FORT BENNING, Ga., (Aug. 10, 2016) -- The Archery Shooters Association hosted an international team competition August 5 at Uchee Creek.
The competition is part of a world championship tour according to Laval Dee Falks, national federation director for ASA.
"We have people from Australia, Great Britain and more. It's an international event."
"The objective is to hit target areas that are worth the most points," said Falks. "There are a total of 10 targets set up for the event. Five people will shoot for each team. Out of those five, the lowest score will be dropped from the bunch."
According to Falks, all targets were foam replicas of live game animals.
Falks stated there had been a rapid rise of archery classes within the United States.
"3D archery is the fastest growing sport in the United States. The growth the Archery Shooters Association has experienced in the last five years has been phenomenal. About 20-25%," Falks added.
"That is because this is a family type of environment, whether you are shooting with kids or grandkids.
They come as families and they enjoy a really good, clean sport. There are good life lessons you can learn here," said Falks
Kelly King, a team shooter from Tennessee and Kevin Fansher, a team shooter from Ohio, stated that they stayed with archery because of the wide presence it has for people regardless of experience.
"Archery gives a kid that doesn't play football, baseball or basketball something else to do," said Fansher.
"There are classes and tournaments for every kind of age and skill level so you can start out as a kid and continue doing it for a lifetime," said King. "There are archery scholarships and classes for schools.
Television and movies are inspiring more people to take up archery so its reach is everywhere."
King and Fansher stated that taking up archery would be beneficial to Soldiers.
"The concentration it takes to shoot the bow is similar to the concentration required to fire a rifle," said King. "It's about form and doing the same thing every time."
"It's very similar to how Soldiers fire rifles in the Army. There's no movement when they squeeze the trigger."
Falks suggested that if anyone is interested in archery, they should give it a try.
"There are some local archery shops in Columbus that are very good at teaching the art of archery from beginners to more experienced shooters. I highly recommend it," said Falks.
Social Sharing