Wetaskiwin archer Anna Kim (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Anna Kim

Legally blind archer from central Alberta competes in world tournament this July in South Africa

May 25, 2023 | 5:33 PM

When you can’t see, trust your instinct and feel.

This is how Wetaskiwin’s Anna Kim has become one of the top archers in all of Canada, at just 18 years old, while being legally blind. She is now headed to the 2023 Africa Genesis Archery (AGA) World Tournament from July 28-29 at Camp Discovery in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

“There are definitely the challenges and struggles when it comes to some learning things, societal expectations is a big thing, but really, my mom did a great job at teaching me to be confident in my, I guess you could say, ‘disability’. I’ve been able to adapt fairly well and, I don’t want to say ‘fit in’, but be able to navigate this world coherently without bumping into a whole bunch of walls,” Kim joked.

Kim was born two months premature with optic nerve hypoplasia, a disorder that leaves the nerves underdeveloped. As a result, Kim has no vision in her left eye and limited in her right, with no depth perception or peripheral vision.

At nine years old, Kim’s mother took her to the Foothills Camp and Retreat Centre for the visually impaired in Red Deer County. There, she says she participated in all sorts of activities from horseback riding, to zip-lining, and archery.

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Balloons were placed on targets for sound and Kim says after shooting her first arrow and hitting the balloon, she fell in love.

“Archery requires a lot of focus and you don’t need to be looking around too much. You’re focused on that target, on where that arrow goes, you’re focused on your body position, you’re focused on feeling,” she said, adding it has become a stress reliever.

She compared archery to other sports where players must be very aware of their surroundings, describing her time playing football as “draining”.

“With archery, you’re dialed in on one place and you’re focused on how things feel which, for someone who’s visually impaired, it’s important; you have to be very body aware. When I shot that first arrow and I focused on where it went and heard that balloon pop and felt the relaxation that I had when I released the arrow, it was absolutely amazing,” she said.

However, Kim says she stopped archery for a while as she didn’t think she would have an opportunity to continue the sport outside the camp.

That was until one day, years later, she came across a $40 bow and arrow set at Canadian Tire. During the pandemic, she was gifted a bamboo target and began practicing again in her backyard.

She soon heard there was an archery team in her high school and joined in Grade 10, with teacher Kelly Kijewski as coach. She says Kijewski showed her that she can be accepted in any sport setting by teaching her the same skills as the other students like the importance of focus, solid stance, relaxation by having the hand fall back after releasing the arrow, and, of course, having fun.

“Something we say in our archery team is ‘you don’t shot five arrows in a row, you shoot one arrow in a row’,” she said. “It’s all about mindset and positivity. You have to have a positive mindset before you go and shoot otherwise you’re already going to shoot all over the place.”

Standing roughly 15 feet from the target, Kim says she can see its bright colors but not small details like the tip of the arrow or where it lands once shot. To solve this problem, she has her coach stand behind her to show her where her arrow lands with a specially-made clipboard representing the target.

Anna Kim shoots with her coach behind her holding the clipboard resembling a target to show where she shot. (Supplied)

She says in a year and a half, she has done over 10 competitions, winning third in the province this year with her team. While in competition with others, she says the sport relies mainly on competing with oneself to beat personal best scores. Out of a score of 300, she says her best has been 284 at a tournament and 290 in a practice.

Her teacher said that due to her consistent scores above 275, she was one of 32 students selected nationwide, and the only legally blind, to be a part of the Canadian archery team and compete on a global-scale at the AGA World Tournament this July in South Africa.

“It’s something that my mom has engrained in me. ‘Don’t be someone who cowards behind other people; go be a trailblazer’. I joined archery as a blind archer and I didn’t expect much from it but I did expect that I would kind of turn heads and I hoped that I would be able to inspire others, even if they aren’t legally blind or aren’t disabled, that they would go and pursue something that they wanted to,” she said.

With expenses in the $10,000 range, Kim started a GoFundMe page which has already raised over $7,000.

“Determination is a big thing. Don’t let people bring you down and don’t be afraid of what you can accomplish. The only person that can set your limits is the individual themselves and if someone else sets them for you, well, go and push them a little bit if you can. Don’t be hesitant to start a passion or pursue a dream,” she said. “It will be an automatic no if you don’t go and pursue it.”