In early May, Lindsey Jobbins, Samantha Lowe, and Celia Bower traveled to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the National Archery in the Schools Program’s national tournament. It was the largest archery tournament in the world, with nearly 7,000 student archers from 37 states competing. Although none of the Haines students shot their personal best, they learned a lot from seeing the near-perfect shooting of students with longer-established archery programs in their schools. The winning score was 296 of a possible 300 points, shot by a middle schooler! Haines archers did a great job in their first year and it will be exciting to see them fine tune their skills as our program continues.
Many people helped make the trip possible. Thanks to Leigh Horner, cornerstone of Haines archery, and Matt Davis for providing coaching time so the girls could practice for the tournament. Thanks to Kelly Lowe, Tammy Jobbins, and Leigh Horner for coordinating fundraising, to the Parts Place for the car wash, the Elks for the dinner event, and Olerud’s for food for the community shoot. Huge thanks to all who turned out for fund-raising events or made donations. Most of all, the trip couldn’t have happened without Tammy Jobbins, chaperone extraordinaire, who competently navigated the expo center and crammed every spare minute with visits to Louisville’s museums and downtown sights. It’s amazing to watch this community rally over and over behind our kids.
Laurie Mastrella