Local teams heading to state archery tournament

By Patrick Massey

Thousands of young archers throughout The Natural State took their places at the firing line the second weekend of February to compete in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Archery in the schools regional qualifying tournaments. At the close of competition, 105 teams including a number of local ones, were chosen to compete in the 2023 state championship event.

The championship will be held at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs, March 3-4.

Local teams heading to the state championship include Cossatot River High School. The Acorn School District proved to be a powerhouse archery competitor with teams set to compete at all three elementary, middle and high school divisions. Teams from De Queen and Waldron will also attend the state tournament.

Teams competed in one of three divisions to qualify for the state championship. Twelve in-person regional shoots were held throughout the state Feb. 11 for teams who wished to compete in a traditional manner. Teams also had the ability to compete virtually through a standard- ized scoring system and tournament framework the week before.

The AGFC said it used a virtual design with good success when COVID-19 prevented many schools from attending in-person events.

The top two teams in each region for each division earned berths into the state championship, as did the remaining top 12-scoring teams in each division, regardless of location.

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