Students getting outdoors with archery

By Lori-Anne Little 

BELLEVILLE – Ontario students are giving archery a shot – with a new initiative from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

Students taking part in the National Archery in Schools program. Photo courtesy NASP.

The OFAH, a nonprofit organization that oversees fishing and hunting and ensures the conservation of wildlife across the province, is inspiring Belleville youth to get outside and find a love for the outdoors through their National Archery in Schools Program.

This program is meant to bring back the love of archery and strengthen and build the community of archers across North America, said NASP.

Archery is a sport for people of any age or athletic ability.

“My two year old and my five year old both have bows. I’ve got a 97 year-old here that comes in here and shoots throughout the summer with us. It’s really nonrestrictive by age- it’s a matter of willingness,” said  Hailee Daniels, archery specialist at Cheser’s Outdoors in Belleville.

Daniels is one of many instructors for NASP in Ontario. She travels to schools in the Quinte region and instructs the gym teachers how to incorporate archery into their class. She also teaches classes that students in grades four through eight can attend that she calls archery ‘fun days’. During these  days students proper form, how to figure out which eye is their dominant eye and how to safely shoot an arrow.  Daniels said she enjoys working with this program and that the kids she has worked with, “are really receptive to the idea of shooting bows.” Daniels already has four or five NASP classes that she has been booked for April.

According to a survey conducted by the OFAH, nearly one-third of the students that participated in one of its programs across the province expressed an interest in learning other outdoor activities such as hunting or fishing.

The NASP program was launched in 2014 and is the largest youth program the OFAH runs.