An Archer’s Viewpoint

By: Brayden Reum 5th Grade Student Trout Creek School

My name is Brayden Reum, and I have been in the National Archery Schools Program, NASP, for two school years. I am eleven years old and in the fifth grade. I enjoy the archery program because it is fun. I like to have something after school to do with my friends. We learn safety rules and when we compete, we can win trophies. My school, Trout Creek Eagles, won first place for middle school at the NASP State Tournament in Helena.

We prepared for this tournament by practicing almost every day, Monday through Friday, for two hours. Our coaches taught us to shoot better by teaching us good form. For example, when I pull back my string before releasing my arrow, I was taught to rest my nose on the string, so I could shoot accurately in the ten. The ten is the inner yellow ring on the target, or the bullseye. The points go down the further away from the center you hit. At tournaments, we shoot six rounds with five arrows each. Three rounds at 15 meters and three rounds at 10 meters. If you hit all tens in a round, you earn 50 points. A perfect score for six rounds is 300 points.

Even though the state tournament is over, we are still practicing because we have a National Tournament in Sandy, Utah in April. We will work hard, have fun, and stay safe as we prepare. I can’t wait for the shoot!