Tennessee Teams, Individuals To Compete In NASP National Championships

NASHVILLE — Four teams and a total of more than 90 students from elementary school through high school will represent Tennessee in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) National Championships to be held May 10 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Meigs County Elementary School, Siegel Middle School, Warren County Middle School, and Northwest High School from Clarksville will be competing in their respective divisions. Individuals from throughout the state also received invitations based upon their scores at the Second Annual NASP State Championships held at Tennessee Tech University’s Hyder-Burks Agricultural Pavilion.

Meigs County, Warren County, and Northwest were also state champions in their respective divisions. Warren County was also honored as having the top overall team score. Siegel also qualified for a trip to the nationals as a result of its score at the state event that was sponsored by The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Tennessee Tech.

The Tennessee representatives will be competing with schools and individuals representing 28 states from across the nation at the NASP National Tournament. The program has seen tremendous growth in a short time. More than 3,000 participants are set to compete this year.

NASP is a joint venture between state divisions of education and wildlife. Several archery equipment manufacturers and organizations are also partners. The program promotes student education, physical education and participation in the life long sport of archery. The program’s focus is to provide International Style Target Archery in physical education classes grades 4-12.

Tennessee began NASP in late 2004 with 12 pilot schools participating in the program. More than 60 schools now participate in the program. NASP is a two-week curriculum taught during school hours.