The purpose of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is to teach archery to grammar and high schools students.  The NASP organization has had phenomenal success and introduced archery to more than three million youths over seven years.

I’ve been working with national and state NASP coordinators this past year with the intention of transitioning NASP graduates into college archery.  I’ve also traveled to the Kentucky and Ohio state and the national championships to talk to current NASP athletes as well as some of the grads.   It has been a lot fun traveling to the different events, watching young archers have so much fun and listening to the swoosh of hundreds of arrows being shot at the same time.  My last NASP tournament for the year was in Louisville Kentucky for the National Championship where I met hundreds of students and parents who are hooked on archery.

Coming back from the record setting tournament where 4800 student archers competed for the title of NASP National Champion, I sat at the airport  reflecting on the myriad questions asked of me over the weekend while promoting college archery to anyone who would listen and everyone who asked, ‘Really?  There’s archery in college?  Wow!  That’s cool!’

Yep – it’s pretty cool.  And it’s even cooler that I get to be part of the catalyst for the growth in archery, especially college archery.  College Archery is my passion – it’s has the most genuine group of people I’ve  ever met – people who are there because they love archery, not because mom or dad want them there, not because they make money at it, not because they have to fulfill some school requirement – they are there because somewhere, sometime, someone gave them a bow and arrows and said, ‘open your hand and let it go.’  And that ‘whoosh’ of an arrow flying to the target and the feeling of utter delight as it hit the paper,  hooked a bunch of college students on archery.  To be part of that, to look for ways to increase opportunities or to offer support, or to help start a club, find a coach, or simply to be a listening ear as someone vents about their  grades, their frustrations in life, or their desire to get better at this wonderful sport, is indeed ‘cool.’

Over and over, I’ve heard the same questions and it makes me realize that one of the problems with archery in the U.S. is the lack of information, or the lack of venues to get the information to those that need it, or the inability of organizations to reach their audience.  In light of this, I answer the questions, again, but this time in print, hoping to reach more people, to help students who want to explore archery, to achieve in the sport they love, to find a place for themselves in college archery.

The most often asked question is,’ Are there scholarships?’ My ears are still ringing from the number of times I’ve been asked that question.  I’ll address it soon…. But first, one of the funniest questions (I thought).

So what do college archers do in college? 
First and foremost, college archers are students, attending school and getting an education (I hope).  Second, college archers shoot a bow and arrow either as part of a club for recreation, in an archery class for in-school credit, or as part of a competition team.  Some schools actually have archery class for university credit – talk about cool.  Who says school is boring –

The choice between club and competition is the student’s choice whatever works for them. 

Is there a club at my university?
I provide a list to the questioner of current clubs along with the notice, ‘If you don’t see your school of choice, no problem!  We’ll help you start a club!’  Getting the word out that any student athlete can start a college archery club is important to the growth of College Archery – so please, pass the word!  Also, see our website, www.uscollegiatearchery.org for our current club list.

Will I be able to shoot my bow?
Yep.  Clubs are open to all types of equipment and styles.  If you want to compete however, you need to shoot a compound or recurve bow as that’s what it takes to become a National and World Champion, or to make a World Team.  Don’t have a compound or recurve yet?  NO Problem!  We can even help set you up with bows for competition.

Do you have competitions?
Yes, we have local, state, regional, and national competitions and championships. We also send teams to international championships and World Ranking Events.

You’ll help me start a club?
Absolutely.  Any student who wants to start a club will find support from us.  Just contact your regional representative, student representatives or the Director.  See our website at www.uscollegiatearchery.org for contact information.

Also, under ‘Documents’ you will find the ‘Starting a New Club’ handbook.  It’s easy to read, has all the forms and will get you started.  More questions?  Let us know and we’ll help answer them.

Where do I find more information about college archery?
www.uscollegiatearchery.org

Is this NASP?
No, but we work with NASP and its archers.  We’re US Collegiate Archery, the national governing body for archery in the U.S. and we’re open to all archers.

Is this just in Kentucky?
We have college archery clubs throughout the U.S.

Can girls shoot in college?
Well, Brittany Lorenti (James Madison University) does and she’s a World University Champion! Jenny Nichols (Texas A&M University) is a three time Olympian!  Join Brittany, Jennifer, and all the women archers in our program – women make up about 50% of our program!

Is it sanctioned?
Several schools maintain varsity status.  College Archery is no longer an NCAA sport – which means it also doesn’t have all of the restrictions that go along with that – as the sport rebuilds and college archery grows, NCAA may be attainable down the road – but right now… the biggest growth is coming from sport club programs at the universities.

Is it hard to start a club at my university?
No!  The biggest obstacle for some students has been finding a place to practice.  If you can’t find an on-campus site – go to a local Pro Shop, Hunter Ed program, or city department and ask for practice space.  Other than that – a club can be started in 3 easy steps.  See the ‘Starting a New Club’ handbook at www.uscollegiatearchery.org under ‘Documents.’

Are there scholarships?
Ahhhh… the most oft asked question — and the most disappointing to some, depending on your point of view.  The fact is, there are not many archery scholarships.  I would love for top archers to receive full-ride scholarships to universities across the U.S. but until the program grows and college athletes are achieving at high levels in national and international competitions, I don’t foresee many archery scholarships. 

BUT, and this is a big but …. There is more money available for academic scholarships than for sport scholarships.  Do well in school, take classes that are appropriate for your degree, be a well-rounded student by participating in community activities and utilize your unique interest in archery as part of your school essays – and land some of the millions of dollars available each year for doing well in school.  For every $1 in sport scholarships, there is $21 for academics; and I would dare to say that doing well in high school will serve you well in life…. 

For information on Grants/Scholarships in archery, the link aptly titled, “Scholarships’ on the CAP website lists all of the scholarship and funding opportunities that we know of.  We keep adding to the list – so if you know of a grant or scholarship, no matter how big or how small, let us know and we’ll add it to our list.

I’ll address some of the other questions later….

 

On an international level, things are hopping!  I was asked to provide information to South American countries who are interested in starting college archery. While the Swine flu situation caused me to cancel my trip to Mexico, I hope to catch up on that later.  I talked to several Canadians who wanted to know if college archery can be started in Canada – I gave them the ‘Start a Club’ Handbook and hope that we can provide information to others and grow college archery to benefit all college students. 

The opportunity to be a part of this tremendous growth is exciting and I thank all of you for supporting the US Collegiate Archery Executive Council as we move forward, propelling college archery into a professional organizations throughout the Americas.

Lorretta Sinclair

8 June 2009