Have you ever wanted to bring out your inner Katniss from Hunger Games, or maybe Legolas from Lord of the Rings? Now you have the opportunity to here at THS. In recent weeks, the Tuscarora outdoor club has formed an archery club open to all grades and all genders. This year, the club didn’t hold regular practices, but they prepared for a state wide tournament. We are officially a registered NASP school, with the ability to participate in the Maryland NASP tournament. On Saturday, March 19^th, our Archery team participated in the Maryland NASP tournament and received an overall score of 2585.

The co-ed club was made up of 16 kids, who competed in two different tournaments: Bullseye and 3D animal. Tuscarora was one of four schools to compete

in the tournament in Westminster, shooting at 9:45 and 12:15. Our schools’ top shooter for the bullseye tournament was Aaron Smith with a score of 253, and our top shooter for the 3D animal tournament was Cameron Moneypenny with a score of 233. Contestants shoot from 2 distances, both 10 meters and 15 meters. They compete as teams and also individuals. Teams of all ages competed in the state tournament. The majority of the teams that were there were actually composed of middle and elementary school students. Our team placed 4^th overall at the state competition.

All NASP schools have to use certain standards. Everyone uses the same bows, the same arrows, and everyone shoots from the same distance.  This can make shooting more challenging because no specialized equipment is allowed. Everyone uses a Genesis compound bow. Practices take place in the gym, and a curtain is put up for safety.  As a team, we have 12 compound bows, 5 targets, and many arrows. Next year, the archery team hopes to have more regular practices, and be more structured for next year’s state tournament. In the future, the archery team can also be similar to a unified sport. Be sure to sign up next year for the THS archery team!