Williamsburg, KY – On March 11th, 2023, the ACE Apache archery team hosted the Georgia S3DA Outdoor Target State Championship at Stephens Park in Social Circle, Georgia. You could feel the anticipation in the air as the archers emerged from their respective vehicles and made their way to the range. Some spectators unloaded their tents and canopies to take to the field, while others hurried to get the perfect viewing spot. You could see various tents and canopies lined up near the fence and the archer’s shooting line from far off in the distance. It was estimated that 300+ spectators were in attendance to watch and cheer their archers to victory. Nearly 150 youth archers representing ten different teams across the state participated in the event.

Archers competed from early morning to late afternoon. One of the archers had a bow breakdown and three or four coaches from different teams came together to help this young man get it fixed so he could finish his round. Quite a few of the archers shot their highest score to date in the Outdoor Target discipline. Awards were handed out to the top three podium finishers in their respective class and division.

Georgia S3DA Regional Coordinator, John Chandler said, “This event was run very well with certified judges to call arrows and keep everything running right on schedule. In 2022, we had 85 archers registered for the Outdoor Target state competition and this year we had 147. Although we didn’t quite double the registration numbers, anyone can see that Georgia S3DA is growing tremendously. A lot of hard work from countless parents, coaches, and volunteers went into making this event successful.”

“The field was well laid out with clear markings for lanes, targets, archers, and spectators. The shoot times were spread out and every round seemed to transition well. Waiting for scores to be tabulated and awards handed out was done in a very timely manner and you couldn’t have asked for better southern hospitality,” stated parent, Cindy Colburn.

Refuge Archery’s Young Adult Female Open archer, Reagen Ferguson said, “I enjoyed the shoot, and I was able to meet and interact with other archers from different teams. I look forward to the 3D season!” Her mother, Breann Ferguson said, “This shoot was a lot of fun! All the different teams did an excellent job in preparing for the event and that was shown in how well they shot.”

For more information, be sure to check out the Georgia S3DA Facebook page or visit the S3DA website.

About Scholastic 3-D Archery

Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a unique, family-oriented youth archery program that has grown exponentially across the United States as a next-step initiative to follow introductory archery programs. The mission of the Scholastic

3-D Archery program is to foster, educate and guide youth in the areas of 3D, indoor target, and outdoor target archery as well as safe, ethical bowhunting practices. The goal of the S3DA program is to provide archery and bowhunting opportunities to youth in after-school settings, as well as with archery-affiliated clubs and businesses in the community. S3DA youth participate in 3-D and target archery using compound and traditional archery equipment. Youth members can participate in regional, state, and national archery events and earn college scholarships from colleges and universities across the United States. 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 youth archers.

Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:

www.s3da.net or 410 Sycamore Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685

Media contact Kayla Bolton at kaylas3da@gmail.com, Ph: 423.494.2204