Archery Lessons, New Rates and Courses

I have updated my archery lesson rates and changed how I operate my lessons. Starting in September 2025 I now do archery courses: Each course contains 3 lessons and the total time requirement is 5.5 hours. I have also changed my pricing.

Why? Because after 17 years of teaching archery I have changed careers and am officially retired from teaching archery. Unofficially, I will still teach if I am available, the weather is good (and my arthritis isn't acting up).

Email cardiotrek@gmail.com to book your archery courses. Learn more about my archery lessons in Toronto.

The Archery Courses

Each course that lasts from 10 AM and ends at 3:30 PM. Students get half-hour breaks at 11:30 for lunch and 1:30 for a snack. Please remember to bring your lunch and snacks with you.

The Beginner Course

10 AM to 11:30 - Beginner Lesson I, includes safety lecture, how to string a bow properly, lecture on how to aim and proper form, and approximately 70 minutes of field archery practice.

12 PM to 1:30 - Beginner Lesson II, focuses on target archery practice, and includes a small lecture on arrowheads.

2 PM to 3:30 - Beginner Lesson III, focuses on long distance field archery practice, and includes a small lecture on arrow spine and why that matters for accuracy and safety.

Cost: $300 CDN for one student, $400 CDN for two students.

All equipment is provided by the instructor. 

The Intermediate Course

10 AM to 11:30 - Intermediate Lesson I, focuses on Gap Shooting (a different style of aiming) and Moving Targets, plus a mini lecture on how to wax a bow string.

12 PM to 1:30 - Intermediate Lesson II, focuses on Long Distance Archery / Adjusting for the Wind.

2 PM to 3:30 - Intermediate Lesson III, focuses on Shooting While in Motion or Kneeling.

Cost: $300 CDN for one student, $400 CDN for two students.

If the student(s) don't have their own equipment then all equipment is provided by the instructor. 

The Advanced Course

10 AM to 11:30 - Intermediate Lesson I, focuses on a topic of the student's choice.

12 PM to 1:30 - Intermediate Lesson II, focuses on a topic of the student's choice.

2 PM to 3:30 - Intermediate Lesson III, focuses on a topic of the student's choice.

Cost: $300 CDN for one student, $400 CDN for two students.

If the student(s) don't have their own equipment then all equipment is provided by the instructor. 

Advanced Options

• Adjusting for Wind at Longer Distances. Up to 375 feet.
• Aiming Exercises, geared towards teaching the student to be able to adjust their aim correctly.
• Alternative Stances.
• Clout Archery. 
• Horsebow Archery.
• Howard Hill Style / Longbow Style.
• Instinctive Archery.
• Moving Targets. 
• Olympic Archery.
• Perfecting Form / Getting rid of any remaining bad habits, how to recognize bad habits.
• Precision Marksmanship at 60 feet - requires the student to have developed good form first.
• Varying Distances, Adjusting Aim based on minor changes in distance.

Please be advised that I only teach during the day between 10 AM and 3:30 PM. There is zero evening availability.

There is no "last minute bookings". If you are trying to book an archery lesson for "tomorrow" then that isn't going to happen. I need to know at least 72 hours in advance, and I need to confirm my availability before any lessons are booked. 

Ask about my 10% Seniors Discount if you are over 65. Ask about my 10% Veterans Discount if you are a former or current member of the Canadian Armed Forces. (Discounts are not cumulative.)

Email cardiotrek@gmail.com to book your archery courses. Learn more about my archery lessons in Toronto.

Changing Careers, Cutting Back on Availability

I am currently in the midst of changing careers, which is one of the reasons that I recently updated my archery rates in November 2024.

In January earlier this year I went back to college to study for a new career in the real estate industry for which I am getting a certification as a home inspector. As a perfectionist archery instructor I will be turning my perfectionism towards judging homes and looking for faults in their structure, plumbing, electrical systems, etc.

However this doesn't mean that I am quitting teaching archery. It simply means that in the future I will be more choosy about my students and will have more limited availability. During 2024 I had already cut myself back to only teaching a few days per month, and I expect my schedule to be similar going forward in 2025.

