The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) and Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) recently collaborated to offer the 2nd Annual National Youth Archery Hunt. This Kentucky whitetail hunt provided children the opportunity of a lifetime.
QDMA and S3DA hosted this fun-filled and educational 4-day hunt, Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 2018. S3DA student members applied for the S3DA/QDMA Youth Hunt by being nominated and filling out an application through the National S3DA office.
During the S3DA 3-D National Championship held in Metropolis, Illinois, in June, Pope & Young and QDMA featured some special activities consisting of a 10-target range available for S3DA student/parent teams. Every student/parent team that participated was entered in a drawing for a Kentucky whitetail hunt.
The three finalists that were chosen plus the two winning S3DA student/parent teams were:
- Madison Cox from J.C. Nock Archery – Kentucky, mentored by Jennie Richardson
- Hailey Wilson from Wiregrass Archers – Alabama, mentored by Grace Heavner
- Nathan Kohl from Blazin Arrows – Wisconsin, mentored by John Eastman
- Chase/Kevin Anderson from Impact Archery – Kentucky, mentored by Brian Murphy
- Dayne/Scott Bennett from SOI Archery – Louisiana, mentored by Scott Bennett
Focusing on Youth Archery
QDMA Senior Director of Operations John Eastman said, “The future of hunting depends on introducing new people to the outdoors. For many target archers, the desire to bowhunt is a natural progression, and QDMA is thrilled to partner with S3DA to help provide the training and knowledge necessary to transition from the range to the field.”
“The purpose of this program is to get youth involved in archery and ethical conservation practices,” said S3DA Executive Director Jennie Richardson. “I cannot personally think of a better way to introduce young folks into safe, ethical bowhunting than to provide them an opportunity to hunt with some of the biggest experts in archery and deer hunting. I am so proud of our S3DA students, and it is truly remarkable to see how they are transitioning through our program, not just with archery, but with their lives.”
Although no whitetails were taken by the participants (below) during the 4-day hunt, everyone in attendance agreed that the deer camp experience was outstanding.
“Our goal with the S3DA/QDMA National Youth Archery Hunt is to create a model that can be replicated in nearly every archery club in the nation,” said QDMA CEO Brian Murphy. “It’s about those who know how to bowhunt inviting, teaching and taking those interested in learning — it’s really that simple!”
Started in December 2012 by the Scholastic Archery Association, S3DA has grown tremendously 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, visit www.s3da.org.
