Williamsburg, KY – Tennessee S3DA recently held 3-D regionals at two different regions of the state, when Smoky Mountain Archers hosted an event in Knoxville, TN and Covenant Ranch hosted an event in Paris, TN. Each course was challenging and the hard work that went into preparing for the events did not go unnoticed. The East Tennessee Regional was held at the TWRA John Sevier Hunter Education Center in Knoxville, TN and featured 46 archers competing for the top spot. The West Tennessee Regional was held at Lazy Day Archery Range, with a turn-out of 77 archers vying for the podium.

Shooters encountered unseasonably hot and humid conditions as temps soared into the 90’s, but the student archers were not discouraged with some even setting new personal records. Smoky Mountain Archers Coach, Joe Neal stated, “I thought the tournament went very well. The kids seemed to enjoy it, despite the heat, and I saw some new faces on the podium, which is always a good thing.”

Rachel Bryan, whose son Nathaniel is a member of the Two Rivers S3DA club said that she enjoyed their time at Smoky Mountain. Rachel stated, “We love their range. It is one of our favorites. The hosts were well organized, friendly and helpful.”

Ann Krepps, whose daughter represents Harvest Archery, stated, “Today was a wonderful intersection of new and old friends. Scholastic 3-D Archery provides a model where the distance between geographic location and age seems virtually non-existent. This is friends spending time with one another and doing what they love.” This was particularly illustrated in the case of Ann’s daughter, Claire (who is 14 years old) and found herself assigned to a target with 2 boys in the elementary division, ages 7 and 10. Claire’s positivity and encouragement were truly commendable. She was patient with the scorekeeping and offered advice and wisdom to each boy. Claire said, “In archery, you have winning days and learning days. There are no losing days, because when you learn something, you are not losing. Being at the bottom is okay, because it makes you work harder and appreciate being at the top.” Despite taking the time to provide mentorship and share her knowledge with the young boys, Claire never once complained.

Started in December 2012 by the Scholastic Archery Association, S3DA has grown exponentially as a next step program to follow introductory programs offered as part of 4-H or the National Archery in Schools Program. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving

thousands of young archers, grades 3–12. For more information on S3DA membership go to: WWW.S3DA.ORG or email: infos3darchery@gmail.com. Check out S3DA on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram

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