I am also planning to release an archery book in the future, something that I have been working on and off for nearly a decade now, and this will allow potential students in the future to read my book instead or to get a few lessons + the book, and the book should help to supplement the lessons so that students can continue to improve after they no longer have need of my teaching.

So if you're reading this, yes, you can still book archery lessons for 2025, but I recommend booking far in advance because I am going to have limited availability.

This likewise goes for anyone seeking to give archery lessons to someone during the Christmas Holidays as a gift. Order your gift voucher now so that your loved one can schedule their archery lessons well in advance.

Contact cardiotrek@gmail.com to book your archery lessons or buy a gift voucher.

Happy Holidays!

New Archery Lesson Rates

My new archery lesson rates are effective immediately, as of November 1st 2024.

Morning / Afternoon Rates (No Evenings)

1 Student, Weekdays or Weekends

$90 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $260; 5 Lessons - $420; 10 Lessons - $820.

2 Students, Weekdays or Weekends

$120 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $350; 5 Lessons - $570; 10 Lessons - $1120.

Notes

Some of you may notice that the above rates are nearly identical to my archery rates from 2019 (prior to the pandemic), with the only major difference is that there is no longer a price difference between weekday and weekend lessons. I lowered my archery rates during the pandemic and have slowly been raising them since the pandemic is over in order to keep in line with inflation.

Anyone seeking archery lessons for larger groups are advised to split into groups of 2 people with similar schedules and book your lessons separately to best match your schedule(s).

Seniors over the age of 65 and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces with a veterans card or similar ID are eligible for a 10% discount on archery lessons.

Contact cardiotrek@gmail.com to prebook your archery lessons for 2025.

 

Archery Lessons Availability for March-April 2024

Due to other obligations during March and April 2024 I will only be available to teach archery on weekends, up until April 23rd. No weekday time slots are available during that time period.

Starting on Wednesday April 24th I will once again be able to teach on weekdays, at least until September.

If you're planning to book archery lessons this year for yourself or a loved one I recommend doing it sooner rather than later so you can claim the best time slots. I have a hunch this summer will be very busy (hotter summers tends to be busier).

Contact cardiotrek@gmail.com to schedule your archery lessons today.

New Archery Rates as of January 2024

Due to inflation I will be raising my archery rates on January 1st 2024. I haven't changed my rates since Summer 2020, so by January 2024 that will be roughly 3.5 years without any changes to my rates.

Below are my current archery lesson rates:

Morning / Afternoon Rates (No Evenings)

1 Student, Weekdays or Weekends
$70 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $200; 5 Lessons - $320; 10 Lessons - $620.

2 Students, Weekdays or Weekends
$100 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $290; 5 Lessons - $470; 10 Lessons - $920.

Below are my new archery lesson rates starting January 1st 2024:

Morning / Afternoon Rates (No Evenings)

1 Student, Weekdays or Weekends
$80 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $230; 5 Lessons - $370; 10 Lessons - $720.

2 Students, Weekdays or Weekends
$110 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $320; 5 Lessons - $520; 10 Lessons - $1020.

This $10 increase per lesson represents an approximately 14% increase in my rates for single lessons for one person. The inflation rate in Canada was only 0.72% during 2020, but was 3.4% in 2021 and 6.8% in 2022. So far in 2023 the inflation rate has been 2.8%, and could reach 4% by January 2024.

Keeping in mind that such inflation is compounded annually.

Thus a $100 worth of goods in 2020 would now cost $100 x 1.0072 x 1.034 x 1.068 x 1.028 (or 1.04) =

$114.34 (or $115.68 by January 2024)

Thus the compound interest during the past 3 years has been 14.34% and will reach approximately 15.68% by January 2024 when my rates go up.

So raising my archery lessons rates by approximately 14% is in line with the compounded interest rate from the past 3 years.

Note - Prebooking for lessons in 2024 means that people can lock in a cheaper rate before my prices go up in January. So if you are planning to get lessons in 2024 it is best to book now before my prices increase.

Plus hitting your own arrow (and breaking it) on a moving target gets more expensive as the price of arrows has also been going up.

