NASP Celebrates 20 years
The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is celebrating its 20th anniversary and recently announced its plans to return to in-person competitions. Since 2002, more than 19 million students have participated in the safe and enjoyable in-school based program.
The 2022 national tournament series will begin with the Western National Tournament to be held at the Mountain America Center in Sandy, Utah, on April 29-30. It’s followed by the Eastern National Tournament to be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 11 – 13. The series of national-level competitions will culminate with the Open Championship Tournament to be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville on June 23-25. Each tournament will include bullseye as well as the IBO 3-D Challenge competition.
First-time tournament archers who want to test their aim at a national level event will find positions available each of the three days of the Open Championship with no qualification requirements.
Top teams and individuals will again be selected from the combined results of both national tournaments to compete in the Open Championship. Top male and female individual winners from the combined results of both national tournaments will again complete for the NASP Scholarship Shoot-Off to be held at the end of the Open Championship Tournament.
In addition to the traditional individual and team and scholarships that are awarded at the national events, NASP announced that 120 additional $500 bullseye scholarships will be awarded randomly to tournament participants. Upon graduation, archers can apply these funds to any post-secondary educational or training program of their choice.
NASP President Tommy Floyd said, “The Open Championship event will give priority flight placement to true first-time tournament archers, as well as archers who qualify from the combined results of our national tournaments. Student archers without qualifying scores at nationals will be ranked by tier and still have a great chance to participate on one of the three days.
“Based on very positive feedback from last year’s random awards from our virtual and in- person tournaments, we felt that continuing with $500 random scholarships to be a great way to make our 2022 in-person competitions even more exciting. There will be 120 students who will receive financial support for post-secondary efforts just for showing up to shoot. Our NASP financial sponsors are simply fantastic! They all indicated that they were thrilled to help make this happen for our kids. It is an exciting time to be associated with NASP.”
In addition to the 120 random awards for $500, NASP will continue to provide:
Team Scholarships – based on combined results from overall finished from both National Tournaments:
- 1st place - $24,000 (24 team members @ $1,000 each)
- 2nd place - $18,000 (24 team members @ $750 each)
- 3rd place - $12,000 (24 team members @ $500 each)
Individual Scholarship Shoot-off – Top five male and female finishers from combined results from both National Tournaments compete at the Open Championship Tournament:
- 1st place - $5,000 Male & Female
- 2nd place - $4,000 Male & Female
- 3rd place - $3,000 Male & Female
- 4th place - $2,000 Male & Female
- 5th place - $1,000 Male & Female
- Ties - $1,000 each is minimum per qualifying archer
For more information on each of these three events, click here.
Team Easton Sweeps European Indoor Championship
Fresh from winning every championship at the World Archery Indoor World Series in Las Vegas, Nevada, Easton Archery shooters dominated again by repeating the gold medal sweep, this time at the finals at the European Indoor Championship held in Laško, Slovenia.
French shooter Lisa Barbelin added the indoor title to her Outdoor European Champion achievement in the recurve women’s event shooting Easton X10s, while French shooter Jacquey Clement defeated Olympic silver medalist J.C. Valladont for the gold in men’s recurve action.
“Mister Perfect”, Mike Schloesser of The Netherlands, again dominated men’s compound, shooting the Easton X7 for the win just one point off his world record perfect score in the finals, while Great Britain’s Ella Gibson took the gold in women’s compound, also with the Easton X7 arrow.
For the first time, the European Championship featured barebow divisions, and Team Easton took both of the inaugural Barebow gold medals, with 18-year-old Swedish sharpshooter Leo Pettersson taking the men’s title, and Italy’s Cinzia Noziglia dropping just two points in nine arrows to dominate her match in set play for the women’s barebow gold.
NRA Great American Outdoor Show Attendance Nears Pre-Pandemic Peak
Large crowds filled exhibit halls at this year’s NRA Great American Outdoor Show, held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, February 5-13. After state pandemic restrictions brought the show to a halt in 2021, the NRA was thrilled to return to Dauphin County for the world’s largest outdoor show.
