On Sunday, February 5, the Neandertal Kyudo Club hosted its traditional New Year’s archery competition at the gymnasium of the Gymnasium am Neandertal in Erkrath. In addition to club members, guest archers from neighboring clubs and even two participants from Frankfurt had come, bringing the total number of kyudoka competing in the friendly tournament to 28.

The event opened with the Yawatashi—a ceremony in which the oldest archers demonstrate the suitability of the shooting range. Coaches Johannes Maringer, Reinhard Kollotzek, and Shigeyasu Kameo performed a Heki Hitotsu Mato Sharei, in which all three archers shoot two arrows in succession at a sliding target.

Afterward, the various target games took on a less serious tone. The event concluded once again with a small cart mounted with an image of a dragon. Shooting at a moving target is no longer part of training in modern Kyudo, which always makes this round particularly exciting. During the breaks, there was an opportunity to chat and warm up. Due to a heating failure, the hall was freezing, but this did nothing to dampen the good spirits.

Reinhard Kollotzek won the competition, which is quite fitting, since he was born in the Year of the Dragon.

More impressions from the event can be found in the photo gallery.

Automatically translated by DeepL