NASP State Tournament Draws 1,200 Archers To Perry

On March 3, approximately 1,200 students from across the state competed in the 2017 National Archery in the Schools (NASP) Georgia State Tournament at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. The winning teams qualified for the national tournament, which will be held May 11-13 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chatsworth left their mark on the event for the second year in a row. Murray County High School and Woodlawn Elementary brought home the top honors for in their divisions, while Loganville Middle School placed first in their division.

Shooters from the state in grades 4-12 competed in the national-qualifying tournament. Prior to going to state, archers competed in region tournaments qualifying them for the state competition.

The WRD has now hosted the youth event for more than 10 years.

The NASP was co-created by the Kentucky Departments of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Department of Education and Mathews Archery in late 2001. It was created to help develop certain conservation and educational purposes.

In 2002, the program was launched in several schools throughout Kentucky, where it quickly took off. It made its way to Georgia in 2003, and now more than 7 million students compete in the sport worldwide.

At the state tournament, teams were divided into several flights. During each flight, archers are allowed one practice round from 10 meters, followed by two scoring rounds. The archers then moved back to 15 meters where they are allowed another practice round, then two more scoring rounds.

Woodlawn Elementary took home first place in their division with a score of 3,080, Loganville Middle School won their division with a score of 3,277, and Murray County High School topped their division with a score of 3,351.

Darren Bearden from Murray County High School took home top honors in the male division, out of 566 boys competing, with a high score of 295 of 300. Christina Chen from Bulloch Academy was the top female archer out of 415 girls competing with a score of 292.