Archery offers opportunities for just about every age of participant

Habitual, flawless execution. This is the key to a bull’s-eye.

An archer draws back the arrow. An index finger anchors somewhere above the jaw line. Lips familiarize themselves with fletching, let go a brief exhale – a routine that resembles the murmurings of a prayer.

Nothing else exists in the periphery. There is no sound other than measured breathing, the twang of string, air being cut. A thud asks the question: Was everything perfect?

A lapse in concentration during the draw cycle could spell a miss, even at close range. Should fingers curl at the nock, an arrow will slip off the rest. A tense draw hand that jerks upon release, instead of relaxing, causes an opposite reaction from the bow hand, again meaning a miss.

Any archer that fails to keep eyes on the target and reflect after the shot will form bad habits. In these respects, this game is more than just a sport.

During the Middle Ages, King Edward III required all able-bodied men to make use of bows and arrows on their holidays and during their games, for he considered the longbow “no small advantage to ourselves in our warlike enterprises.”

The English longbow is speculated to have had a draw weight up to 200 pounds, over twice the weight today’s strongest shooters pull. Examining the skeletons of longbow archers revealed enlarged left arms and bone spurs that peppered their wrists, shoulders and fingers.

However, for modern archery, that amount of strength and sacrifice is far from necessary.

“Archery is really one of the only sports where physical condition doesn’t really matter,” explained Heath Harmon, president of the Evergreen Archery Club in Spokane. “There’s a couple of Paralympic archers who don’t have arms. They draw and shoot using their mouth and their feet. They’ll hold their bow between their toes. It’s amazing what they’re capable of.”

Evergreen Archery Club sits tucked away off South Government Way, part of the Palisades Park area. Although the club is private, anyone, even those on a budget, can join and come out and shoot whenever, anytime of day, anytime of year.

“Now when you come up, no matter who’s shooting here on the line, if you have questions, if you have never shot before…” Harmon said. “Everyone loves the sport, so we’ll help you out as much as we can.”

A family can join at $40 for their first year, and that covers the entire family, regardless the number of children. Even grandchildren under 18 years of age are covered under their grandparents’ membership.

If a family or individual meets their one-meeting requirement and eight volunteer hours, next year’s membership dues remain at the same cost. Further details and contact information is available at evergreenarcheryclub.org.

“For what we charge, we give a lot back,” said Harmon.

Among several club events, Evergreen Archery hosts a turkey shoot the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year. “Every family that comes goes home with a free frozen turkey. Doesn’t cost them anything,” Harmon said. “It’s tailor-made for kids. We ask everyone who comes out to bring a homemade target, with a turkey or leaves or something using certain colors. … We do a judging contest for the kids’ targets and that kind of stuff.

“Archery is such a family sport, and that is what we’re here for – just purely to foster the sport of archery itself. We want that involvement of kids.”

The property of Evergreen Archery Club consists of a broadhead pit, a field-tip target range, and two 14-target field courses. There is a clubhouse and an eight-stall outhouse. No alcohol is allowed on the range.

“We make it so someone is not afraid to bring their 2-year-old up here and you don’t have to worry about them learning a new vocabulary, or getting hurt,” said Harmon. “Safety is important.”

On Tuesday nights during the summer, the club hosts a 3D shoot where they set up foam animal targets and lead club members on a simulated hunt. In addition to club and public events, Evergreen Archery hosts several prominent tournaments throughout the year, including the state 3D tournament in May or June. Two years ago they hosted the World Championships, when competitors came from as far as France and Czech Republic.

Any archer can become a competitor. With the right teacher, a competitor can become a champion. Spokane Valley Archery, a few miles southeast of downtown Spokane, offers indoor and outdoor archery classes.

Interested parties are advised to reserve a spot, since they only take 12 per class. Further details are available at spokanevalleyarchery.com.

For group classes, Spokane Valley Archery’s manager and owner, Josh Jones, recommends children be at least 8 years of age, though youngsters as young as 4 are encouraged to give archery a try.

“They need a lot of parental supervision at that age” said Jones. “… You have to the right weight equipment, you have to keep the target distance sensible – it’s got to be close,” Jones said. “And they have to learn the basic rules of it, then they can typically do it on their own. It depends on the kid though.

“This is a sport, where unlike most, everyone can participate together, as opposed to the parents typically watching kids do something. … It is very common to see it be a family affair.”

Spokane Valley Archery offers both an indoor and outdoor range. They just replaced all their 3D targets and soon will be offering a 30-minute disc shooting session with a machine that throws foam discs in the air.

They also offer leagues and memberships, which are half-price if you purchase a bow from their shop. Their inventory continues to grow and right now it is at its largest. Spokane Valley Archery’s pro shop is also the only location in Spokane that sells the pro shop-only top brands like Matthews, Bowtech and Hoyt.

Every archer has their own reasons for visiting these ranges – hunting preparation, competition, relaxation. But parents have many more reasons for getting their kids started in the sport.

“There are many opportunities for youths with Olympics and scholarships,” explained Evergreen president Harmon. “Some of these different sanctioning bodies – NFAA, IBO – they offer scholarships. They offer these tournaments for kids. The possibilities are limitless.”

The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) was co-created by the Kentucky Departments of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Department of Education and Mathews Archery in 2001 as a means to increase the sale of hunting licenses in Kentucky. Today, approximately 15 nations participate in NASP, equaling 22 million kids annually. The program boasts a pristine safety record – not one injury. Over 100 schools take part in the Washington, 30-40 in the Spokane region.

All teachers get certified by group of instructors and receive the same instructions worldwide. Grades fourth through 12th are eligible to participate.

“It must be held during day, so every child in school has the opportunity to shoot,” said Ed Forslof, Eastern Washington’s coordinator for NASP.

NASP offers what they call the “11 Steps to Archery Success.” If an archer follows these simple 11 steps, they’ll hit their target every time.

“It’s consistency, doing the same thing every time,” said Harmon. “It doesn’t matter if you’re hitting the center of the target, or if your arrows are in the upper-left corner, as long as all your arrows are in the upper-left corner, then you’re doing good. Then you can make slight changes until you’re hitting the center of the target. So it’s that form, that repetitive everything, being exactly the same every time.”