Most people hear archery and automatically think of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, or Link from The Legend of Zelda. Even though archery has been gaining significantly more popularity in the last few years, not many schools offer it as a club or a sport. Yet it is in the Summer Olympics.What I want to know is why is it not in schools and if possible what can people begin doing to get it started?

Contradictory to popular belief, archery is not a dangerous sport. You shoot at a non-moving target. Honestly track, soccer, and other sports have more injuries. Have you ever heard of an archer getting seriously injured? No, you have not. The only way an archer can be injured is if they shoot themselves in the foot or if someone walks in front of the non-moving targets. The most common type of injury is abrasion from either the arrow or bowstring.

I believe that archery is a sport all schools should have. It is self-motivating; archery requires focus, determination, and concentration. To succeed in archery you need to be able to process and calculate in your head the distance between you and the target, and at the same time, how much you need to adjust your bow to make it hit the target.

Shooting a bow is safer than taking a soccer ball to the head and getting a concussion. It’s more of a reasonable sport to partake in than any other. Every day someone in this world is picking up a bow wanting to learn how to use it.

What about those of us at Academy who wish they could have this chance? Plant City High School’s Katelyn Scott is one of the twenty-five students participating in the new archery club. Their first practice was September 26.  According to an article by Kayla Lewis for the Tampa Tribune, some of the members are in the club because, “it’s a hobby, it’s fun and challenging, and very self-motivating”. Most of them however began archery during middle school and wanted to continue.

It’s not that hard, why can’t Academy? We would have to start small and ask for permission from those in charge, then to the sports department and start a petition and a fundraiser. Eventually, with determination, an archery club can be started and then moved up over time to become another one of the many exciting sports Academy does.