Built for speed

David McHugh of Lakeville, Conn,. is pretty quick on the draw, but he's just a little faster behind the wheel. It turns out that McHugh, who finished in fourth place at last year's Great Outdoor Games shotgun competition, was a race car driver before he began shooting competitively.

Although he gave up racing, he is vice president of the Skip Barber Racing School and still has a chance to test cars occasionally. He says that the two endeavors share some similarities: "Both are initially easy but impossible to find that last bit of perfection."

McHugh will continue that quest for perfection in Reno next week, and will be seen on the Great Outdoor Games telecasts beginning July 19 on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.

Thanks, Mom

In a bit of a gender role reversal, Fly Fishing competitor Whitney McDowell of Denver, Colo., credits her mother for getting her involved in fishing. She says her mom, Susie, began fly fishing when the family moved to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Whitney was away at school.

Her mother arranged a family trip down the legendary Smith River in Montana and before it was over Whitney was hooked as well. The mom and daughter pair now take any opportunity to wade into a stream together.

A very traditional archer

It took 9,000 years to get first-time Great Outdoor Games competitor Aya La Brie of Aurora, Calif. That's because La Brie got her start in the very ancient art of Kyudo, or traditional Japanese archery, which has been developing since about 7,000 B.C. Although La Brie has been practicing archery for a significantly shorter period of time, it's not too much of a stretch to say that her grounding in Kyudo — and her three Japanese national records, in the 400-meter, 60-meter and FITA competitions — made her one of the top women to qualify for the 2003 Games.

As if her track record weren't impressive enough, La Bria can also claim a world championship title in Japanese swordsmanship, "Iai-Batto-Jutsu." In fact, La Brie just moved back stateside from Japan two years ago to compete for a place on the U.S. World Archery Team. How committed is she to her training? Aya says her "bow is her beau."

Book it!

One of the great things about the new home of the Great Outdoor Games is Reno's terrific infrastructure, which includes plenty of hotel rooms for outdoors enthusiasts - even those who wait until the last minute to book their rooms. If you happen to be among that number, don't despair — just log on to www.renolaketahoe.com and follow the links to find the right room for your needs.