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National Archery in the Schools Program 2010 U.S. National Tournament

National Archery in the Schools Program 2010 U.S. National Tournament

National Archery in the Schools Program

Louisville, Kentucky --(AmmoLand.com)- Alaska sent a group of student archers more than 4,000 miles to Louisville, Kentucky to participate in the 2010 National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) national tournament May7-8.

Thirty three states were represented at the tournament. The event was the “largest archery tournament in the world.”

Six thousand seven hundred eighty four students participated in the international style target event. Boys and girls from elementary, middle, and high school teams competed for team and individual awards. At the tournament’s conclusion, the top four boys and four girls competed for $14,000 in college tuition as 5,000 archers, coaches, parents, and fans cheered them on.

The 4th-12th grade student archers shot the same bow and 30 arrows at identical targets from distances of 10 and 15 meters. The NASP Genesis bows are shot without accessories such as sights, stabilizers or release aids. The top score possible is 300. NASP’s world record is 298 points which is co-held by past champions, Kentucky’s Graham Cofield and Michigan’s Jessical Nystrom.

Susan Harrington, an Ohio teacher commented, “The Put-In-Bay Team had an awesome time at the Nationals again this year! Bring back that National Guard bouncy thing next year, that was a huge hit with my kids!

The overall team championship in the elementary division went to Trigg County Elementary from Cadiz, Kentucky with a total team score of 3287. Teams consist of 16-24 boys and girls and are required to be coed. The winner in the middle school Division was Ashville Middle School from Ashville, North Carolina with a score of 3378. NASP started in 21 middle schools in Kentucky in 2002 and quickly grew to more than 120 schools within 13 months. Today, 46 states, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand have enrolled schools in NASP.

The winning team in the High school division was Trigg County High from Cadiz, Kentucky with a score of 3397. Kentucky leads the U.S. with 933 schools enrolled in NASP serving more than 180,000 students in the 4th to 12th grades.

North Dakota teacher Mike Scharnowske offered, “What a great experience! The tournament went like clockwork even with 7,125 archers. My two girls had a great time and the extra day we spent sight-seeing (and making small wagers on the horses). I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone and will go again if the opportunity presents itself.”

NASP is taught in more than 7,350 schools nationwide to more than 1.5 million students annually. Teachers report improvements in students’ ability to concentrate, focus, and follow directions. NASP students report that archery is fun and they look forward to going to school on ‘archery days’.

The National Safety Council reports that archery is safer than all ball sport taught in schools………except table tennis. NASP lessons must be taught during the school day and are usually taught as a part of the physical education curriculum by more than 16,000 NASP® trained teachers.

The National Champion girl and boy archers by grade levels are:

• 4th grade- Cole Rautenberg (279), Sunrise Elementary, White Beaver Lake, Minnesota
  o Sherri Bullock(284), Eubank, Elementary, Eubank, Kentucky
• 5th grade- John Bailey(285), Bay Creek Elementary, Loganville, Georgia
  o Meredith Noland(288) Chickasha Elementary, Chickasha, Oklahoma
• 6th grade-Mary Aldridge(288), Bondurant Elementary, Frankfort, Kentucky
  o Colton Fry(288),Dent-Phelps, Salem, Missouri
• Middle School (7-8 grades) -Shaye Patterson(295),Trigg County Middle, Cadiz, Kentucky
  o Hunter Brown (295),Prestonsburg Middle, Prestonsburg, Kentucky
• High School (9-12th grades)-Stephanie Whisenant (296), Ashville High School, Ashville, Alabama and Steff Bisinger(296), Alburnett Community School, Alburnett, Iowa tied for top female overall honors.

The top High School Division and tournament overall male champion was Nathan Parcell (297), Meade County High School, Brandenburg, Kentucky

NASP awards “SPIRIT” awards to teams exhibiting the best sportsmanship and team support. These went to Michigan’s Hartland High School, Oklahoma’s Chickasha Middle School, and Kentucky’s Shopville, Elementary. A special “20/20 Vision” award was presented to Gene Wilhoit, Exeutive Director, of the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington, DC. Mr. Wilhoit was the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education and was instrumental in the formation and promotion of archery in the schools in Kentucky.

As has been the case in every NASP National Tournament Morrell Manufacturing provided the target butts and paper faces for this year’s tournament. In fact, Morrell provided an extra 80 targets this year so an additional 2,080 students could participate in the event. Along with Mathews Archery, Easton Technical Products, The Block, National Wild turkey Federation, Archery Trade Association and others, Morrell has been one of the most consistent supporters of NASP®. The National Field Archery Association’s, MJ Rogers located in Yankton, South Dakota once again provided invaluable support to the event by providing equipment and assistance with the indoor archery range.

Tournament staff totaled 137 this year with many of these volunteers representing the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, United Bowhunters of Kentucky, Kentucky Traditional Bowhunters, Mathews Pros, and NASP coordinators from the U.S. and Canada.

Kentucky State University presented an exhibit at this year’s tournament to help high school students plan their educational future. The tournament’s range supervisor was also provided by Kentucky State University. This was the first year for national sponsorship by the Plano® manufacturing company becoming a Black Ring-level sponsor of NASP.

