Some 2,300 students from nearly 150 Iowa schools will be in Des Moines this weekend to take aim in the state archery tournament.
Zach Benttine, the Iowa DNR’s archery coordinator, says there are two types of competition for the students in grades four through 12.
“We have a bullseye tournament which is a bunch of different rings, scored from 10 points down to zero points,” Benttine says, “and then we do have a 3-D tournament which has six targets that are North American stone sheep, antelope, deer, bear, coyote and a turkey.”
This program didn’t exist 20 years ago, but archery has become extremely popular in Iowa’s schools, with more than 4,600 children taking part this past year.
“We started this program in 2007 with a couple of pilot schools, and since then, it’s grown,” Benttine says. “There’s a 10-hour curriculum that is taught inside the school, and those schools that teach that curriculum then are eligible for an after-school program, which you can then go to state and nationals.”
About 250 Iowa schools teach the course, with about 150 of them running the after-school program. Top Iowa finishers this weekend will go on to the National Archery in the Schools Program Tournament. The shooting starts tomorrow afternoon.
“We’ll have two flights of bullseye, so, 200 kids will compete,” Benttine says, “and then Saturday and Sunday, Saturday is 8 AM to 8 PM, and Sunday is 8 AM to 2 PM, and then awards being about 3 PM.”
Prizes include more than $20,000 in college scholarships based on performance at the state tournament, while another $10,000 will be awarded outside of the competition to archers based on academics, essays, and other criteria. Teams are also aiming for some $18,000 in archery equipment for their schools.
The state tournament will be held in the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center and the 4H Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.