Archer Edna Siniff takes aim at a target during a practice session at A-1 Archery in Hudson, Wis. on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Siniff, 79, is ranked among the top senior women archers in the U.S. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Siniff and her coach, Dana Keller, left, walk out to targets to retrieve Siniff's arrows. Siniff won a gold medal in her age group in the 2015 National Senior Games and also holds a state indoor record. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Anna Gunderson, 14, takes aim at A-1 Archery in Hudson. Gunderson, of Roberts, Wis., took first in her class at both the Minnesota and Wisconsin State Indoor Tournaments and took 22nd overall at the Junior Olympic Archery Development Indoor Nationals this spring in Mankato. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Gunderson retrieves her arrows from a target. She said she hopes to compete on a national level one day. Her mother says the sport has led to an increase in the teens self-confidence and mental toughness. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Coach Dana Keller gives some pointers to Edna Siniff. Keller, who started shooting 26 years ago, is teaching a women's-only archery class this summer at Lake Elmo Park Reserve. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)



The National Field Archery Association Senior State Champion patch adorns Edna Siniff's quiver as she talks with other archers at A-1 Archery in Hudson, Wis. on Thursday, June 16, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Edna Siniff steps up to the shooting line at the outdoor range at A-1 Archery in Hudson, Wis., plants her feet perpendicular to her target and takes a deep breath.

She reaches for an arrow, places it on her bow and eyes a ring of circles 60 yards away.

Then she pulls the bowstring back with her right hand and lets go.

Bull’s-eye.

She looks up and smiles. “This is my first attempt at this distance with this new bow,” said Siniff, 79, a championship archer who took up the sport 2½ years ago. “I’m just happy to hit the hay bale. That’s a long way out there.”

Her coach, Dana Keller, checks to make sure Siniff is standing straight and breathing easy.

“An archer should be standing just like a soldier, so you want their bodies straight up and down and to look like a T,” Keller said. “Her arm is nice and straight; her bow-arm shoulder is a little lower than her drawing-arm shoulder. Her hand is nice and soft, allowing the bow to do its job.”

Siniff won a gold medal in her age group in the 2015 National Senior Games when she shot a 1,287 out of a possible 1,800 points using a Mathews Chill SDX bow. She also holds a state indoor record for shooting 259 out of a possible 300 points.

When Siniff finishes her round, archer Anna Gunderson, 14, of Roberts, Wis., joins her at the line. Gunderson took first in her class at both the Minnesota and Wisconsin State Indoor Tournaments and took 22nd overall at the Junior Olympic Archery Development Indoor Nationals this spring in Mankato.

Gunderson said she hopes to compete on a national level one day.

Her mother says the sport has led to an increase in the teen’s self-confidence and mental toughness. “We go to these tournaments, and there are 100 people down the line, and they’re right next to you,” said Kim Gunderson. “To stay focused for two and a half to three hours during a competition is incredible. I couldn’t do it.”

Archery can be done by anyone at any age, Keller said.

“You don’t have to be strong,” she said. “You don’t have to be fast. You don’t have to be athletically inclined. All you have to be able to do is be still and be focused.”

But archers must have great concentration, Keller said.

“When I do archery, I’m thinking about … nocking the arrow, anchoring correctly,” Keller said. “I’m thinking about focusing and aiming at the target. I’m thinking about my follow-through. … It’s almost like yoga: you’re in your own brain, and you’re thinking about the shot process. You’re not thinking about the daily grind and the work that has to be done and the laundry you have to do and the dishes you have to do and the grocery shopping you have to do. It’s a great escape.”

Keller, who started shooting 26 years ago, is teaching a women’s-only archery class this summer at Lake Elmo Park Reserve.

“A lot of women get very intimidated by leagues, especially if they are new,” said Keller, who also serves as event coordinator for A-1 Archery. “They just don’t want to look like they don’t know what they’re doing.”

A BOOST FROM ‘HUNGER GAMES’

Gottie Harvatine, 52, of Woodbury, said the opportunity to learn in a women’s-only environment drew her to the sport a few years ago.

“I’m much more comfortable,” she said. “It’s not guys checking out women; you’re not being exposed. Men always seem like they rule and dominate sports and know everything about sports and hunting. I don’t even know what some of the terms in archery mean yet. I’m a beginner. I’m learning, and I don’t want to be embarrassed when I ask a question that I don’t know or do something wrong.”

Movies such as “The Hunger Games” and “Brave” have led to an increase in archery’s popularity over the past few years, said Laura Erickson, program coordinator for Washington County Parks.

“There’s also just a growing interest in women in the outdoors and women and hunting — it’s also something that mothers and daughters can do together,” Erickson said.

GRANDSONS MADE IT HAPPEN

Senior gold-medalist Siniff, the founder and former owner of the Country Messenger newspaper in northern Washington County, runs a company called CMP Publishing Group. She goes to church in Marine on St. Croix with John “Little John” Landrith, the manager of A-1 Archery.

“Every Monday in the summer was Grandma Day,” she said. “My grandsons Ben and Sam (Clysdale) said one day that they wanted to go to Little John’s place.”

Siniff dug her longbow — which she hadn’t used since 1948 — out of the basement. After Landrith put a new string on it, she told him she was going to need a few lessons.

“He said: ‘Well, let’s just see what you can do,’ ” Siniff said. “He put a target out at 10 yards and every arrow went into the bull. He moved it out to 20 yards, and the same thing happened and he said, ‘You don’t need any lessons.’ ”

Siniff is now one of the top senior women archers in the United States.

She grew up in Florida and started shooting air rifles when she was 3 years old. By the time she was 12, her father was giving her cartridges and sending her out “to get something for dinner,” she said.

At Michigan State University, Siniff shot with the men’s rifle team. “At that time, women were not allowed to participate in men’s sports, so I could shoot in competition only at home meets,” she said. “They wouldn’t even let me have my picture taken with the team for the yearbook.”

By her senior year, Siniff, who graduated in 1959, was the university’s top shooter. One day, her coach set up 10 targets and told her to do the best she could; she hit 100 bulls, she said.

“Just as I was packing up to leave to go — I’d already signed my contract for teaching and our wedding date was planned, I received a letter stating that I was first alternate for the U.S. Olympic team,” she said.

She was told that she would have to come up with $10,000 within three weeks to participate.

“Given everything that was in front of me, I couldn’t do it,” she said. “My coach had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Someday.’ So this is my someday. When I got the gold medal at the senior games, that was my someday.”

IF YOU GO

What: Introduction and women-only archery classes

When: 5:30-6:30 p.m. for introduction, 6:30-7:30 p.m. for women and girls only, Mondays through July 25 (no classes on July 4)

Where: Lake Elmo Park Reserve (vehicles must have a permit, which costs $25 a year or $5 a day)

Cost: $20 per lesson, preregistration required at 651-430-8370 or www.co.washington.mn.us/parks (select programs and events, then archery)