PANGBURN — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Archery in the Schools Program will launch arrows in a new direction April 5-6 when Pangburn High School hosts the agency’s first state-level 3D tournament compatible with the National Archery in the Schools Program.
Nearly 360 archers, representing 28 schools from fourth grade through 12th grade, will compete in the new 3D format, shooting at targets resembling deer and other game species instead of the bull’s-eye targets common with field archery.
“Instead of shooting six rounds (called ends) at a single round target, the archers will shoot at six different animal-shaped targets,” Aimee Swaim, AGFC Archery in the Schools Program coordinator, said. “If they hit the main body of the target, it’s 7 points, then there are scoring rings inside of the animal’s vital area where a hunter would want to hit in the field with a 10 being an excellent shot on the animal in the real world. Any arrow that misses the target or hits an extremity is counted as a zero.”
It didn’t take much convincing with current AIS teams to join in the new opportunity. Swaim said that by simply contacting the teams that qualified for the National Archery in the Schools Championship during the AGFC’s state championship, she was able to fill 358 slots of the proposed 360-person roster.
“Our archers are really excited about the new discipline,” Swaim said. “Many have gone to the national tournament but only were able to shoot in the bull’s-eye competition. Now that we have a state-sanctioned 3D tournament as a qualifier, they’ll be able to participate in this form of archery at nationals, too.”
Pangburn High School’s archery coach, David McKee, was responsible for a lot of the heavy lifting in getting the 3D shoot organized.