Media Direct’s Bowhunting Roundtable took place on May 24-26 in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah. A handful of members of the outdoor media gathered at the Easton Salt Lake City Archery Center to meet with manufacturers and learn about exciting new products.
VIDEOS:
These opportunities are always amazing for outdoor writers because it gives us the chance to meet face to face with the experts and specialists behind some of the industry’s most cutting edge products. This intimate gathering provided an amazing setting to ask questions, test gear, and learn firsthand about the inspiration behind it all.
In a stroke of good luck and expert planning, both the Easton and Hoyt manufacturing facilities were a stone’s throw away from the Easton Salt Lake City Archery Center, providing us with the opportunity to tour the factories. It was truly amazing to see all the hard work and technology behind the products from these facilities. We often take the polished, finished result for granted. Seeing the dedication and processes behind it all shed a new light on these two great companies.
Amazingly, Media Direct’s Mark Sidelinger and Kim Cahalan also managed to bring a great deal of fun to the table in addition to the in-depth learning experience. The first night of the event was marked with a game of ‘archery tag’. This new sport has been making a lot of waves and is steadily growing in popularity. Outdoor writers and manufactures split into random teams, got geared up, and went at it in a battle of tactics, precision and teamwork. On day two, after meeting with manufacturers and touring Easton and Hoyt, our group had the pleasure of receiving recurve lessons from none other than Olympic gold medalist Jay Barrs. We then put our newly polished skills to the test on Easton Salt Lake City Archery Center outdoor range in a head to head shooting competition. Finally, we rounded out the gathering with a clay-pigeon style areal shooting practice.
All in all it was a memorable and enlightening event. I think it’s safe to say that we all feel truly blessed to be working in this amazing industry.
