USA Archery’s Collegiate Archery Program is a program of USA Archery for students enrolled in a college or university. Eligible participants can enjoy the sport recreationally or actively prepare for local, regional, national and international collegiate archery events.
USA Archery is the National Governing Body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of archery in the United Sates. Nationwide, over 100 schools offer archery programs as an official club sport, varsity sport or student organization on campus through USA Archery. These programs offer barebow, recurve, compound and bowhunter divisions.
Impact on Institution
With the stresses of a rigorous academic schedule, archery can be the perfect outlet for both competitive and non-competitive student athletes. Archery is a lifetime sport with many unique benefits and can be used as an important tool for both recruitment and retention rates for your school.
There is a robust youth development pipeline for archers across the country. From USA Archery’s Junior Olympic Archery Development, to the Olympic Archery in the Schools program, National Archery in the Schools program and Scholastic 3D Archery, thousands of archers are developing a passion for this sport and are looking to continue competing while attending college.
Parents and archers will consider whether a school has an archery team when deciding which institution to attend. The sport of archery fosters teamwork and camaraderie and will help your school stand out above the others.
USA Archery Helps Programs Get Started
USA Archery offers program and financial resources to develop college archery teams. With exciting program opportunities, including quarterly virtual tournaments, achievement award programs, and local, state, regional, national and international collegiate archery tournaments, the collegiate program has something to offer archers and teams of all skill levels and interests.
Archery allows for a flexible team size that can grow as the team and budget develops. To start an archery team, basic needs include:
- USA Archery Certified Level 2, or higher, instructor/coach
- Minimum of three archers
- Indoor and/or outdoor facility such as a gym or soccer field for practice and competition
Competition and Awards
USA Archery offers a calendar full of year-round event opportunities. Athletes and coaches will have a chance to earn high profile awards including National Team Championship awards, National Championships awards, All-American Team honors, All-American Academic Team honors, All-Around Archery of the Year, and Regional and National Coach of the Year awards.
Facilities and Safety
Archery is statistically one of the world’s safest sports. According to recent National Safety Council statistics, archery is more than three times safer than golf, with just one injury for every 2,000 participants. Safety on the range is part of the sport’s foundation, starting with an archer’s first lesson.
Teams can practice at existing indoor and outdoor facilities. USA Archery also provides resources on how to develop an archery range.
USA Archery is here to assist schools during each step in starting a program. For more information, please contact collegearchery@usarchery.orgor visit usarchery.org.
