Williamsburg, KY – In order to comply with the local COVID guidelines, Michigan S3DA hosted the Indoor State Championship at Rising Phoenix in Troy, Michigan and Central Michigan Sportsman’s Club in Stanton, Michigan. The state championship was held over a two-day span with approximately 74 archers participating from 5 S3DA teams. To provide an extra layer of safety, each hosting facility offered multiple line times, provided hand sanitizer, limited the number of spectators, and enforced social distancing and facemasks except for when archers were on the line and in the act of shooting. Central Michigan Goldstar archer, Logan Fouts said, “Even with all the difficulties of trying to remember to put my mask back on, it was great to be able to compete again and shoot with my teammates and other teams.”
One of the line judges, Toni Falk reflected on the event, “What a pleasure it was to be a part of the 2021 MI S3DA State Tournament. Officiating gave me the opportunity to both observe and interact with an amazing group of youth competitors. I was especially touched interacting with two ladies in the same scoring group who were so close in score it appeared that it could go either way. In the very last end, one of the girls shot her best end of the day with five inside out x’s and the other girl had a miss. My thoughts were as I observed the scoring group, this is going to be a hard way to finish for one of these girls, but that was not the case at all. While I quietly observed, the girls moved from scoring the target with the miss to the target with 5 inside out x’s. When the five circled “Xs” were recorded, without hesitation, the archer with the miss recorded in her last end and congratulated her competitor with a high five for the awesome competition and finish. I walked back across the range thinking there is more than one winner at that bail. These kids are so inspiring!”
“Watching Michigan S3DA grow has been such a blessing. This was our biggest tournament to date, and it was outstanding! I am sure that all would agree that watching the way these young men and women congratulate and encourage each other is so rewarding. These kids make me proud to be a representative for this program. The friendships we have all built will last a lifetime,” stated S3DA Michigan State Coordinator, Cara Waite.
Michigan S3DA would like to thank everyone that volunteered or participated in the Indoor State Championship. An extended thank you to Lindsey Wilson College and Union College for the scholarship certificates that were presented to the young adult podium place finishers.
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 local, 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, grades 3–12.
Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:
www.s3da.org or 225 North 3rd Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685
