Archery in Schools

The National Archery in Schools Program introduces students to competitive archery at school and bowhunting through summer programs. It also provides safety training, shooting techniques, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, citizenship and caring in prospective shooters and hunters.

To engage more students in school, improve classroom performance and reduce dropout rates. New Mexico school dropout rate is 30%. Most students (88%) who drop out of school indicate they were not involved in extra-curricular activities. Educators nationwide are reporting that the National Archery in Schools Program “engages the unengaged” and inspires students to greater achievement in school. The improvement of self-confidence is the key. The student will experience success in the program because that is how it is designed. As the student improves they will gain self-confidence. With the self-confidence they will ask more questions and gain more information. The combination of self-confidence and information will improve test scores and overall improvement of self-worth.

The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) has been designed to meet National Education Standards and has created curricula for grades 4 & 5 Elementary, 6-8 Middle School, and 9-12 High School.

The following links to the NASP curriculum: https://www.naspschools.org/resources/learning-center

National Archery in the Schools (NASP) follows these basic principles:

• NASP is taught during school for 2-8 weeks
• NASP teaches target archery
• NASP lessons are presented by NASP-trained teachers
• NASP equipment is identical from student to student

Contact the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Archery Education Coordinator to get the latest training and tournament information.

Participating schools must send at least one teacher to an 8 hour NASP Basic Archery Instructor (BAI) training course to become a certified archery instructor.

NASP Basic Archery Instructor Agenda 3-7-2014

The teacher or volunteer must complete a simple NASP Application to scan and e-mail back to the New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish R3 Program Manager.

NASP Application and Background Check 2014

After staff has been certified in NASP they may order NASP equipment and start teaching students!

1: Every teacher in the program is required to undergo 8-9 hours of archery training, regardless of the teacher’s level of archery experience. The training and training packets are provided at no cost.

2: A signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

NASP Memorandum Understanding For Grant To School

3: Every school in the program acquires, at discount prices from the NASP, a standard, safe, durable, modern, and universal-fit archery equipment kit. The kit is designed for teaching a class of 20-30 physical education students.

Every child in the program uses the exact same bow, arrow, target, and shooting style when learning the program. This standardization is one of the reasons the program has such high self-esteem benefits – no matter how much or little income the student’s family might have, they all use the same equipment, just as basketball and football use the same ball in every competitive event.

The price of the NASP equipment kit @ $2,500-3,000 each is sometimes an obstacle the school administration must overcome. However, there are a limited number of grants from New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish in the amount of $1500.00, and a limited number of grants from National Archery in the Schools Program in the amount of $500.00 and many schools receive assistance from archery clubs, community organizations, fundraising, local National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Chapters and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (SFW).

4: One “Archery Kit” consists of:

10 Right Hand Genesis bows
2 Left Hand Genesis bows
2 boxes arrows
5 targets
1 arrow curtain
1 repair kit
1 bow rack

Order Form

NASP 2014 Order Form Public School Or Government

FET Exemption Form

NASP Federal Excise Tax On Archery Equipment Exemption Form

Click here for the New Mexico 2023 NASP State Championship Results

Click here for the New Mexico 2022 NASP State Championship Results

Click here for the New Mexico 2021 NASP State Championship Results

Check back for updates.