Mobile Archery, Nerf, and Bubble Soccer!
Having a big corporate outing and you would rather host it than moving everyone around in an attempt to keep things simple and organized? Archers Arena has the answer for you. Archers Arena has special packages prepared specifically for those who have the space and the will to receive our battle archery and/or nerf mobile kits. Our website offers additional information on all possible packages and deals, but here is exactly why you should entrust your event to us:
WE ARE EXPERIENCED AND HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL EVERYWHERE WE WENT.
When it comes to combat archery tag, we have held numerous stations outside for all sorts of different events. We have ranged from being a top attraction at the TNT Night Market to being a fan favourite at multiple Frosh Weeks for Universities and Colleges, so you can imagine the scale at which we can function. Therefore, it becomes safe to say that Toronto already knows us as the specialists we are when it comes to battle archery, otherwise referred to as archery dodgeball. We bring along all the protection and equipment needed, as well as bunkers and huge inflatable walls to delimit the perimeter. Our games are tried and true, and our coaches know exactly how to handle all sorts of different groups.
As for Nerf, although it is our newest attraction here at Archers Arena, it is already becoming a major success. Our choice of weaponry along with the very low amount of jams and hiccups we have experienced is a direct result of learning from all the mistakes other branches of nerfing have had at different facilities. We’ve done our homework in order to bring the best out of Nerf at Archers Arena. We are ready to bring you nerfing in our own special way, with high quality weapons such as Rival and N-Strike, for ammo capacity, reload speed, low to no jamming systems, and overall precision. As for game modes? They mostly follow the general Nerf Wars guidelines, but we do add some combat archery tag game modes or twists, simply to make the games that much more interesting. An exciting twist on an already great system.
Lastly, we do offer to bring along our inflatable bubble soccer kit. We let you play with the huge bubbles as you want, or we can set up different games with them; whichever suits your needs best. Bubble soccer is an instant favorite as both a daily activity or something to do during a break from the main events: battle archery or nerf. The option is there for your consideration.
Summer is right around the corner, and everyone is starting to feel the urge to go outside and soak up the sun. Evidently, this will be done when the weather allows for it, just as combat archery tag and Nerf Wars played outside will both become viable options. Mobile archery and Nerf are both becoming very popular, so make sure to book online in advance to guarantee our services, or give us a call at 647-992-7362.
Tournament Results!
March 26th saw another combat archery tag tournament being held at Archers Arena, and once again, it proved to be a success. Our pool of competitive battle archery players keeps growing and the results of this tournament were extremely close. Our plan of splitting up old, dominating archery dodgeball teams (Blood Bath and Beyond, and Wetshots) ended up being an interesting factor for every team, but especially for the players that were always used to playing together. Facing their old teammates was “really cool and fascinating” as one of them later mentioned to me.
What was fascinating in my eyes was how differently they ended up playing among new players. Not only did they have to gage their new teams’ strengths and weaknesses, they also had to remember those of their buddies so they could exploit what information they had on them. It was a beautiful coming together of old and new discussing strategy and forging plays in order to win a match.
Furthermore, this time around we limited our archery dodgeball tournament to 6 teams, allowing rematches to better gage not only endurance, but how well players and teams evolve together. This new system was definitely a favourite for many players, along with a new twist changing team count from 6 to 5, creating a whole new level of intensity in gameplay. Each arrow fired had to count, and strategies were evolving with every round.
Some other highlights include:
- Shooting arrows at our brand new red ducks for target practice in our range to keep both mind and body warm and ready to go in between matches;
- each team had one coach to play with them, allowing balance to be had in this combat archery tag tournament while making it more interesting for every team coming in;
- retired coaches and members showed up for the tournament, and they had to acknowledge they were now out of practice and on a lower skill level than the new generation;
- an array of creative team names were had: The Lords of the Strings, Power Rangers, XxX, Shake’N’Bake, Strap-Ons, and Bowthoven’s 5th Stringphany;
- new players ended up doing great plays, wonderful headshots and fantastic catches;
- our archery-loving community keeps growing and expanding and that is awesome.
