Caleb Nickerson
QUYON July 26, 2017
The family of a local aspiring archer is appealing to the public in order to attend an international competition in Argentina.
Alexandra Paquette of Quyon, though still a teenager, is one of the top-ranked female compound archers in the country and in May she qualified for the World Youth Games, held this October in Rosario, Argentina.

Her father, James Paquette, said that the family has spent close to $15,000 in order to attend qualifying tournaments in Canada and the U.S. He said that Archery Canada had told parents that there would be funding set aside for the compound youth team to travel but he later discovered that the money was given entirely to the senior squad.
“I [was] floored,” he said. “This is a national governing body that has said ‘We’re not going to give any money to the youth, we’re going to give it to the senior team.’ You want to get youth into the sport and you’ve actually just screwed a pile of them over.”
Parents were told to set aside around $4,500 to travel to Rosario, though James added that the real total is higher, since it doesn’t include other fees, like uniforms and documentation.
The family is appealing to the public for assistance through a Gofundme page, where they have raised about $1,800 of their $5,000 goal. They hope to reach $2,500 by the end of the month.
“The whole thing has been rather disheartening. Not only is she the top ranked female in the country, she broke the outdoor record again,” James said. “She’s the top ranked athlete in the country and right now Archery Canada doesn’t seem too concerned whether she goes or not.”
Those wishing to donate can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/road-to-rosario-world-youth-champ.