The Army National Guard was also represented at the tournament as a Bulls Eye-level national sponsor for the first time this year. ARNG provided a three story climbing and obstacle course, special forces trailer, and brought their FLW bass boat and tournament pro anglers.

Many of these archers will next gather for the 2010 NASP World Tournament in the Jostens Center October 6-9, 2010 located at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The date and location for the 2011 NASP Nationals will be announced shortly. For more information about NASP or this Tournament please go to: www.archeryintheschools.org

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Record Turnout For The Fifth Annual Archery In The Schools Tournament

Daryn Benish, 18, of Prairie du Chien High School, displays excellent form during the Fifth annual NASP Wisconsin State Tournament. WDNR Photo

Wisconsin DNR

WISCONSIN RAPIDS --(AmmoLand.com)- A record 635 archers from 18 schools converged on East Junior High School in Wisconsin Rapids for the fifth annual National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament.

That makes it the largest archery tournament ever held in Wisconsin. Participation at this year’s event, held in late March, was five times the number of competitors who attended the inaugural tournament in 2006.

“The more we can get kids into archery, the more skills and interests they develop, and the more time they spend outside connecting with the natural world – important preparation for becoming the conservation stewards of tomorrow,” said DNR Secretary Matt Frank.

Shooting bows with their fingers – no trigger releases are allowed – and without any kind of sighting device – not even a pencil mark on the bow – some of the students were able to stick one arrow after another in the 10-point bulls-eye, a circle no more than three or four inches in diameter.

“The skill of some of these young archers is a wonder to behold,” said Dan Schroeder, a natural resources educator with the state Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin state coordinator for NASP. “They are very accomplished archers. It’s gratifying to see these kids get better and better with each passing year.”

The rings surrounding the bull’s-eye have point values from 9 to 1 moving away from center. Shooting three sets of five arrows from 10 meters and three sets from 15 meters, the highest possible score, if all 30 arrows find the center mark, is 300.

The male tournament champion was Jason Marek from Bloomer Middle School who shot a 284.

Michelle Secora, De Pere High School, and Teresa Zoller from Manitowoc High School each shot a 282 to become the 2010 NASP female state co-champions.

The first place schools in their divisions were Spring Hill Elementary, Wisconsin Dells; Osseo Middle School; and Cadott High School.

Betty Holler is a parent volunteer for the Cadott team. She said the program is in its fourth year at Cadott. The students are so enthused, she said, they engage in community service projects to raise funds so the team can compete at state.

Several DNR conservation wardens worked the tournament, assisting with range safety and acting as referees in cases where an arrow’s point score was a close call. But their involvement in NASP runs much deeper. Several – like wardens Kelly Crotty and Tim Price – are NASP-certified teacher instructors, which meant taking a three-day course. They in turn teach the eight-hour course teachers must complete to become basic archery instructors in their schools.

Surveys show the program is incredibly popular with teachers, who give it a 94 percent approval rating. Of the student archers, 77 percent had no prior experience with archery before NASP came to their school.

“One of the things we find is that it helps with attendance,” said Eric Boson, who coaches the Marshfield High School team. “It’s one of those things kids don’t want to miss in school.”

Another teacher and coach, Brent Seamans, transferred to Prairie du Chien from a school district in Alaska where he became a NASP-certified instructor. One of the beauties of the program is that it is exactly the same, with the same equipment and training, no matter what state or country it takes place.

NASP organizers are careful to separate NASP from any programs designed to teach bow hunting. NASP is about target shooting only. Still, target shooting offers a gateway to bow hunting. Surveys show that more than half of these student archers will continue launching arrows after graduating from the program, some focusing on target shooting, others on hunting.

For the point of view of state wildlife officials, either of these outcomes is a benefit, given that a federal excise tax on all archery equipment helps fund state wildlife programs.

More importantly, the growing popularity of NASP offers the prospect of slowing or stopping the continued national decline in the number of licensed hunters and anglers. The “conservation model” in this country is largely dependent on license fees and other forms of financial support from hunters and fishermen. These outdoors lovers form a critical constituency for habitat restoration and land conservation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Schroeder – (920) 740 – 7528

Elementary Team scores
First: 2942 – Spring Hill Elementary, Second: 2853 – Portage John Muir Elementary, Third: 2661 – Superior Elementary.

Middle School scores
First: 3132 – Osseo Middle School, Second:3120 – Spring Hill Middle School,Third: 2858 – Superior Middle School

High School team scores
First: 3210 – Cadott High School, Second: 3189 – De Pere High School, Third: 3168 – Osseo-Fairchild High School.

Individual Scores Overall

Female:

• First: 282 – Michelle Secora, DePere High School, and Teresa Zoller, Manitowoc High School
• Second: 280 – Katie Coughlin, 280-Spring Hill Middle school
• Third: 279 – Andrea Roth, Cadott High School

Male:

• First: 284 – Jason Marek, Bloomer Middle School
• Second: 279 – Devon Wendt, Cadott High School
• Third: 278 – Garrett Lohr, Portage High School

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