Karen Gauriloff, a junior at Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy (VIMSIA), is headed to Guatemala to participate in the Guatemala Archery Tournament, along with teammate Joshua Derrickson, with hopes of securing a ticket to the Youth Olympics.
After five years of playing around with a bow and arrow, Gauriloff decided to take up archery competitively only one and a half years ago. Under the direction of Anne Abernathy, “Grandma Luge,” who is a luge athlete from the U.S. Virgin Islands and the oldest female athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics, Gauriloff has trained extensively. She has been practicing four hours a day building strength, stamina and working on consistency – a key factor to scoring in archery.
“There are three main parts to the competition,” said Gauriloff. “First there is the qualification round, second is Match Play where you must compete against another archer, and lastly the Mixed Team round.” Gauriloff and Derrickson will compete together in the match play round.
Feeling excited and nervous, Gauriloff enters the competition setting her goal to score 500 points out of a possible 720 points.
It is a tradition for archers to trade pins with their competitors as a sign of good sportsmanship. Thanks to the V.I. Department of Tourism, Gauriloff is headed to Gautemala with U.S.V.I. pins, towels, bags and T-shirts to represent her home. “I’m looking forward to adding to my pin collection; I have 20 so far,” she said.
If Gauriloff moves on, she may have a chance at representing the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Youth Olympics. Currently an 11th grade student, through hard work and dedication Gauriloff has managed to graduate a year early from VIMSIA and will attend Allegheny College, Penn., this fall.
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIe-0ojGT4Q