New Gift Voucher Artwork for Cardio Trek Archery Lessons

Okay, so many years now I have been using the same design for Cardio Trek's Gift Vouchers with respect to archery lessons.

And it occurred to me recently that perhaps it was time to make a new design.

So here are the old designs. First up the Regular design:

And the Valentines Day version.

I still like the concept of the gift box in the image, but I felt it was time for something new. Plus I wanted to use the same font used for the Cardio Trek logo.

Voila!

Now immediately I know some people are going to prefer the old versions... But whatever. It doesn't matter which version people want to use. What really matters is the Gift Voucher Number when people contact me to book their archery lessons in Toronto.

Want to give a friend, loved one or coworker a gift? Why not archery lessons?! Just contact me via cardiotrek@gmail.com to get started.

Happy Shooting!

Archery Lessons for Valentines Day

Looking for something fun to give a loved one for Valentines Day in Toronto?

Why not give them an Archery Lesson for Two?

Or Archery Lessons...

2 Students, Weekdays or Weekends
$100 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $290; 5 Lessons - $470; 10 Lessons - $920.

Contact cardiotrek@gmail.com to get a Gift Voucher Number and have a Happy Valentines Day!

No Price Hikes due to Inflation at Cardio Trek

 

I have decided to keep my rates the same as they have been since June 2020. So despite the inflation that is going on elsewhere in the Canadian/North American economy, I will be keeping my rates the same.

So for example my Archery Lessons will continue to use the following rates:

1 Student, Weekdays or Weekends
$70 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $200; 5 Lessons - $320; 10 Lessons - $620.

But there is one big change I would like to announce: I will now be accepting couples again. I ceased offering lessons to pairs/couples during 2020, but I will be resuming that in 2023.

The new couples rates are:

2 Students, Weekdays or Weekends
$100 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $290; 5 Lessons - $470; 10 Lessons - $920.

Anyone looking for archery lessons in Toronto, regardless of what style of archery you want to learn, should contact me to learn more: cardiotrek@gmail.com

I teach the following styles of archery:

• Traditional Recurve
• Olympic Recurve
• Longbow/Flatbow
• Horsebow/Shortbow
• Compound Archery

I do not teach crossbows, but I do know someone who does if that's your preference.

Happy Shooting!

Merry Christmas from Cardio Trek

Merry Christmas from Cardio Trek!

Looking for a last minute gift for a loved one? Get them archery lessons in Toronto!

Happy Halloween from Cardio Trek

 

Print out the above image to have a Spooky archery target this Halloween. Enjoy!

Whitetail Deer at the Toronto Archery Range

Whitetail Deer

They're about 140 yards away, but there's three fawns and a doe in the photos below taken at the Toronto Archery Range. Just one of the benefits of practicing archery. You get to see wildlife on a regular basis.

Sometimes you can even get really close to them. I once got within 5 yards of a stag.

If you're at the archery range often enough you will see whitetail deer, red tailed hawks, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, rabbits, and more.

Depending upon the season + time of day I also recommend bringing mosquito repellent. That is one bit of wildlife we could do without.

Happy Birthday to Arthur

PERSONAL NOTE

My wife, myself and my eldest son would like to announce the birth of our new boy Arthur. So if you see me in person do feel free to congratulate me on the birth of the newest member of our family.

I look forward to him learning archery, swimming, ice skating, etc in the years to come.

Accepting New Archery Students for 2022

Hello Toronto!

Do you want to learn archery? Of course you do, you're here reading this aren't you?

Well, the good news is that I am accepting new students for the 2022 archery season.

Contact cardiotrek@gmail.com to book your archery lesson(s) today. When in doubt I recommend starting for 3 lessons for $200. See my archery lessons page for more details / discount rates / etc.

So what's so special about my archery lessons?

#1. I make them fun and informative. So you're learning, but you get to have fun while doing so.

#2. I have been teaching archery so far for 13 years (and doing archery for 33 years). Suffice to say I have been doing this for a long time and have learned some of the best ways

#3. I have published articles over the years in "Archery Focus Magazine", which recently released their final issue in November 2021. (My article "Gap Shooting: Aiming for Versatility" was included in the final issue.)