More than 165,000 people made the trip to Harrisburg for the Show this year, and local officials estimate that it contributes $75 million to the local economy each year. This year’s attendance came close to the record setting turnout of approximately 179,000 experienced in 2020. Covering 650,000 square feet, this year’s show included more than 1,000 exhibitors demonstrating products and technologies, along with hunting and fishing outfitters, both domestic and international.
Attendees and their families could also compete for bragging rights at the archery range, spend time at the expanded Eddie Eagle Kid’s Zone, observe dogs with amazing acrobatic abilities at the Dock Dogs big air pool, and visit the Kid’s Trout Pond for some angling action.
Answers to Common Pope and Young Questions
Following up on the Pope and Young’s successful rebrand, well-known outdoor writer Andrew McKean sat down with Pope and Young staff to answer some of the most frequently asked questions they receive, and clear up common misconceptions about the organization.
“I’ve been a fan and member of Pope and Young for years, but even I had a number of questions regarding the organization” McKean said. “So, when given the opportunity to sit down with them and dig in deeper, I jumped at the chance.”
The result of this in-depth discussion was an answer to some of the most common questions including:
- Who can join Pope & Young Club?
- Do I have to kill a record-book animal in order to be invited to P&Y’s annual convention?
- Can I hunt with a compound bow and still submit my trophy animal to the club?
- Who exactly were/are Pope and Young?
- Why should I become a member?
The full article and answers to these and more questions can be found here.
“We wanted to put together an expanded FAQ page on our new website to help bowhunters understand what Pope and Young is, and its mission to preserve, promote, and protect bowhunting. Andrew did such an amazing job, that we simply incorporated his work into the site,” said P&Y Director of Marketing Dylan Ray.
The Hunting Public Takes Top NWTF Communicator Honors
The Hunting Public received the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Tom Kelly Communicator of the Year Award for their dedication to sharing the story of conservation with audiences across the globe.
“We've looked up to Colonel Tom Kelly for many years and are humbled to receive this award,” said Aaron Warbritton, The Hunting Public co-owner, in a video address to those in attendance at the awards banquet. “Our goal is to show average folks the many positive experiences of turkey hunting and how they can make a difference in the future of wild turkeys. We're currently working with NWTF on content showcasing wild turkey research in northern Missouri. We hope to help educate the hunting public on the importance of wild turkey research and how to get involved moving forward.”
The NWTF announced The Hunting Public as the winner at the 46th annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show, sponsored by Mossy Oak.
The Hunting Public is a group of everyday, yet passionate, hunters who are concerned with public land access, conservation and sharing fellowship in the greater outdoors lifestyle. Their content covers everything from advanced whitetail tactics to unique hunting situations, hunting on public lands and small, privately owned properties that are relatable to new and novice hunters.
Through its large digital audience, The Hunting Public raised $39,000 in one day to co-fund the Alabama Wild Turkey Gobbling Study, a research project the NWTF is involved in, which is led by 2021 Tom Kelly Communicator of the Year recipient, Dr. Mike Chamberlain.
“Conservation delivery and outreach events are so important, but to amplify these efforts, we must communicate them effectively to new and wider audiences,” NWTF CEO Becky Humphries said. “We are proud to award The Hunting Public for communicating the importance of public land access and conservation, as well as the commitment to make hunting more accessible to new audiences.”
Formerly known as the Communicator of the Year, the NWTF renamed the award in 2018 to honor Col. Tom Kelly, the poet Laurette of turkey hunting.
Past award recipients include Chamberlain, Slate and Glass, Will Primos, Michael Waddell, Jana Waller, Brenda Valentine, Steve Rinella, Tom Fegely, Ron Schara, J. Wayne Fears, Grits Gresham, Jim Zumbo, Jim Casada, Glenn Sapir, Kelly, Ronnie ‘Cuz’ Strickland, Kevin Howard, Ray Eye and Steve Hickoff.
