There are a few clubs on campus that go unnoticed, and archery club falls into this category. The small organization holds great importance to its members, and has weekly practices, but many students don’t know that it exists.
For club member Shelby Wootton, archery is very relevant in her day to day life. She’s always practicing her precision and working on her arm strength.
“Archery is important to me because I love the sport,” club member Shelby Wootton said.
Archery club is sponsored by Biology teacher, Whitney Knowles. Knowles simply practices the sport because she enjoys archery.
“It’s just a fun way to exercise,” Knowles said. “I don’t really have a reason other than I just like doing it. Wednesdays are my time to hang out with kids who like to shoot as well.”
Because archery club is so little known, Wootton and Knowles have felt somewhat discouraged in the past by the lack of recognition and the difficulties behind funding the club.
“It is hard to fund the club, but we are working on getting at least one or two spirit nights to help raise money,” Wootton said.
As far as receiving more attention for the group, Knowles and club members are working on publicizing the club to the student body.
“In the spring and the fall when it rains, outside sports come and kick us out of the gym, which is really frustrating,” Knowles said. “We’re not really known as a club, but we have posters around the school. We’re working on it.”
Knowles went on to say that “if enough interest is shown and additional kids join the club, there could be actual competitions in the spring.”
It’s just a matter of more students signing up, which is extremely easy. New members aren’t required to know anything about archery coming in.
“For newcomers we help show them what to do and how to hold the bow correctly,” Wootton said.
The improvement in those who come consistently is evident. Knowles assured that already having skills is not necessary, but practicing every week definitely is.
“A lot of kids will start off not knowing how to even hold a bow to being able to get high scores [in shooting] by the end of the year,” she said.
All in all, it’s very clear that archery club is more about having a good time and building a community of bowman than anything else. So, make sure to come to the next archery practice, held every Wednesday in the upstairs area of the main gym, right after school. Who knows, maybe there will be some competitions in store this spring.