The largest ever edition of Copa Merengue has commenced in the Dominican Republic, with over 200 archers from across the Americas, including a contingent from Bermuda, arriving in Santo Domingo for the prestigious world ranking tournament.
A total of 216 athletes from 24 countries are registered for the 10th edition, a significant increase of more than 60 participants compared to last year's event. This year's Copa Merengue is running concurrently with a qualification event for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, also set to be held in Santo Domingo.
Day one of the competition saw Bermuda's archers take to the line in both the Recurve Men's and Women's Divisions. In the Men's Recurve, Camerin Pickering delivered a strong performance, finishing 9th with a score of 648. Jaydon Roberts placed 28th with 604 points, while Robert O'Connor finished 59th with 449.
In the Recurve Women's Division, Robin Ann Selley led the Bermudian women, securing 21st place with a score of 578. Elektra Smith finished 39th with 438 points, and N'Dera Smith rounded out the Bermudian contingent in 44th with 321 points.
The increased participation at Copa Merengue highlights the growing strength of archery across the region, and Bermuda's athletes will be looking to build on these initial results as the tournament progresses.
Immediately after the qualification round they went into the First Round of eliminations for the Copa Merengue.
In the Men’s Recurve Division, Pickering defeated Fernandez Cabero from Bolivia 6 - 0, while Roberts edged Heriberto Jimenez from the Dominican Republic 6 - 5, both moved onto the Second Round, while O'Connor went down to Matias Grande from Mexico 6 - 0.
Selley won her First Round match defeating her teammate N'Dera Smith 6 - 0, unfortunately Elektra Smith went down to Camila Patricia Perez Vizcaino from the Dominican Republic 6 - 0.
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