Press Release

Students from 2010 NASP® Nationals

Highlighted on Outdoor Television

August 5, 2011

By: Kevin Dixon, Vice President of Operations NASP

Tim Strickland, host of Strickland's Archery Adventures on the Sportsman's Chanel invited the top 8 finishing NASP® archers from the 2010 NASP National Tournament to be guests on his show and participate in the first ever Strickland's Youth Archery Challenge. 'We wanted to feature NASP students in fun and exciting archery activities. We believe their peers will enjoy watching their fellow NASP students participate in these exiting challenges' Explained Tim Strickland.

The top 4 finishing High School boys and the top 4 finishing High School girls were contacted and provided this opportunity. The only stipulations were, they had to provide their own transportation to and from the location and they had to have an adult chaperone come with them. The students were from Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina. All 8 students contacted immediately agreed and were excited about the chance to participate in the challenges. There were 6 students that would compete and 2 students that would be understudies remaining on standby in case one of the 6 competing students had something happen that would prevent their continued participation.

The beautiful location of the shoot was provided by Carter's Caves State Park in Eastern Kentucky. Carter's Caves State Park also provided 10 free rooms for the participants and their chaperones. Chaperones included, Fathers, Mothers, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Family friends, and Coaches. In all there were 17 ch aperones for the 8 students.

When everyone arrived they attended a welcome meeting where introductions took place, information was shared, and the students were paired up into two student teams. The pairings were as follows:

Team Mathews: Nathan Parcell, Meade County Kentucky ­­ HS national male champion and Kaitlin Farthing, Madison Southern, Kentucky ­­ 3rd place national female HS archer.

Team Bucknatural: Haley Carmen, Berea Kentucky ­­ HS national female champion and Joshua Clarke, Irvington, Alabama. ­­ 3rd place National male HS archer.

Team Strickland's Adventures: Brandon Harpold, Ripley West Virginia ­­ 2nd place national HS male archer and Ella Kokinda, Charlestown South Carolina ­­ 2nd place national HS female archer.

Understudies: fourth place finishing boy and girl Ryan Long, Madison Central, Kentucky and, Ciara Cox, Logan Schools, Logan Ohio.

The teams were provided with shirts provided by the sponsors they would represent.

The next morning the challenges began. All we can share before episode air dates are contestant names and a brief description of a couple challenges. You will have to watch the show in late September through October to see the results. The first challenge was titled 'the Mine Field' where the students shot a target for score that was obstructed by helium-filled, air-blown balloons. The object was to get the highest score possible while breaking the least number of balloons. The next challenge was, 'Rain Maker' which involved jugs of water, pulleys, rope and a lot of arrows. Other challenges included, Archery Golf, Birds on a Wire, Build TWO Shoot, and Archery Relay.

The students and chaperones endured tremendous heat, brutal humidity, rain delays, bright sun, and long days. But in the end everyone had a great time and there was a lot of laughing, smiling, and yes learning!

The show will air at the end of September 2011 and it will be a feature part of 5-6 out of the 13 episodes of Strickland's Archery Adventures this season. Look for the Strickland's Youth Archery Challenge. There were many sponsors that made it all possible. They included, Mathews Archery, The National Archery in the Schools Program, Cabela's, Kentucky State Parks, Electronic Awards, Lost Camo, Buck Natural, Morrell Targets, Easton Archery, Strickland's Archery, Saunder's Archery, Ozonics, SACO, and Hunter Safety Systems.

The Student's won incredible prizes for each individual challenge including Mathews and Mission bows, Easton Arrows, Morrell Targets, Ozonics Odor Eliminators, Hunter Safety System Vests, Cabela's Gift Cards, Lost Camo Gift Cards, Saunders Sling Shots, SACO Golf Systems and $100.00, $50.00, $25.00 Visa gift cards provided by Buck Natural. But they were also competing for the overall championship. The over-all awards included scholarships, trophies and gift cards. Cabela's provided $1,000.00 and $750.00 scholarships for first and second place finishing teams, as well as $500.00, $250.00 and $100.00 gift cards for first through third placing teams respectively and $100.00 gift cards for both understudies. Electronic Awards provided $500.00 scholarships for the third place team and also provided the event trophies.

All of the students had a great time participating in these challenges but they also received an education in the process and work involved in putting together a TV show. Tune into the Sportsman's Channel this September and see how it all came together, watch these NASP® students compete and see the results.