Archery is coming
Jasper Community 4-H adding sport to its program

The Jasper Community 4- H Shooting Sports is excited to announce the addition of an archery program. This program is free to all youth that are members of 4-H. The program is tenatively scheduled to start in November and will be held twice a month.

During the Community 4- H meeting Tuesday, Oct. 16, there will be a presentation on Archery with a special guest speaker. If you are interested in archery, this is something you won't want to miss. Youth may sign up for 4-H at that time to participate in the archery program or any of the other programs offered by 4-H.

For those of you that are not familiar with archery, archery is the practice of shooting a bow with arrows. The person shooting is called the archer. Millions of people are shooting archery each year as more and more are being introduced to the sport. Archery is a personal sport using different kinds of archery equipment and targets. There are several different opportunities for an archer to develop their skills. They can participate in target shooting flat targets at varying distances, target shoot at three-dimensional foam animal-shaped targets, and/or bowhunting and bowfishing. It is up to the individual as to where they want to take their new found interest.

One of the myths about archery is that you need to be strong to shoot a bow. This is not the case. Bows can be adjusted to nearly any weight making it easier for the individual. To start, it is only important to have a bow that is easy to pull back and that will get the arrow to the target. Anyone can shoot a bow. Participants do not have to be athletic nor do they have to be strong, they can be male or female. Archery is for everyone. The benefits of archery are numerous including greater concentration, greater selfconfidence, ability to set goals and achieve them, and most importantly having fun learning a new sport.

The program uses Genesis compound bows and Bullseye recurve bows. These bows vary from 10-25 pounds in draw weight. Draw weight is how much actual weight or force you are holding when you have the bow fully drawn back. The program is taught by certified archery instructors with safety being our number one priority.

The Shooting Sports is accepting monetary or equipment donations to help get the archery program started. Donations can be made to the Jasper Community 4-H Shooting Sports program. Contact Dru Miller at (409)384-9900.

For more information contact your Jasper County Extension office at (409)384- 3721 , Jimmy/Dru Miller at (409)384-9900, or Tom/Michelle Webb at (409)384-5754.