The Sport You Must Try: Combat Archery with DodgeBow

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Are you a fan of the trilogy Hunger Games or the TV series Arrow? If you are, you must secretly want to try archery and now you can easily do it thanks to DodgeBow.

DodgeBow is a company cofounded by Adam Martelli and his two friends, Cyril Brouillard and Scott McDonach. They wanted to bring combat archery sports in Quebec, as it’s available in Ontario (Toronto), the United States and 30 other countries in the world. There are roughly 331 locations where people can practice this sport.

“Our goal was to see if there’s interest in Montreal before getting a permanent location,” said Adam. The interest was there with 300 participants signing up for the first events on the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd.

What is combat archery exactly? According to Adam, “It’s a combination of dodgeball and paintball but using bows and arrows instead.” The field and rules of the games are similar to those of dodgeball and like paintball, projectiles are used against players. Adam and his team wanted to make the game safe since shooting arrows at people could be dangerous. They added foam tips to the arrows. Participants also have an arm guard to protect the arm holding the bow, as well as face masks.

The idea was to make archery accessible for everyone. You don’t need to be good at archery to play the sport. It’s the perfect opportunity to use a bow and arrow for the first time while working out.

How does the game work? There are two teams with a maximum of 10 players each in a field of 5,000 square feet. The sessions are an hour long and before starting you need to sign a Waiver and Release Form, as well as a Media one since a photographer takes photos of the games. There is a 15-minute orientation where the rules are explained and where participants practice their shooting. The game period lasts 45 minutes and in the period, five to six games can be played up to eight minutes each with a short pause in between for rules of the following game.

Here are five types of combat archery games:

• Bullseye: Targets are placed on either side of the playing field. For a team to win, players must strike out all players on the opposing team or hit all enemy targets before the time runs outs
• Loyalty: When a player is struck by an arrow from the opposing team, they must cross the arena and join the opposing team. The team that crosses over the most players wins.
• Man Down: When a player is struck out, instead of leaving the playing field, they sit on the ground. A special “medic” player, equipped only with a shield, is granted the power to revive eliminated players. If the medic is struck out, the team loses its ability to revive players.
• Capture the Flag: Six flags (three per team) are set up in the safe zone across the arena. Teams must successfully capture and carry the opposing team’s flag back to their base.
• Golden Arrow: Six golden arrows are introduced onto the playing field. Golden arrows can strike out multiple players by bouncing off the ground or ricocheting off obstacles (in normal games, this would not count).

DodgeBow would be willing to bring combat archery sports to Quebec City if there are enough people interested and would consider opening a permanent location there too.

The DodgeBow team is looking to open a permanent location by the end of this year.

The next editions of DodgeBow take place October 17th at 6 p.m. and October 18th at 7 p.m. at Cegep du Vieux Montreal gymnasium (255 Rue Ontario E). You can buy tickets on EventBrite here. Tickets start at $19.  18 years and up. Wear active wear and running shoes to play. Like them on Facebook HERE.