On Friday, 558 student archers from Buffalo to Staten Island made their way to Syracuse for the eighth annual state tournament for the National Archers in Schools Program (NASP). Students from 39 schools competed in the event, and now, some of those students will be competing in the national competition in May.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Archer’s in School Program is an in-school program that allows students of all genders, ages, and abilities to learn the sport of archery
  • NASP participants from all across New York participated in the program’s statewide competition Friday at the New York State Fairgrounds
  • The National Competition will be held in Louisville, Kentucky in May 

NASP started in 2002 and came to New York in 2008. Since then, students like Chestnut Hill Middle School eighth-grader Justin Williams have come to love it.

“It’s awesome. I love it,” Williams said. “This is one of my most favorite things to do.”

NASP coordinator Kate Ritzko says archery is not only fun, but beneficial for students as well.

“So as the student is learning archery, they’re looking over the form and function,” Ritzko said. “They’re focusing on themselves, and they’re really putting themselves in like a more positive mental state.”

Evelyn Handy, a homeschooled junior, says that mental state is good for the competition.

“It’s like butterflies in my stomach, and then once I step up to the line it all goes away,” Handy said. “I’m super calm and it’s just like, get the arrow in the target.”

But NASP’s mission extends far beyond the bullseye, it teaches self-control, discipline and patience — all skills that can be helpful in the classroom as well.

“Schools find that their students are more engaged,” said Ritzko. “Students feel more connected to their schools.”

Rather than being an extracurricular, NASP is an in-school program, which makes it more accessible to all students, regardless of their situation. 

“Some students work, they have other responsibilities, they don’t always have the transportation to stay after school,” Ritzko explained.

The students competing have even been training during school lunches and gym classes to get to this point. 

While it would be great to win, NASP’s focus is less on the arrow’s score and more on the process of shooting them.

“You’re with 200 other archers,” said Handy. “You’re just all doing your best and not really about beating everybody else, but doing your best.”

Ritzko says these archers should be proud of themselves for qualifying to compete at the state level.

“I just want them to walk away just feeling confident in what they’ve achieved,” Ritzko said.

The first-place team or top 10 individuals in each division qualify for NASP’s national competition. Those students who advance will be heading to Louisville, Kentucky in May.