The victors were the cleverly named The Lords of the Strings (personal favourite pun), which was composed of 4 higher level players instead of the regulated 5, winning by only 1 point at 19. Second place was the less-cleverly named Strap-Ons with 18 points, a team that has been building itself from the ground up at Archers Arena with constant practice and coming out on Coach nights (every Tuesday). Goes to show that dedication really pays off. Third place ended up being a tie between XxX, and Power Rangers at 17 points.
Here’s to a next tournament just as successful! Keep a look out for it in upcoming blogs or through our Archers Arena facebook page.
18 Benefits of Playing Combat Archery Tag at Archers Arena!
Archery is widely known as being a therapeutic sport because of its calm, focused nature. However, combat archery tag (or archery dodgeball) is a much more active version of archery, which still encompases many of the same benefits, along with a few more of its own. The following are just some of the perks or skills you get out of playing combat archery tag here at Archers Arena.
1. Exercise
Combat archery tag is known as a workout; you will be leaving sweaty and satisfied.
2. Upper Body Strength
The constant, repetitive motions of drawing and firing a bow activates the major core muscle groups in the upper body.
3. Agility
Your reflexes and quick moves will be put to the test while playing archery dodgeball, allowing for constant improvement.
4. Instincts
At Archers Arena we encourage instinctive archery, which means less thinking and more feeling for more accurate results. Having a clear mind really does improve and sharpen your skills.
5. Balance
To successfully hit stationary targets, stillness is key, therefore control of your body is essential, and that develops one's balance.
6. Hand-Eye Coordination
Not only does it improve by shooting, it also improves with catching oncoming arrows.
7. Mental Focus
This is a big one. You have to both focus on hitting your target, while also keeping track of everything else going on in the game.
8. Analytical Skills
Because there is so much going on during a game, players eventually pick up prioritizing certain plays or tactics to either gain the advantage or survive an onslaught.
9. Teamwork/Communication
Lone wolves don't survive in the arena, no matter their potential. Working as a team always brings the best results as one player may see something others don't. Communicating is key to adapting to given circumstances.
10. Patience
The key to winning in archery dodgeball is patience, along with timing. Mastering archery takes time and requires a certain softness, kind of like a bow itself.
11. Confidence
Another big one. Seeing yourself improve and your shots landing is always a great way to boost both your self-esteem and your confidence, along with our encouraging coaches.
12. Community
We at Archers Arena are building a community of players that simply love the sport, and we all support and push each other to get better. There is nothing but love here, and it really shines through.
13. Safety
We provide arm guards and helmets, as well as a training which shows you how to handle our equipment safely and effectively.
14. Stress-Relief
No better way to let off steam than by shooting other people and they still get to walk away unscathed.
15. Two Outlooks
Combat archery tag can be conducted both in and outdoors.
16. It's Fun for Everyone
Kids and adults alike always enjoy their experience with us, and who can blame them? Archery is already badass, and now you get to make an hero out of yourself on our courts.
17. New Sport
Combat archery tag is a relatively newly developed sport, meaning that there are still various techniques and tactics waiting to be discovered to enhance the game.
18. Easy to Learn
Literally anyone can pick up combat archery tag if they truly desire to. We provide in depth training to ensure every new person starts on the same level as everyone else, personal predispositions notwithstanding.
These are just a few of the reasons why both Archers Arena and combat archery tag have become such popular attractions for the people of Toronto, although archery dodgeball itself is making it's way worldwide. It really is a choice that you simply can't go wrong with because it appeals to everyone on different levels. Whether it's from the excitement of being a bow-wielding warrior to even just being a competitive person who enjoys pushing their own limits, there really is no bad reason to want to play the game.
Play Nerf Wars at Archers Arena!
