Williamsburg, KY – Kentucky S3DA recently hosted their 3D State Championship in London, KY in conjunction with the Archery Shooter’s Association (ASA) Pro/Am. Kentucky S3DA has been blessed to have continued support from ASA President Mike Tyrell and staff, which has really been the foundation for success with Kentucky S3DA 3D State competitions over the past few years. With over 360 student archers in attendance and almost each county in the state of Kentucky being represented, it’s obvious Kentucky S3DA is continuing to grow. Kentucky S3DA would like to extend a special thank you to London and Laurel County Tourism for their hospitality and encouragement throughout the event and Kentucky range officials and all those that volunteered their time to make the event possible.

Kentucky S3DA State Coordinator, Kristi Wilson stated, “Kentucky archers are no stranger to unfavorable weather conditions when competing, but this year as we watched the radar on Wednesday afternoon, we learned a storm would be approaching overnight and into the morning. A decision had to be made that afternoon to delay our first flight which was at 7:30am on Thursday. We announced that all archers were to be on site at 10:00 am the next morning, as it looked like we should have a weather break. This was not a light decision to make as we had two flight times that would now be combined into one. This would mean ranges more crowded than we would prefer. However, archers and parents did not complain but made the best of it. We were able to get all archers on the range at 10AM to complete a successful tournament. I am pleased that this event was still able to happen even with all the restrictions and shutdowns that were taking place and I look forward to returning to a normal archery season.”

S3DA Parent Erica Reed stated, “Kentucky S3DA could have easily made a call to cancel this tournament with the heavy rains and the forecast that was provided for Thursday. However, they saw the opportunity to make the tournament happen with a slight break in the weather. Given the situation with COVID and only getting to compete in a few archery shoots last season, I am glad that our kids were able to compete. We have a great group of kids and all they want to do is shoot their bows and be with their archery friends.”

“The sport of archery is one of the last remaining places where you can still find some humble and friendly people. This tournament was one of those times where we all came together as friends and departed as a family,” stated Green River 3D Archery Coach and Parent, Paul Eastridge.

Kentucky S3DA had numerous businesses that donated items for giveaways. Raffles and drawings were held on-site as well as a conservation booth that featured an assortment of items. Kentucky S3DA is looking to promote more ideas and fun activities with conservation through their NEW State Conservation Coordinator, Kerby Long. At the state level, Kerby will be providing S3DA members that have a desire to learn more about hunting with insight and assistance to bridge the next step in ethically harvesting an animal and keeping waste to a minimum. Kerby stated, “Kentucky has long been a guiding force in S3DA as the state with the largest student member base and a strong focus on target archery, but we also saw the need to push the conservation side just as much. Hunter rolls across the country have been shrinking but here in Kentucky we have many youths who are not only interested in hunting but are eager and excited to join the ranks, they only need a little assistance and that is what we’re here for. The future of conservation and hunting for Kentucky S3DA members looks very robust.” If there are hunting or conservation focused companies who would be interested in partnering with KY S3DA on our initiatives, please get in touch with Kerby at kys3daconservation@gmail.com.

About Scholastic 3-D Archery
Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a unique, family-oriented youth archery program which 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 3-D, 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 students participate in 3-D and target archery using compound and traditional archery equipment. Students can participate at 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 young archers.

Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:
www.s3da.org or 410 Sycamore Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685
Media contact Kayla Bolton at kayla@s3da.org, Ph: 423.494.2204