Letters and Brag Corner

Central Regional YHEC - Tons of fun, but where was Texas?

Last week, the Central Regional YHEC event was held at the Benton County Quail Barn in Bentonville, Arkansas.  We brought our small contingent from Texas - Parisa Gieck (junior), and Mary Steelman (senior).  We had talked some with others that had been to previous regional events, and we had ourselves attended the Texas North YHEC events held at the Arlington Sportsman Club - only once for Parisa, but several times for Mary.  The events we attended were always a lot of fun, and we heard lots of good things about the regional contest.  Let me just say - WOW. 

Within our group, we just about ran the gamut of attendees - volunteer (me - Mary’s mom), junior participant (Parisa), senior participant (Mary), parent (Parisa’s dad), and non-participating coach (Mary’s dad).  The whole experience was simply amazing. 

There were nine events spread over three days.  Day one consisted of shotgun, muzzleloading, and wildlife identification.  Let’s just say that they didn’t make it easy.  They kept the targets for the shotgun event interesting by having a station where they shot from a boat, a station where they shot from a blind, and even having one station where the kids walked a trail and “flushed” the bird as they were walking!  Muzzleloading had small targets that were set back in some woods, which made judging those distances a challenge, and wildlife identification had some pretty tricky specimens, including pelts, skulls, scat, and even a recording to identify.

Day two consisted of the Hunter Skills and Safety exam, .22 rifle, and 3-D archery.  The day started with the exam first, and I think a few of the kids were just glad when it was over.  The archery course had a boat at one of the stations as well, and with the targets backing up to lots of brush and dry creek bed behind it, there were a few lost arrows on the course.  However; thanks to a couple of adventurous volunteers, many lost arrows were recovered (even a few that pre-dated our event!).  .22 rifle again had small targets at various unspecified distances in various shooting positions in a wooded environment, adding to the complexity of the event.

Day three included .22 pistol, the Hunter Safety trail, and orienteering.  .22 pistol again had the participants shooting at targets with varying unknown distances, in various shooting positions.  The participants came out of all of the shooting events (muzzleloader, rifle, and pistol) with a little dirt on them - but hey, you get dirty when you go hunting, right?  The hunter safety trail had a number of shoot/no shoot stations, as well as identification of toxic plants and questions survival needs and the like.  This year, the orienteering contest consisted of a written test and using both a standard compass in addition to electronic tools.  There was a course to follow with a standard compass, but the ability to use GPS tools as well as grid coordinates was tested as well.

This was just during the day - they kept everyone busy in the evenings as well.  Wednesday and Thursday nights there was a shotgun flurry competition as well as a flu-flu station set up.  There was a trading session for the kids on Tuesday night, and it was like a mini-bazaar, watching the kids haggle with each other over some of the most seemingly random objects.

On Friday evening, the Louisiana contingent fed everyone for Cajun Dinner Night.  Jambalaya, fried catfish, yummy sides, peanut butter pie - the food was delicious, but the best part was the camaraderie that had grown between all of the attendees.  Of course, after such a delicious meal, everyone needed a bit of exercise to work off all of those calories…so Friday ended with a dance, which included a dance-off with the coaches.  I know I was exhausted just watching it all.

On Saturday morning before the awards, the orienteering Event Directors were kind enough to go over some of the resources and techniques that were used on the course for anyone who wanted to attend.  It was very informative, and will certainly help us prepare for next time.

Then came awards.  Top three junior and senior individuals as well as top three junior and senior teams received beautifully etched slate plaques, and the first place junior and senior in each of the nine categories also received additional prizes.  Mary won first place in muzzleloading - there was a tie for first place, and the tiebreaker was the score on the Hunter Responsibility exam.  There were actually several ties throughout the event - the .22 pistol event even had a tie for first, second, and third place.  Mary also won first place in the Hunter Responsibility exam (no ties on that one).  Parisa won the Sportsmanship award, having been nominated by three of the nine Event Directors.  She earned it - even though she struggled with the events, she always had a smile and a great attitude.

The prizes were incredible.  Mary came home with an inline muzzleloader and a new hunting chair, and Parisa came home with a new rifle.  HOA individual winner received a Henry Golden Boy!

In all, it was an amazing experience.  The weather cooperated - it was humid, but the temperatures didn’t get too miserably hot.  The facility was beautiful.  There were over 150 participants from 10 states, and everyone we met was awesome.  We all had a great time, and I already have my calendar marked for next year.  My only question now is…Where is the rest of Texas?!  There were only two of us this year - let’s see that number skyrocket!  It is too much fun to miss.