Since we have perfected the art of combat archery tag, we at Archers Arena have decided to take on a new challenge. Nerf Wars. You heard us right. Sometime in the near future, you will be able to use our facilities to come play games with Nerf guns!
Since we like to guarantee high quality experiences, we have obtained some of the best equipment on the market. We want to insure that the guns won’t jam because of faulty ammunition, while also leveling the playing field so players aren’t at a disadvantage because of the weapon they choose. All of our main guns are going to be Rival series, such as the Artemis for close quarters, and eventually the Nemesis for sniping up in our towers (when it comes out in Canada). In certain game modes, we might either include a Triad EX-3 Elite as a sidearm, or maybe have you play with it as a “Golden Gun” type of weapon. Last but not least, our Strongarm is a mix of both worlds; small, yet packs a punch and has more ammunition than the Elite.
We are coming up with a ton of different and innovative game modes we cannot wait to test out. As mentioned previously, our “Golden Gun” beta involves our little pistol. Every player starts with one bullet, the idea being one shot, one kill, and last man standing wins, in a Golden Eye Nintendo 64 themed game style. With our bigger guns, we are obviously planning some team matches, such as “Medicine Ball”, where there is a healing ball passed around that can be used to heal your teammates, where the goal is to capture the enemy’s ball before they get yours, or even “Team Deathmatch” where you group up into teams of 2-3 people and form temporary alliances with other groups until there’s only one team left standing.
We want to have a balanced session focused on game-play, and create the premium Nerf experience. We went out to other facilities to try it out, and gather the best feedback, with the purpose of combining them into one epic session containing none of the downsides we experienced in our outings. Our dedication to customer satisfaction is just that high. With a group of trigger-friendly enthusiasts like us, it’s bound to be a one of a kind experience filled with different kinds of challenges and fun times. Look for Nerf Wars at Archers Arena soon for a new thrill-inducing experience!
Popular Archery Icons and How They’ve Affected Today’s Archery
Archery has come and gone from the front interest line due to its growing and receding popularity on-screen with either movies or TV series, and even in video games. It becomes super trendy, and cool, and hip when viewers see their heroes handling a bow, and then when the movie or show dies down, or the game gets old, so does the archery trend before it comes right back strong as ever. So here is a tribute to the various inspirations and forms that archery has shown through to make its place in our culture throughout the times.
First off, I am going to start off with one of the classics of our culture; Robin Hood. There have been multiple takes on this very old tale, from the Disney animated movie featuring foxes as the main characters, to the very funny spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and even the more serious feel the 2010 movie featuring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett gave it. In all of them, Robin’s talents went uncontested and he managed some very impressive tricks with his bow and arrows, which no doubt have fueled the imagination of many a youth.
In the world of video games, I can go all the way back to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for inspiration. Playing as Link and shooting everything with the bow and winning challenges and competitions always gave me such a feeling of satisfaction that my own personal love for the art came from there. In more recent years, the reboot of Tomb Raider in 2013 had Lara survive with only a bow and arrows to start off her adventure, which obviously got me hooked, but so did a lot of other players from all the positive reviews the game received.
Probably one the most iconic bow-wielding characters in my opinion comes from the Lord of the Rings franchise. Being a personal favourite of mine, Legolas has all the moves down in the series and just flat-out makes archery look so damn good, and not just because of his looks. His elven efficiency and accuracy just change the name of the game, and he comes up with tactics that we can’t even begin to replicate (lack of having elephants handy being a main one), although when we play, some of us do come out with bruises from time to time, just as he will always sport one of his forehead after a battle.
There have been a lot of popular icons in the recent years popping up on screen, such as Katniss from The Hunger Games, Hawkeye in The Avengers, Merida in Disney and Pixar’s Brave and even Oliver Queen in the Green Arrow TV series, which have all fueled a different wave of archery love. People want to try it out and see how they fare at it, and generally, when archery is picked up, it’s rather hard to put back down. That being said, here at Archers Arena, we want people to find their true potential not only at archery, but at the new sport that has been created from it: combat archery tag. It brings out a whole new dimension reminiscent of video games and medieval combat. This new trend is definitely here to stay.
