While the 2020 shutdowns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic challenged everyone, USA Archery emerged resilient and with more enthusiastic archers and supporters than ever before.
Pre-pandemic, USA Archery national events hit record high participation consistently through 2019. The organization is seeing a return to those numbers and increased local growth with 40 states now successfully hosting state championships. Note: State championships were made more consistent and USA Archery offered a free live scoring platform and established an online state records database, set to launch in early 2022.
USA Archery implemented a 3-month free promotional membership for those whose membership had lapsed in mid-2020, and a year-long free youth trial membership for archers in introductory programs including NASP, S3DA, OAS and Varsity Archery.
USA Archery awarded more than $150,000 in collegiate grants to support 17 new programs and two pilot intramural programs – growing its collegiate program membership by nearly 40%. USA Archery invested $40,000 in continued grassroots initiatives in Michigan, building on a 2017 grant that brought 10,000 new archers to the sport and generated over $2.6 million in equipment sales in the first two years. An additional $20,000 of grant funding from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund greatly enhanced the organization’s club welcome kits, and JOAD clubs were awarded just shy of $30,000 in equipment grants this year.
USA Archery launched the USA Archery Club Shop as a tool for clubs and coaches to promote their programs within their communities. This vastly expanded the organization’s marketing initiatives and efforts with record high successes. Projects included the creation of the Indoor 300 achievement award pin, and updating the “Scouts” national Archery Merit Badge Program.
In adaptive archery efforts this year, USA Archery provided classification support to the Move United Junior Nationals and supported instructors for an adaptive clinic at the Endeavor Games in two locations. It also hosted three Para high performance camps and assisted in the coordination of National Classifier training for three new classifiers.
As a response to the virtual shift many industries have made recently, USA Archery moved the Level 1, Level 2 and Level 2 Instructor Trainer certification and refresher courses online to improve accessibility and course delivery. More than 4,000 participants have registered for the new online courses in the first few months.
USA Archery hosted the 2021 Virtual Symposium for over 200 participants, provided education courses specific for collegiate coaches, certified nearly 50 Level 4-NTS Coaches, and hosted multiple judge webinars. The organization issued $5,000 in female coach education grants and is continuing its efforts to increase coach and judge education through increased and improved resources and programs. The Club Excellence Program conducted 18 sessions over 9 months for 20 coaches from 12 emerging clubs.
For high-performance focused athletes, USA Archery hosted 18 RED camps with nearly 400 participants; 37 archers attended the National RED Camp in Chula Vista, California, and USA Archery is set to launch a new Elite Athlete Development Program in 2022. The organization supported athletes and staff to 12 international events, including three USOPC delegation events.
On the world stage, Kevin Mather (above) won gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games, and Team USA Archery qualified a full slate for the Olympic Games and spots for seven athletes at the Paralympics. The U.S. hosted the 2021 World Archery Championships and World Cup Final, with Team USA athletes winning five medals at the Championships and four at the Final. Two of its recurve athletes hold top eight world rankings, and both men’s and women’s teams are top eight as well. Team USA has four compound athletes in the top eight and both teams are among the top two. Three Para archers are in the top eight world rankings.
Currently, 23,257 USA Archery members are reporting record high membership satisfaction with increased value and membership benefits, and the organization is proud of all it is working hard to accomplish to build and grow the sport of archery.
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