2008 MA Indoor Open Tournament Recap

 

On March 28-30 the 2008 MASS Indoor Open was held at New England’s newest indoor archery facility, ACE Archer’s located at 131 Morse Street in Foxboro, MA.  Owner Tom Harrington held the Grand Opening of the range on January 26th, 2008.  The range is located on the third floor of a beautifully restored mill building which also is home to a gym and a furniture showroom.  The entrance to ACE Archer’s is located on the far right end of the building just a short walk from the parking lot.  The range has 14 shooting lanes with high ceilings and excellent lighting.  What is unique about AA is the wall running down the right side of the range which has Plexiglas panels which separate the archers from the spectators.  There is a shelf running the full length of the wall and tall stools so spectators can sit comfortably with a beverage and watch the action from any point they wish.  This gives a unique perspective when watching a tournament or practice.  You can also bring your laptop because AA’s also offers public WiFi access.  Another unique feature of the range are the backstops.  Tom researched different back stop materials and came up with these mats which go by the trade name Spyderweb which have two layers of fabric and a sandwich of some material to stop the arrows.  Through all weight bows and size arrows it was virtually effortless to remove the arrows from the backstops and best of all, no target snot.  You can get more information on this product at http://www.spyderwebtargets.com/Home.html or contact Tom at ACE Archer’s.  When you enter the facility you come up a flight of step and the front desk is to your right, in front of you is a party / equipment set up room with HDTV and to the left is the shop, range, team room and office area.  The entire area is bright and open with enough space to shoot a 30m indoor event if one were so inclined.  Tom also has complete archery video and motion analysis software for archery training and will be offering Level 1, Level 2 and BEST Method training seminars.  The only draw back is that the facility is not handicap accessible.  If you are in the area stop by and check out the facility, shoot for a while and be sure to check out the backstop.  You can get additional information on ACE Archer’s on the web at http://www.acearchers.com/.  Written by G. Stewart Renner 4/2/08