First Eastern Canadian Tournament. The Results are IN!
For those of you that might have missed all our original posts on the subject, on the 5th of February 2017, Archers Arena has hosted the first eastern Canadian combat archery tag tournament! From far in wide, Toronto has received a team from Ottawa, one from Windsor, two from Montreal, and we had five teams representing us. With intense gameplays fought, ridiculous turnabouts, quick moves and quick thinking, there is only one word we can use to describe this event: epic.
On the eve of the battle, both Ottawa and Montreal teams came to practice at the Arena, leading to the first contact between the various people who were going to play each other the next day. The comradery was frank and forthcoming, although you could tell that no one would go easy on the others the following day. It was great to see so many passionate people that just love the game of archery dodgeball, and who work at bettering themselves all the time.
When the morning came, coffee and breakfast were awaiting all the players, but the hype was already alive and going. The atmosphere was unreal, the anticipation crackled in the air as all awaited to take each other on. The game was on. Bows at the ready, getting the stretches in, focus was all on strategy and gameplay. Friendly banter in the air, with the underlying current of rivalry made it even more intense, yet still fun.
Throughout the morning, the plays were non-stop. Teams were learning how to face each other and strategies had to be changed and adapted to who was playing who. Evaluating the other players and understand how they play combat archery tag, and how to counter them was not an easy task, but it had to be done in order to win the tournament! After the first few rounds that comprised Round Robin style of play, Toronto came out on top with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, while Montreal took 4th and 5th.
However, in a complete change of pace during the finals, Montreal worked together for an epic comeback to win the tournament, and won against the newly reformed team Kyron’s Angels, known previously as Wetshots, which did end up winning our 7th local tournament. As prizes, Montreal Originals ended up going home with six of our beautiful, hand-painted 26 pound bows.
All there is left to say is that it was truly our pleasure to host such great teams from all over. All we can hope for is to have an even broader turnout from more Canadian cities in the next major tournament, which will be hosted sometime during the summer. We will be working out, and standardizing, Canadian rules so we can all train and play in the same frame of mind. Looking forward to the next epic combat archery tag Canadian tournament!
Larping at Archers Arena – Champions Arena
Larping, as some of you may already know, stands for live action role-playing. You may wonder, what does that have to do with Archers Arena? Well, here we are introducing a whole new concept of roleplaying named the Champions Arena; which does not focus on the storyline, but on the peoples own abilities. This is where you can come test out how well you can actually do with our legitimate, high quality larping weapons, by trying out different classes that have different perks during play. Champions Arena allows for full-out, yet completely safe, medieval combat the likes of which has never been seen in an archery facility.
The concept of Champions Arena was created by larpers, for larpers, old and new, with a twist. Here, you get your pick from 5 different classes that have all been calibrated to have at least one other class that can compensate against the given advantage each individual class brings to your team as a whole. However, it will ultimately rest on teamwork, cooperation and skill to determine the winner. That being said, some players may show prowess as one class, and be terrible at another, so mixing things up is always an interesting option.
Our five current classes offer a variety of opportunities to act out varied yet interesting characters that all have a lot to offer both strategically and physically, so you can play to your strong suit, or choose you want to get good at something new. Wither you wish to claim as your own the nobility of the knight with sword and shield, or go crazy as the berserker with two swords, or perhaps even defend your teams’ honor as the katana-wielding samurai, each class has perks that allow for either strong offensive or solid defensive. If you prefer not to be part of the front line and play the game from a distance, then you could give the sneaky rogue with throwing axes a go, or even shoot from afar with precision as the archer.
