When Matthew Simmons moved from Cleveland to Bend, he brought his bow and arrows with him. What began as an idea floated among his friends at Central Cascades Archery quickly became a reality, as the 45-year-old Simmons decided to start an archery club in Central Oregon.

The JOAD club — which stands for Junior Olympic Archery Development — began in November 2017, and Simmons said it is affiliated with USA Archery, the governing body for Olympic archery.

Its current membership is mostly kids, but Simmons said all age groups are welcome. During the summer and a portion of the fall, the club shoots at Tillicum Park every other Saturday. During the winter, it shoots indoors on the same schedule.

Simmons said that people new to the sport will fall in love with it instantly.

“Whenever you see an arrow fly 50 meters and land in the middle of a target, it’s pretty impressive,” he said. “The first time I ever saw that, I was hooked.”

Simmons got involved with archery about 11 years ago in Cleveland. He has been doing it on and off since that time due to work and family commitments but has consistently been shooting the last two years. Starting the club, he said, was his way of introducing archery to Bend in a way that strictly involves target shooting rather than bow-hunting.

“I want to introduce it to people and get them engaged,” Simmons said. “I don’t think about anything else when I’m shooting. It’s brought a lot of joy to my life, and I hope it does the same for other people.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0307, rclarke@bendbulletin.com