When it comes to equality among the sexes, fishing and hunting are two shining examples. There are no reasons preventing women from excelling at either activity since the emphasis is on eye-hand coordination, patience, knowledge and understanding.
In other words, women can shoot and cast just as well as their male counterparts.
The only stumbling block that appears to hinder women in attaining outdoor skills is opportunity. And that’s where Women’s Outdoors Weekends (W.O.W.) comes in.
From Friday August 24 through 26 in a beautiful natural setting at the Leslie M. Frost Center near Dorset Ontario, as many as 120 women will gather for three days of camaraderie, fun and skills development.
“The last thing we want women to feel is pressure, and this weekend is all about avoiding pressure. We have women teaching women the courses and skills they want to learn,” said program coordinator Cathy Atkinson.
“If women want to learn how to shoot a gun, rifle or an air gun we can teach them safely and effectively. If they are interested in the basics of catching a bass, then we can show them how. But the program is much more than just hooks and bullets.” Atkinson explained.
Among the learning opportunities also offered are yoga and relaxation techniques and how to call wild animals, including a wolf howl. There’s also wild game preparation, camping and campsite cooking, map and compass reading, outdoor survival, wild edibles and medicinals, motor boat handling, wild turkey hunting, waterfowl identification plus fly tying and lapidary (the cutting and polishing of rocks and minerals).
Sponsored by Winchester Ammunition, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Shimano, Ontario Out of Doors Magazine, Outdoor Canada, Bromley Archery, Algonquin Outfitters, Bushnell, Browning, Crosman, Abu Garcia, Buoy-O-Boy, Normark, Quakerboy Game Calls and Molson’s, the W.O.W. weekend is open to women 18 years of age and over.
For more information or to register for O.F.A.H. Women’s programs contact O.F.A.H. Communications Specialist Mark Holmes at 705-748-6324, fax 705-748-9577, or e-mail ofah@ofah.org
Members of the media are invited to arrange interviews and/or participate in the program by calling the above numbers.