Size is irrelevant as a 4-foot-6-inch sixth grader at Lamar Middle School draws back her bow and aims at leading her team to victory. In May, a coed group of 12 middle schoolers scored a win for their school and our city at the National Archery in Schools Program National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The sport is gaining in popularity. Several other area schools — McCallum High School, Kealing Middle School, Ann Richards School for Young Women, and the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, just to name a few — have shown increasing enrollment numbers, according to naspschools.org.
“Archery is fun, and anyone determined enough to keep at it can succeed. There’s a huge drive for it,” said Kristian House of Bat City Archery, a nonprofit organization that helps schools develop their archery programs. “Kids find it, and it is eclectic, and it is individual but also very much a team sport. They are a part of something.”
Archery accommodates different body types, abilities and skill levels, said Jim DeLine, head archery coach at Lamar. It’s inclusive and gives participants the chance to be successful regardless of their size.
“I found myself feeling more confident and more ready to do a bunch of stuff, stuff that I didn’t do before,” said Madeline Forbes, an incoming seventh-grade archer at Lamar.
During the school year, students develop the strength, coordination and focus required in archery, House said. Whether they are holding their bow or not, the mental discipline of archery instills patience, concentration and self-control.
Archery “makes the kids feel safe like they can do something,” he said. “They are empowered.”
DeLine agrees: “It is the most eclectic sport out there. So, if you're a kid and want to be a part of the team, there's always a place for anybody.”
Title: Archery Fun Facts
- It is believed that bows and arrows have been used for at least 25,000 years based upon the discovery of arrowheads in Africa.
- Archery is considered to be one of the oldest sports in the world.
- Archery has been an Olympic sport almost from the beginning. Its debut in the summer Olympics occurred in 1900. In 1924 it was discontinued and it was reintroduced in 1972.
- In 1457 King James II banned golf in Scotland because he believed men were wasting time playing golf when they should have been practicing their archery skills.
- Arrows can travel up to 200 mph - the average recurve arrow travels at about 150 mph and the average compound arrow travels at around 200 mph!