets on a ladder and sticks his bald head over the ivy and announces I'll put someone's eye out and he's calling the cops if I don't stop.

Boy did that cue ball make a perfect target. Not wanting to spend the weekend in the hole I let my arrow back down.

It's so much more convenient out the back door. Now I have to pack up all my gear and head up to the NF. I can't even go to the closer rural areas in the city since it's a city ordnance.

We live in a world of busybodies who have been encouraged to make everyone else's business their own. The nanny state personified. It should be no one's business but your own. Only 50 years ago, target practice with firearms in your back yard was not considered cause for concern. 50 years of propaganda can do a lot of damage.

I also think the sensible thing to have done would have been to just practice as discretely as possible in her back yard. Bows are quiet and chances are her neighbors would not be upset by her target practice if they even noticed it at all.

Do not underestimate the power of Soviet Socialist Indoctrination.

I fired air rifle at a back yard target from 25 and 50 feet for over five years. Customarily 5 shots evenings right before dinner.

When new neighbors moved in, their two small teenage girls, both public school Nazi's started in harrumphing about the "dangers" of guns.

Shortly after, the local paper had an interview with the new Police Chief wherein the citizenry were sternly reminded about the City Ordinance requiring air rifle permits and the restrictions against firing within city limits.

Altogether a very Orwellian affair.

I have no idea when this law was passed or how often it has been enforced.

I've moved my 50 foot range indoors.

I may even investigate the provenance of the ordinance as time permits.

Watch your six.

Best regards,

Not some of the bows I've shot, even with string silencers and dampners. If they were truly quiet you wouldn't have deer reacting to the sound and ducking arrows.

My neighbors can't see my backyard due to the 10 foot ivy fence all the way around but I'm sure he figured out what the "Toing" and "thwack" sound were real quick.

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