With such distinct classes, we had to come up with some pretty awesome games to play which all give a different, yet always satisfying, goal to accomplish. From hack and slash, to Tower Defense, different game types allow for different strategies, and teamwork is a must if you want to come out victorious! Jedi Master also guarantees a unique, killer workout, just as fun as defeating hordes of foes with a lightsaber sounds like it would be.
In conclusion, Champions Arena is a new, fun, and unique way to live intense combat in an environment that can only be experienced at Archers Arena. As different an experience as it is from combat archery tag, it is its own challenge and demands completely different sets of skills to master. If you’re looking for an even better workout than archery dodgeball, or even just an excuse to wack your buddies, you should really give these games a try.
Combat Archery: 4 Reasons You Should Make Archers Arena Your New Gym Membership Option
If you’re like me, then you need motivation to work out. I find that going to a gym doesn’t cut it simply because it’s no fun. Running on a treadmill blankly staring at a TV (if you’re lucky), pedaling your life away without moving an inch, lifting weights over and over, I get bored rather quickly of the mind-numbing, same old, same old routine a gym offers. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to play sports, where you have a clear and fun motivation to get active. Here is why getting a membership at Archers Arena for combat archery tag will save you the boredom of an average workout session.
Cardio
If you’re playing the game properly, you will be constantly on the move. The more you’re moving, the harder it is to get a good shot at you. There’s also an initial sprint for the arrows in the safe zone at the beginning of every round. If you get to play full court, which means both of our courts combined, then you have two courts you need to cover and access at different points in the game to either press on the offensive, or support the defensive. It does require fast reflexes and quick moves because enemies can (and will) shoot at you cross-court. Dodging is a must if you want to survive long.
Upper Body
As mentioned previously, if you’ve never used a bow before, you will be surprised at all the muscles involved in the form. To have all of your power in a shot, you need to fully draw your bow. The only way you can properly do that is actually thanks mostly to your back, but also your shoulders, arms, and chest. We have bows that are 22, 26, and 29 pounds. Most competitive/athletic players end up using the 29 pound bows, which means every time they shot someone, they’re doing an upper body rep of 29 pounds. It might not seem like a lot, but in a session of an hour, you will easily have fired off close to 100 arrows. That’s close to 100 reps of 29 pounds in an hour.
Lower Body
As much as shooting is fun, you do need to pick up the arrows that you want to shoot. This implies that every time you reach for an arrow, you will either be lunging or squatting to reach. So if you take our earlier 100arrows per hour shooting statistic, it would mean you are performing around 100 squat and/or lunge throughout your hour session. In addition, when you are dodging, you are simply dropping out of the way, and demanding your muscles move quickly, so there’s constant use there too. And then there is hiding behind bunkers. None of them are tall enough for people to comfortably stand behind them to be hidden, which again would involve you to get down however you choose. However, when you go down, you must come up and muscles do come into play. It might not seem like much, but you do feel the burn the day after.
Benefits
Other than the physical benefits of playing combat archery tag, there are also a lot more reasons to choose to get the membership here at Archers Arena. There are constantly more players getting high on the game, which ensures that the quality of gameplay on Coach Nights always exceeds expectations. We encourage playful competitiveness by still playing our hardest, but also taking it easy when the time or the situation calls for it. You will also get to meet and get close to our already existing and expanding pool of members and coaches. Best way to learn and get better is to interact with stronger players on and off the court. We’ve created an atmosphere of kinship here where everyone is friendly and warm toward one another. On a more technical note, you also get the chance to drop in once a day on existing sessions at no extra cost.
When it comes to combat archery tag, I find it to be a very effective workout because not only is it fast-paced stop and go, but you get to work some muscles you didn’t even know you had, especially if you’ve never handled a bow with arrows before. It helps build a strong core as well as develop quick reflexes, flexibility, and agility. Archers Arena also provides a great atmosphere to play and grow in. Just be prepared to work up a sweat when you come and try it out.