#4. Browse my Archery Lessons Plan to learn more about the how each lesson is different.

#5. One on one lessons. No group lessons. You get personalized attention from an archery coach and I tailor the lessons to meet my individual students needs.

#6. I also teach people with adaptive archery needs. So if you're in a wheel chair or have other difficulties, not to worry, you can still do archery. Just email me to discuss your situation.

#7. People over 65 get a 10% Seniors Discount and people from Canada's armed forces get a 10% Veterans Discount.

Merry Christmas from CardioTrek 2021

 Merry Christmas from CardioTrek 2021!

 And have a Happy New Year in 2022!

 

The Final Issue of Archery Focus Magazine

The final issue of Archery Focus Magazine is now available. I am fortunate to have been part of it.

I will miss it.

People interested in reading the final issue or reading back issues can learn more at:

archeryfocusmagazine.com

 

The 1000th Post of Cardio Trek

CardioTrek.ca recently surpassed 3.12 million visitors, but that is not the big news. This post is the 1000th post on www.cardiotrek.ca.

Yep. 1000.

Not bad, in my opinion.

I started teaching archery in 2009, but the business grew so fast via word-of-mouth that I eventually realized that I needed a dedicated website for it. So I started the website in December 2011, later got my personal training certificate because I wanted to be a "certified personal trainer" (the whole certification standard for personal trainers is bogus and meaningless by the way, what really matters is professionalism and experience, and I built my business gradually over time, capitalization on the idea that every blog post I did was building my business.

And it worked. I quit my other job and took up teaching sports full time, expanding to teaching boxing, swimming, ice skating and general personal training.

Eventually, because archery was so popular, I stopped teaching the other sports and focused solely on teaching archery. Which is part of the reason why most new blog posts on CardioTrek.ca are now about archery. That is my primary goal now and I no longer worry about trying to get boxing, swimming, ice skating or personal training clients.

I also have habitually accepted sponsored guest posts, creating a secondary source of income from the website, due to the site's popularity. I consider that to be a bonus that helps pay for my son's university tuition.

And finally my website is on the verge of going full circle... Where once upon a time I quit my job and took up personal training full time, at some point in 2024 or 2025 I expect to be quitting this job and taking up writing full time. My book sales are tripling or more each year, and if that trend continues then I will be able to quit my job again near the end of 2024 or the start of 2025 and focus solely on writing.

Writing 1000 posts over roughly 10 years wasn't easy either. Eg. In January 2013 I wrote 50 posts in just one month. That is 1.6 posts per day.

I kept writing 100+ posts per year for several years, but eventually in 2017 (when my son was born) it dropped to 60 per year. Then 50 in 2019 and 40 in 2020. (2020 was a bad year for many reasons.) Starting in 2017 I also started taking my fiction writing career more seriously, so between taking care of my son and writing fantasy books it was really no surprise that the number of posts tapered off.

And now here we are. August 2021 and I have written 1000 posts in less than 10 years. (Not true, a small percentage of them were sponsored guest posts by writers just wanting to advertise something.)

Still, this post is mine, and it is officially the 1000th post.

Note - I might retroactively go back and add posts to May, June and August to bring the total number of posts per month to 5 each. You may have noticed that some months have exactly 5 posts or exactly 10 posts. I just like having round numbers. I admit I am a perfectionist who likes symmetry.

And we archers tend to be perfectionists. ;) 

See Also

The 500th Post

The 700th Post

2021 is Fully Booked for Archery Lessons - Prebook for 2022

Hello Toronto!

Bad news if you wanted to book archery lessons in Toronto for August, September or October of 2021. I am already fully booked and am no longer accepting new students for this year.

I am currently accepting new students for 2022. If you want to book for 2022 you should contact me now (if you know what your schedule will be like in the coming year), or if you're not sure what your schedule will be like in 2022, then I recommend contacting me in February or early March if you want to get your preferred time slots (before things start booking up).

 

I am expecting 2022 to be a very busy year for me.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Have a great day!

