Local school archers are aiming for gold in the 17th annual Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) Archery in the Schools (AIS) State Championship.
The competition is set for March 7-8 at the Hot Springs Convention Center and Bank OZK Arena. It will feature the top 30 teams in three age-based divisions that qualified through tournaments held from November through February.
AIS program coordinator for AGFC Aimee Swaim says “We had 3,364 students compete in 25 different qualifying events for our bull’s-eye competition. Teams could enter as many qualifying tournaments as they wanted, and we selected the top 30 teams in each division based on their best score.
Six additional archers who made impressive showings at the qualifiers but whose teams did not qualify were given the opportunity to compete at the championship.
The elementary and middle school divisions, which includes Hackler Intermediate School and Pinkston Middle School, are set to compete March 7 starting at 9 and ending at 4. The seniors kick off the next day at 9:30 with trophies being presented at 2.
Each round will have archers shooting 15 arrows from 10 meters and 15 more from 15 meters. Targets have 10 rings, with a bull’s-eye earning 10 points. All archers use a Mathews Genesis bow with no sights, a universal draw length and Easton Genesis 1820 aluminum arrows.
The AGFC is enhancing this year’s championship with additional vendors and activities for visitors and competitors.
Swaim says “The Recreational Shooting Division partnered with the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation (AGFF) for our vendor selection and activities area. We will have several vendors on-site; including a t-shirt vendor, archery store vendors and some colleges who have archery teams. We’ll also have the AGFC aquarium, and education booth, opportunities to shoot 3D archery, a Bull’s-eye practice range and a portable blow-up archery range provided by the AGFF.
Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry also will hold their annual canned food drive. The team that brings the most nonperishable food each day will receive $1,000.
The Archery in the Schools program began as a pilot project with 10 schools in 2005. AIS brings competitive archery into elementary, middle and high schools throughout Arkansas and a state championship event was added in 2009 to complete the year’s activities.
For more information on the competition and to keep up with local team’s scores, visit www.agfc.com/ais.
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