Chatsworth Schools Show Out At NASP State Tournament

On March 4, more than 1,000 students across the state competed in the 2016 National Archery in the Schools (NASP) Georgia State Tournament at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. These 46 teams came together to try and qualify for the May 12-14 NASP Nationals tournament in Kentucky, but they also came to sling arrows for state bragging rights.

Every ounce of bragging rights left Perry on March 4 and headed north on I-75, through Atlanta and continued on until they stopped in the town of Chatsworth in Murray County. Woodlawn Elementary, Bagley Middle School and North Murray High School, all from Chatsworth, each took first place in their respective divisions at the state touranament. This accomplishment is some well-earned bragging rights!

WRD has hosted the youth archery event for the past 10 years, and the program has grown tremendously from only having 100 students during its first year.

The NASP is an in-school physical education program throughout schools in Georgia that began in 2003. The organization originally began in Kentucky in 2002, but now approximately 7 million students compete in the sport worldwide.

Top shooters from across the state in grades 4-12 competed in the national-qualifying tournament. Earlier during the year, the archers competed in district and region tournaments to qualify for the state competition.

“It’s a great thing for these kids to do, and it’s great that P.E. teachers go the extra mile to take archery beyond the classroom,” said Walter Lane, WRD’s hunter development program manager.

Each of the region champions for elementary, middle and high school divisions automatically were qualified for state. However, more than 20 wildcard teams received an invite based on regional scores.

At the state tournament, teams were divided into six flights. During each flight, archers were allowed one practice round (five shots) from 10 meters, followed by two scoring rounds where they aimed for a perfect 10 (bull’s-eye). The archers then moved back to 15 meters. From this distance, they were also allowed one practice round, followed by two scoring rounds.

Woodlawn Elementary School took home first place in their division with a score of 3,191; Bagley Middle School won their division with a score of 3,251; and North Murray High School brought home the first-place trophy for their division with a score of 3,359.

Joshua Wilkerson with Pataula Charter Academy ranked No. 1 out of 582 boys, finishing with a score of 289 out of 300. Brooke Nardi with Dodge County High School came in first place out 429 girls competing. She had a final score of 291.

National Tournament: There were 43 Georgia schools that qualified to compete in the NASP National Tournament May 12-14 in Louisville, Ky. There are expected to be 10,000-plus shooters from 40-plus states at the nationals, and more than $100,000 in scholarships will be given out.

Want NASP In Your School? To get Georgia NASP in your school, contact Jennifer Pittman, WRD’s hunting & shooting education supervisor, at (770) 388-0045 or Jennifer.
[email protected].