 

Limited Archery Time Slots Left / My Writing Career

Due to COVID I am going to be restricting how many students / time slots I teach this year during August, September and October. It isn't a matter of time constraints, I am available, but I am putting a limit on the total number of archery lessons I am willing to teach this year.

So my advice is that if you want archery lessons between now and the end of the season you need to contact me sooner rather than later and hope that there is still time slots available and I haven't reached my "quota" for the year.

Basically the point I am trying to make is that this year, due to COVID, I am setting a quota for the maximum number of lessons I am willing to teach. So if you want archery lessons in Toronto then you should email me today and start booking.

If you wait too long you might have to prebook for 2022.

My Writing Career

In related news, my book sales during 2021 are expected to triple my 2020 book sales, which tripled my book sales from 2019, which in turn dectupled my 2018 book sales... So if you can do math that means my book sales are up by a factor of 90 in the past 3 years.

If my book sales continue to triple annually I will be able to quit my day job (teaching archery) and focus on writing books sometime in 2025.

Now don't get me wrong, I love teaching archery. Absolutely love it. But there are days when I would love to just sleep in, spend more time with my wife/son, and focus on writing instead.

Teaching archery, and being good at it / able to make a living doing it, has given me the freedom to pursue my writing career during the cold winter months when very few people in Toronto ask for archery lessons.

Becoming a full time professional writer is the dream of pretty much every writer. I love archery and I love teaching it, but I foresee a time when I will just jack up my prices and only teach on 1 or 2 days per week so that I can focus my energy on writing.

Or quit teaching archery entirely and focus solely on writing. In addition to getting an annual tripling in book sales I keep getting 4 and 5 star reviews, so that's always a nice feeling to know people really like my writing. Cannot complain about that.

And what is the content of my writing? I mostly write heroic fantasy featuring, you guessed it, archery.

You can find my books, available in trade paperback and ebook formats, at amazon.com/author/moffat. I expect to be releasing audiobook versions in 2026 if my book sales continue to go up at the current rate. Hardcover versions of the novels are also expected sometime. If you have the paperback ISBN numbers you can order my books from your local bookstore.

Pride in my Archery Students

Personal Note

I feel an almost fatherly pride when I see my archery students excelling at the sport.

And I get that sense of pride whenever I see my students returning again and again to the archery range, becoming almost religious about practicing. They're not there for lessons any more. They're there to practice because they love the sport.

It doesn't matter whether they had 3 lessons, 10 lessons, or whatever. It is good to see them out there practicing, and knowing that I had a hand in their tutelage is a matter of personal pride for me.

And as my son grows and is already obsessed with archery, I look forward to seeing him grow and shooting. I want to note that I am not forcing archery upon him. He is naturally obsessed with it because he gets to see both of his parents shooting and he wants to do it too.

Even if by some chance in the future he gets bored of archery (which I highly doubt will happen), it won't matter. Because I will still be proud in the knowledge that when he was 2 - 4 years old he was obsessed with the sport and wanted to shoot "bow arrow" with daddy as often as he could.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

PS. The photo below of my son is from February 2021. I remember that day fondly. The stonework in the park looked a bit like a castle, so we were playing with his bow and arrow in there. (With all the heat lately that snow looks wonderful.)

 

Vaccinated! Finally! Archery Lessons starting in June!

I got my first shot of Moderna today and I am pleased to announce that I will resume teaching archery on June 2nd when the current lockdown/stay-at-home order in Ontario ends.

Various archery students have been contacting me since January asking for archery lessons, but due to the cold winter weather + lockdown measures I have been unable to teach.

My vaccination also lined up nicely 8 days before the reopening so I happy about this new turn of events. Thanks to the new stage one reopening of sports areas (tennis courts, golf courses, archery ranges, etc) plus my vaccination I can now say with more confidence that I am finally able to teach again.

People interested in archery lessons in Toronto are invited to browse my rates and let me know which days they are looking to book lessons.

And it couldn't come soon enough. While I enjoy gardening in my backyard, I clearly need to get out more! Just look at those trilliums and ferns. They are doing just fine without me! 😋