As the National Archery in the School’s Program’s (NASP®) national tournament came to a close back in May, teams and individuals who received top honors began preparation for the world tournament that will take place July 21st-22nd at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida; just two weeks away! “This is NASP®’s eighth world tournament since its inception, and will be its 4th time, since 2010-2012, conducting the tournament in Orlando,” says Roy Grimes, President of NASP®. The world tournament is always a highly anticipated event because it provides an opportunity for students not only in the United States, but other countries worldwide to come to together to share the commonality and enthusiasm for the sport of archery. Countries that have been invited to participate in the event are the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom (UK), Mongolia, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. For this year’s world tournament, 3,764 youth from 276 schools are registered for the event. Student archers range from grades fourth through twelfth. For the companion event, the NASP® International Bowhunting Organization 3D Challenge or IBO 3D, there are 1,270 youth registered from 145 schools.
The competitive format for the world tournament is identical to the state and national qualifiers. Each student will get five practice arrows, followed by fifteen scored arrows. Students will shoot from ten and fifteen meter shooting lines with a total of forty arrows shot per archer. Of course, archers will participate in the event using the same Genesis bows and Easton arrows that are customarily used at all NASP® tournaments. Archers will shoot “bare-bow” style meaning without accessories such as sights, stabilizers, and release aids.
Critical to a safe and enjoyable experience are long-time NASP® sponsors such as Easton Technical Products, Mathews Archery, Morrell and Rinehart Targets. The NASP® tournament awards ceremony is sponsored by Academy Sports+ Outdoors. Most tournament officiating will be provided by professional staff and volunteers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Everyone knows that Florida is known for beaches and Disney World, so make sure to throw an extra pair of flip flops and sunscreen in those archery bags for those extracurricular activities while there! As always, good luck to the teams and individual archers who will be participating in this year’s tournament, and be safe on your journey south!