Ultimate sportswoman

By Lindsay Chung - Comox Valley Record

Published: September 16, 2008 3:00 PM
Updated: September 17, 2008 6:42 AM
The first time Chantelle Bartsch went hunting, she got a black bear with a bow and arrow.

“I’m so proud of that bear,” she smiled, adding she still has it in her garage.

Since then, the 30-year-old Courtenay resident has honed her skills and fueled her passion with countless hunting trips with her husband, Adam, with friends and by herself.

Chantelle’s love for outdoor sports and her skill and experience were recognized by the producers of a new reality adventure television series, and she was selected as the only Canadian woman to compete for the title of Ultimate Sportsman.

Chantelle heard about the Ultimate Sportsman show, produced by Active Video Productions, through a friend. The deadline for applications had already passed, but Chantelle contacted the producer anyway, and he asked her to apply.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be in a video. The videos my husband and I are continuously purchasing, I thought this is something I want to be part of.”

Chantelle and Adam, made a quick application video and sent it off.

The producer contacted Chantelle to ensure she could commit to the next year or so to be able to travel and be gone for two or three weeks at a time and told her she is the type of person they are looking for, she said.

Because Chantelle, who is originally from Brandon, Man., works at VI Fitness Centre, owns her own landscaping company and co-owns White Wolf Taxidermy with Adam, she is in a position to take off when needed for the show.

While participating in Ultimate Sportsman, Chantelle is covering her own tags, or licences.

“I’m personally contributing to the conservation of wildlife, which is really important to me,” she said. “I’m proud of what I do. I have absolutely no regrets about being an avid hunter and fisherwoman. I hunt with my morals and ethics.”

Chantelle calls hunting “absolutely” her vice, adding she was once asked how she would handle hunting, and she replied nothing could hold her back.

She once planned a women-only hunting trip to Pink Mountain, in northeast B.C.

A previous cougar-hunting trip had destroyed her ankle, and she’d only been out of her cast two weeks when she did this trip with her ankle all taped up and “funny colours.”

She ended up bagging a moose and a caribou.

Chantelle has been big-game hunting for 10 years and has been fishing since she could walk.

Adam introduced her to hunting when they were dating.

One time, she took her fishing rod and went with him, and as she watched him shoot archery, she became more interested, and she told Adam she’d really like to try it.

They bought a bow on the way home, and Chantelle hunted her black bear the next week.

“My husband’s words were I was a natural,” she said. “I picked up a bow, and it was just something that was meant to be. I have to say that (archery) is one of my passions.”

Chantelle went from archery to black powder to rifle, and the gun became another passion.

The Ultimate Sportsman — in which 12 contestants will accumulate points during hunting and fishing tests and challenges throughout North America — has already done the first filming with six other contestants, said Chantelle.

The first challenge will be a fishing derby, and Chantelle will be fly fishing and pheasant hunting with an American women and four American men in Montana, starting Oct. 11.

Chantelle is eager for the adventure and the experience.

“That’s part of the excitement,” she said. “My mom’s words of wisdom were ‘be yourself and enjoy the time because it’s the experience of a lifetime.’ No matter the outcome, I’ll succeed.”

Her philosophy in life is winners never quit, and quitters never win, and Chantelle feels even if she doesn’t get very far in the competition, it’s better to have tried than not.

The grand prize is the bragging rights of being named Ultimate Sportsman and a stone sheep hunt in northern B.C.

The show will air in 2010.

Chantelle hopes her participation on Ultimate Sportsman will encourage other women to hunt and fish.

“My goal career-wise outside the personal challenge is trying to encourage other females this is an OK thing to do,” she said.

Chantelle would love to be named Ultimate Sportsman.

“I would be glowing for the next 10 years,” she said. “It would be a huge accomplishment. I’d be very proud.”

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