By Bill Dipaolo
Palm Beach Post
Copyright 2007 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
PALM BEACH, Fla. — To Rick Dorey, there’s nothing better than a walk in the woods, and hitting a golf ball-sized bull’s-eye from 50 yards.
“Archery is more of a discipline than a sport,” said the 22-year veteran West Palm Beach firefighter. “You have to block everything out. I take it as a personal challenge.”
Dorey, a slender, bespectacled 49-year-old Michigan native, won three gold medals and set two records in March at the World Police and Fire Games held in Adelaide, Australia. Last month, he won two gold medals at the Florida Firefighters Games archery event held west of Delray Beach.
“It’s very competitive. The current Mr. Universe was there competing in weight lifting in Australia,” said Dorey. “There were 15 countries competing in archery.”
The World Games started in 1985 in San Jose, Calif., and are held every two years in a different city. This year’s competition drew about 10,000 participants from 60 countries who competed in 79 events including pistol shooting, wrestling and swimming. More than 25,000 spectators attended the events, said Dorey.
Like the international summer Olympics held every four years, the event begins with the ceremonial lighting of the torch. Unlike the Olympics, not all the athletes from different countries marched into the stadium wearing well-tailored outfits.
“Athletes from Malaysia, Sweden and other countries were all dressed up in these really nice uniforms,” said Dorey, who lives in Palm Springs. “Then, we Americans came walking in. Many of us were dressed in T-shirts.”
Dorey began practicing archery about a dozen years ago. He joined the local archery group, Gold Coast Archers, and began competing in local competitions.
Archery practice involves much more than standing still and aiming arrows at a stationary blue and red target. Dorey practices at an outdoor county park at Atlantic Avenue and U.S. 441 set up for archery enthusiasts. The archery experts walk a course that features foam life-size turkeys and bears that pop up at different intervals and distances.
“It’s like a golf course. Except the holes are different animals,” said Dorey, who is a driver engineer and member of the hazardous materials/special operations team with West Palm Beach Fire Rescue.
Besides target shooting, Dorey also likes to hunt using a bow and arrow. That aspect of the sport is increasing, said J.B. Stephens, owner of Gator Guns and Archery Center in West Palm Beach.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to get within 75 yards of an animal and shoot it with a gun. You have to get 20 yards or less to the animal with a bow and arrow. That takes much more ability. People who are dedicated hunters more and more like the bow and arrow,” said Stephens.
Outfitting an archery beginner costs about $175. Equipment for an expert - including scopes, sights and stabilizers - such as Dorey, costs about $1,800, said Stephens.
Archery has become a family sport for the Doreys, although not all members have the same passion as Rick. Corinne, Rick’s wife, likes to shoot occasionally. Their son Jason, 25, a firefighter in Clermont, won a $500 scholarship to the University of Central Florida from the Florida Archery Association. Their other son, Nichlaus, 27, a firefighter in Oviedo, occasionally likes to shoot, said Corinne.
“I just play. I don’t get serious about it. If I’m going to spend time with my husband, I have to,” she said.