Estimated reading time: 3-4 minutes
OGDEN — Over the past three days, more than 800 students from dozens of Utah schools participated in the National Archery in Schools Program's annual state competition.
Students in grades 4 through 12 will compete for a $6,500 scholarship.
“Archery is great because it's a sport where you compete against yourself,” said Dan Hill, an art teacher and archery coach at Rocky Mountain Middle School in Heber City.
Hill, who practiced archery as a hobby when he was younger, said Friday how much it has been amazing to watch the kids he coaches go from completely missing the mark to become expert archers at an amazingly young age. He told me how satisfied he was.
“Currently, our school has 50 students participating in the archery program,” Hill said. “These kids range from very athletic kids to kids with no athletic ability at all, and they go from not being able to even hit the target to trying to aim at the yellow (the center of the target) to get to the target. It will be a year-end tournament.”
Each participant at the Weber County Archery Park takes turns testing their archery skills by firing a quiver at a target from 10 and 15 meter distances. The contest was held from Thursday to Saturday.
Hill said archery is unique in that it is a sport that anyone can participate in, regardless of athletic ability.
“I think this sport builds confidence and gives kids another reason to come to school at a time when it's hard for them to come to school,” Hill said. “Parents have told me that the archery program is the only reason their child is in school.”
Levi Bassett, shooting sports manager for the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources, said the national archery program in schools is a great motivator for students to do well in school. Teachers at participating schools can set parameters regarding their GPA and attendance record that students must meet to be eligible to participate in the program and compete in local tournaments at the end of the year.
Bassett said the National School Archery Program has been successfully implemented in Utah schools for many years, with 165 schools participating in the program, approximately 30% of which participate in the annual National School Archery State Tournament. He said he is doing so.
“The reason we love this program is because we call archery the great equalizer sport, because it doesn't matter how tall you are, how fast you are, how much money your parents have, whether you come from a wealthy school district. Because it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t,” Bassett said. “Kids shoot the exact same bows and the exact same arrows from fourth grade to 12th grade.”
In addition to accessibility, Bassett and Hill said the sport teaches students discipline and gives students who aren't interested in athletics the opportunity to participate in a sport and gain the sense of accomplishment that comes from such an experience. Ta.
“It's really fun and unique, unlike other sports like soccer, American football, or baseball,” said Anna Hawkins, a 13-year-old Rocky Mountain Middle School student who has been participating in the archery program for two years. .
Anna described how fun it is to participate in sports with friends and create memories of everyone doing something and having fun to improve their sports acumen. She says archery is for everyone and that if archery is available at school, all children should try it.
“If you look at people and say you'll never be as good as them, then you should try this sport and practice,” Anna says. “I don't know if he'll get really good at archery when he least expects it. He just has to keep practicing and doing what he loves.”
Click here for tournament results.
