The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) hosted the first National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP)® IBO 3-D Challenge archery tournament at the 38th annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show at Nashville, Tenn. MidwayUSA was the official show sponsor. The tournament was a joint effort between NWTF, NASP® and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and was held Friday, Feb. 14, in the NWTF’s new Family Adventure Village. Laurel Thompson of Ashland City, Tenn., was the first place female high school winner and the overall tournament winner, scoring 280 points out of a possible 300. The Center for Homeschool Enrichment and Tutorial (CHET), a Tennessee homeschool group, was the overall team winner with a score of 1,357 points out of a possible 1,500.
“NASP® students have been shooting bullseyes for the last 12 years, so we’re excited to offer the opportunity for them to try something different,” said Roy Grimes NASP® president/CEO. “Using the new NASP® IBO 3-D Challenge format, Nashville-area students tried their skills on foam animal targets shaped like deer, bear, sheep, antelope, and in NWTF’s honor, wild turkeys.”
NWTF is a charter sponsor of NASP® and has contributed more than $1.3 million to NASP® for its training workshops and equipment kits since 2004. The partnership remains strong and is an integral part in NWTF efforts to save the habitat and the hunt.
“NWTF is proud to be an early sponsor of a program that has introduced millions of school children to archery since its inception in 2002,” said Christine Rolka, NWTF education director. “We are committed to supporting NASP® and their wildly successful tournaments, which strike youths’ interest in advancing their skills to bowhunting and beyond. It’s all part of NWTF’s Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative.”
TWRA has partnered with NASP® since 2004. Approximately 280 schools throughout Tennessee are involved with the program, which helps introduce potential hunters to shooting sports.
“We’re excited about getting kids involved in 3-D archery through tournaments like this,” said Don Crawford, TWRA’s assistant chief of information and education. “Students enjoy shooting bullseyes, but I think they’ll be even more excited to shoot foam animal targets. This will be the first step in getting some young people interested in hunting.”
Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to give the NWTF more energy and purpose than ever. Through this national initiative, NWTF has committed to raising $1.2 billion to conserve and enhance more than 4 million acres of essential upland wildlife habitat, create at least 1.5 million new hunters and open access to 500,000 new acres for hunting, shooting and outdoor enjoyment. Without hunters, there will be no wildlife or habitat. The NWTF is determined to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.
For more information about NASP®, visit http://naspschools.org.
For more information about the NWTF or Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt., contact Melanie Swearingen at mswearingen@nwtf.net or (803) 637-7634.