Nobleton area archery ace is puzzled his sport isn't more popular
By Bill Rea

Dietmar Trillus is seen here holding some of the tools of his archery passion.

The last full weekend in June was fairly typical for Nobleton area resident Dietmar Trillus. He took part in an archery tournament near Newmarket, and won.

Today (Wednesday) he is slated to leave for Leipzig, Germany to compete in the 44th Outdoor Target World Championships.

Archery is the passion for this 49-yearold, who works as a cabinet maker when he finds work that allows him to carry on with his shooting. And according to himself, filtered through a certain amount of modesty, he's one of the top archers in the business.

He also expressed a bit of puzzlement that archery is not more popular than it is.

For one thing, it's not a terribly expensive sport to get involved with, as opposed, for example, to golf. The basic equipment costs quite a bit less, and club memberships and the equivalent of green fees amount to maybe $300 for a season.

Trillus added it's not a particularly hard sport to master, although it is technical.

Dietmar Trillus practises his archery skills every day on a range near his Nobleton area home.

"Pull it back, aim for the middle and make a good shot," is the way he simply explained the basic idea.

The technicalities crop up when dealing with certain variables, mainly wind.

"That's what I find the trickiest part of this," he commented. "Reading the wind and reading it correctly."

FITA (International Archery Federation) events require shooting over 30, 50, 70 and 90 metres, meaning the wind gets considerable opportunity to influence the direction of an arrow.

But he said that's where his age and experience comes in handy. He said younger shooters "can be physical, but are they analytical? Do they think things through properly? It's the analyzers and the thinkers who do well in the sport."

Things are a bit different in field shooting, which involves meandering through a field (he said it's more accurate to refer to it as a forest). In addition to the wind, one also has to consider the lay of the land, allowing for hills and inclines, as well as all the optical tricks they can play. He said experience is the key to field shooting, largely because of the deceiving optics.

Shooting at targets in archery offers several extra challenges than shooting with a gun. Trillus drew the differences by comparing spin fishing from a motor boat to fly fishing in a stream.

"The archery is far, far, far more in depth," he remarked. "You're much closer to your elements."

Archery is growing in popularity, although the growth is a lot faster in the United States.

"There's something about shooting that appeals to a lot of people," he observed. "I can stand here for hours on end and watch my arrows fly through the air and hit the target."

"It's a release," he added. "It's an escape."

"Shooting a bow at a target, as far as I'm concerned, is like golfing."

He added he's tried both, but the time demands involved in attending archery competitions seriously restricts his time on the links.

Although he spends a lot of his time (almost every weekend) at some event or another, Trillus said there's plenty of enjoyment in just casual shooting too. "To enjoy archery, you do not have to compete," he commented, adding participation can conveniently be done locally. There are several clubs nearby, including York County Bowmen near Newmarket, or the Archers of Caledon. He added there's full-time archery range on the property of the Ontario Science Centre, and membership is not required to shoot there.

As well, there's frequently some sort of archery program available at summer camps.

What's important, Trillus maintained, is "just shooting a bow and having fun."

"It's not all about winning," he added. "It's what you personally get out."

Although a lot of his energies are devoted to competition, Trillus stressed he does not shoot against people, but against himself, setting his own goals. "A lot of people lose that value," he remarked, adding that can develop into jealousies.

Trillus said he came to archery rather late in life. He would fly fish with a friend who helped get him interested late in 1999. "I thought it was just amazing," he recalled, adding he went out and acquired a bow Jan. 10, 2000.

He also joined the York County Bowman, because as a newcomer, he figured he needed some guidance. After just a couple of months, he entered his first tournament ("I got coaxed into it") and won. People thought he was lucky at first, but he kept doing well, finishing fourth, then second, then running up a string of victories.

"All of a sudden, I just kept on winning," he remarked. "I was just addicted."

"If you go to a tournament every singe weekend and you don't go one weekend, it's tough," he added.

Even during the week, when he's not competing, Trillus shoots at a range he's set up across the road from his home.

Trillus said he gets support from several sponsors, including Matthews Inc. He's also sponsored by Carbon Express, Copper John, Tru Ball and Lancaster Archery, among others.

But archery is not a sport at which one can easily make a living, he said. There's a lot of travel involved in getting from tournament to tournament, and the time demands make holding a full-time job tricky. He said he's looking for corporate sponsors to help him out in return for advertising.

Part of the problem, he said, is archery is not a main-stream sport, at least not in Canada. It gets little media attention, as opposed to places like China and Korea, where it's the national sport.

As well, Trillus shoots a compound bow, which is equipped with wheels that act as pulleys. That is not considered an Olympic event, so there is no funding from Sport Canada.

That means he has to find much of his own funding.

Despite the financial pressures, Trillus said there are good points to his current situation, including the travel. He's seen quite a lot of North America in the last couple of years. He added he prefers to drive in his travels, as opposed to flying, saying it allows him to meet a lot more people and see various different cultures.

"I've met some of the nicest people in my travels," he commented, adding there's a bit of a fraternal makeup to archers. While there are a few who might not be very pleasant, "the rest of them are more than helpful."

As well, he said his wife Susanna and two sons Gerhard and Rudy have been very supportive in his shooting activities.

Trillus said he has always been a competitor, whether it was rifle shooting, skiing, motocross, etc.

"I do everything to the extreme," he said. "There's no half-way with me. There never was and I don't think there ever will be. It's all or nothing with me."

He added he's tried various activities for a while, then moved on to other things. Archery is the notable exception. "This is the first thing I've done that I've stuck with as loyally as I have," he observed.

And he has the successes to show for it. In addition to numerous tournament wins, Trillus has a world record to his credit, shooting a perfect score of 360 with 36 arrows over 30 metres, with 32 of them hitting the "x" at the dead centre of the target. He did that two years ago, and no one has bested that since. As well, he said there are less than 15 people in the world who have shot better than 1,400 (out of a possible 1,440) at a FITA event (shooting 144 arrows over 30, 50, 70 and 90 metres).

"I shot four in one season," he remarked, adding the world record is 1,414. He said beating that is "one of the things that drives me."

Despite his success, Trillus said he tries not to brag.

"I don't like to be cocky or arrogant," he said. "Unfortunately, my confidence makes me look cocky."

"I take a certain pride in my accomplishments," he added.

He also said he doesn't like it when archers compare themselves to him. He puts a lot of time into his shooting, but he said he believes it's more important for archers to have fun with what they're doing.

"I've never tried to make people feel bad about their accomplishments and achievements," he commented, adding he tries not to blow his own horn.

Trillus will be joining about 600 other archers when he travels to Germany, and there will be about 150 men competing against him in the compound bow competition, "But they'll be the best," he said.

How well will he do?

"I don't know," he said, stating that he never makes predictions heading into a tournament. "I can tell you one thing, and I'm not being humble when I say this. I'm going to do my best."

"Can I win?" he added. "Yes, I can win. I can also be the worst in the field, but I doubt that very much."

"All I can do is give it a 110 per cent effort," he said. "I fully intend to do that."