The National Archery in the Schools Program got its start in 2002 under the impetus of the then commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Thomas Bennett.

Washington is one of just three states nationwide in which the state sanctioning body is not the fish and wildlife agency, said coach Bill Stinson. Here, the Washington State Archery Association provides leadership and coordination.

According to NASP, its international style target archery curriculum now is in more than 4,000 schools nationally. The Kentuckybased sanctioning body reports that in the past 5 1/2 years, three million students have participated in the archery instruction as part of their physical education.

Rather than being organized as an extra-curricular or afterschool activity, the NASP system is designed to integrate directly into elementary, middle school or high school curriculums for students from 4th through 12th grades.

NASP’s sport target archery instruction takes up about two weeks of school time and is taught in regular PE classes. Core program elements include the history of archery, safety, basic archery tackle and shooting technique. Also, in adherence to national physical education standards, the course emphasizes physical fitness strength training tailored to the need to control and shoot a bow, mental concentration and development of muscle control and principles of self-improvement.

The draw weight of NASP’s standard middle school compound bow is 25 pounds done with three-fingers, arm and upper body muscles. The maximum shooting distance to targets is 15 meters or about 47 feet.