Nikki Taylor

Literature Review
Honors English IV
11 October 2016
Since 2002, the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) has increasingly
become popular throughout the United States. Students from fourth grade to twelfth grade
compete in archery competitions in differing categories, school against school. Many states
around the nation deem this archery competition as helpful and positive for the students and
many schools have since integrated the sport in their students lives in order to encourage this
positive environment in students lives. The program is set up in a team-based competition
setting with individualistic qualities for the students. Each individual student archers score is
calculated into a team score by means of a points system based off three hundred total points,
each arrow shot being worth up to ten points. Thirty arrows are shot in total, fifteen at a distance
of ten meters and the other fifteen arrows at fifteen meters from the target with five non-scored
arrows for a practice round at both distances. Each archer uses the same bows, arrows, and
shooting style when practicing and competing to create an equal field for all archers. However,
in the program, using the same bow for every archer can put some archers at a disadvantage in
the competition. The National Archery in the Schools Program is heavily praised by
organizations over the nation and has proven to be very effective for students. However, the
program is still flawed by only allowing one type of bow in the competition when professional
archers suggest that an archers bow should fit the user in draw length and bow poundage in
order for the archer to be successful.

NASPs main website provides a document on the programs rules and regulations.
Section 3 of the list includes restrictions on the equipment, and a subsection discusses the bows
permitted and also includes the statement that the equipment is selected to be as universal-fit as
possible to make administration of the program most suitable for in-school teaching. The only
bow allowed in the programs practices and competitions are the unmodified Genesis original
bow which has a draw length of 15-30 inches and an adjustable draw weight of 10-20 lbs. Using
any other type of bow, such as the Genesis Mini, Pro, and Gen X bows also produced by the
same company, will result in disqualification of the tournament, as stated in the regulations.
NASP argues that these rules are put in place due to multiple bows creating the problem of the
program being considered too complicated if more factors were added with the equipment.
There are other bows provided by the company that supplies the Genesis original bow to the
NASP program which would be better suited for some students who have trouble with the
standard bow; however, the rules ban the use of any of these other bows from being used.
Also on the NASP website is a short article titled An Overview of the National Archery
in the Schools Program by Roy Grimes, the president of the program, which shows statistics on
the successes of the program after being integrated in schools around the nation. One notable
statistic is student behavior and how self-esteem has risen in student archers once the program
had been put in place (Grimes). Another key point to this article is the statement that the program
is supposed to inspire students of all sizes, genders, backgrounds, and abilities to improve their
performance at school while learning a skill that promotes appreciation and participation in the
outdoors. Praises as such promote the idea of an equal and fair sport for all students. According
to the article, limiting the progam to using only one type of bow helps to create standardization

and boost students self-esteem (Grimes). The author of the article is the president of the
program, however, thus allowing for bias in the praises of the archery program given in the text.
A study conducted by the Responsive Management National Office in 2005 presents its
findings on the effects of the National Archery Program on students in the program. The study
was conducted by surveying students in the program of Kentucky schools. Questionnaires were
sent out to teachers that gave a paper copy to students who had participated in the archery
program and then sent back to the Responsive Management after the surveys were completed;
1,494 in total were completed and used in the analysis. Among the results of the survey were
motivational, emotional, and physical effects on students taking the archery courses offered by
the NASP. Most of the results returned were overwhelmingly positive and many students even
showed more interest in the program if their own school did not have an archery team. The only
part of the survey conducted dealing with the equipment used was focused on how easy it was to
obtain the correct equipment for use in the program. However, one particular question on the
survey was free response in how to improve the program to which 9% of students responded
with More/Better equipment. Despite these few concerns for the equipment, many students did
express interest in buying their own equipment to participate in the program.
An article written May 29, 2015 by Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks also praises the
archery program, saying the program is a completely safe activity where girls, boys, athletes,
and non-athletes all compete on a level playing field. The short article summarizes the program
and the equipment costs for the schools. Along with this, acknowledgment of the uniqueness of
the program is expressed in the statement that students of all sizes can easily be involved in
archery. Further, the description of the bows used for NASP are described as designed

specifically for this program to be used by students of all sizes with no adjustments. The article
stresses the point that all students can be a part of the program in their schools without much
difficulty, no matter the equipment used.
However, in Making a Bowhunter, Dave Dolbee recommends that proper gear is a
crucial part to archery. Having a bow that is not fitted to the archer can hinder the success rate.
Draw length and bow poundage are especially important and must be adjusted per the archers
comfort (Dolbee). Most bows are able to be adjusted for both the draw length and bow
poundage, including the Genesis bows required for the NASP. However, the bows draw lengths
and bow poundage is still limited by the bows capabilities, thus making it harder for some
archers to shoot accurately.
Likewise, professional archery coach Terry Wunderle also confirms that the correct draw
length is very important and can differ depending on whether the archer is shooting for
tournaments or hunting in Do You Shoot the Correct Draw Length?. Incorrect draw length can
hinder the archers shooting position and make the archer uncomfortable while shooting. An
example of this is when the string is too short for the archer, it compresses the body and causes
looser grouping, which decreases success rate (Wunderle). Proper draw length and bow
poundage are critical for archers to adjust to when practicing; however, due to restrictions on the
required bows draw length and bow poundage, this is harder for students who need more
adjustment (Dolbee).
In conclusion, in order to make the competition more fair for students of all grades,
different bows must be tested in order to improve use for students. To test this, a series of arrows
will be shot with adjustments to bow height, draw length and weight in order to gather data on

how each adjustment affects the flight of an arrow. By doing so, these tests will either further
prove or refute the arguments made by professional archers in that a standard bow is not suitable
for a wide range of students to be practicing archery with.

References
DOLBEE, D. (1903, ). Making a Bowhunter. Petersen's Bowhunting Aug. Retrieved October 10,
2016,
"NATIONAL ARCHERY IN THE SCHOOLS PROGRAM (NASP)." States News Service 29 May
2015. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
NASP Tournament Sanctioned Rules & Protocols
http://naspschools.org/instructors/attachments/1473454991.pdf.
Responsive Management. Major Findings of the National Archery in the Schools Program Student
Survey. https://www.archerytrade.org/resources/major-findings-of-nasp-student-survey-2005.
Roy Grimes. An Overview of the National Archery in the Schools Program.
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Education/TeacherResources/CASP/NASPOverview.pdf.
Wunderle, Terry. "Do you shoot the correct draw length?" North American Whitetail Oct. 2010: 10+.
General OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.