National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP)
Jarrod E. Stephens
The Ashland Beacon
If you are sports-minded individual, then when you think of the month of March you likely picture hard-fought battles on the hardwood. However, as basketball teams on all levels are vying for a victory to punch their ticket to the next round of playoffs, other athletes are busy punching holes in targets at archery tournaments for the very same reason. The season of local competition in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is winding down and thousands of archers will convene on the city of Louisville on March 14-15 to take a shot at being the best in the state.
Competitive archery through the National Archery in the Schools Program has grown astronomically and nearly every school in our region has a team. For more than 20 years the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife has been the main sponsor, and they go out of their way to make sure that every student gets the chance to be successful on the range. We all know that every child is not cut out to be an athlete on the field, and competitive Archery has opened the door for such students to experience the competitive atmosphere and be part of a team. Even some special needs students who would never have been able to play a ball sport can compete in NASP. It’s awesome to see students of all sizes competing at each tournament simultaneously. High school students will sometimes shoot alongside middle and elementary students. They do, however, compete against archers in their respective age/grade groups.
Another interesting aspect of the sport is the fact that all archers shoot the same type of bow. The Genesis bow adjusts in draw weight so that it accommodates all shooters. Such attributes level the playing field for all archers. No archer has an advantage over another due to superior equipment. Beginning archers are put through rigorous training of the eleven basic steps to successful archery. However, first and foremost the issue of safety is preached regularly. Kids are handling a dangerous tool but when they are properly instructed then safety becomes second-nature. Students must learn a series of whistle commands that tells them when to get their bow, when to shoot, and when to retrieve their arrows.
One may think that archery is simple and all that you do is pull back the string and let the arrow go. After all, it’s a really big target. To bring it into perspective on how difficult archery can be, an archer shoots 30 arrows which account for their score at each tournament. Fifteen arrows are shot from ten meters and fifteen arrows from fifteen meters. Each arrow is worth a total of 10 points and the bullseye is about the size of the bottom of your favorite coffee cup. With rigorous practice and concentration, the archers are able to actually compete against their previous scores to monitor incremental improvement throughout the season.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife (KDFW) promotes and sponsors NASP. Since archery hunting is such a popular pastime in our state, the NASP program is a great fit for
aspiring outdoorsmen. Since NASP gives our youth the tools and skills to become potential
outdoorsmen, KDFW sees their sponsorship as an opportunity to raise up a new generation of
hunters. Of course, you don’t have to be a hunter to appreciate this incredible sport. In recent
years some local students have actually earned college scholarships because of their archery
skills. With the ever-increasing cost of college tuition, taking the time to hone their skills is truly
paying off.
This coming weekend many of our local archers will have a chance to qualify for the National Archery Tournament as they aim for their best at the Kentucky NASP State Championship. Good luck to all our local archers.
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