AUSTIN –– From 96 schools across Texas, 2,253 students in grades 4-12 will gather March 21 & 22 at the Bell County Expo Center for the 13th annual Texas-National Archery in the Schools Tournament and Scholarship Championship. In addition this year, 465 of the students will also participate in the 2018 Texas-NASP/IBO 3-D Challenge State Tournament.

National Archery in the School competitions are unique in that teams are mixed-gender by rule. Forty-five percent of participants registered this year are female.

“NASP is the “swiss army knife” of school activities because almost any student can participate and succeed,” said Burnie Kessner, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department archery coordinator.  “Students are very motivated to participate in this interesting and unconventional activity so it helps engage them in the educational process when their school adopts NASP.”

NASP also fits all school “sizes and shapes” from small to large, from public to private. The state tournament will be attended by students from small rural schools, large urban campuses and even homeschooled students.

“There will be students here from across the state, ranging from Santa Rosa in the Rio Grande Valley to Kelton in the Panhandle to inner-city Houston and they all use the same equipment, their school-owned bow with no sights and no mechanical accessories so it’s all about the students abilities, not the gear,” Kessner said.

And there’s money on the table. This year, total college scholarship awards will be $30,000, the same as last year’s total amount. The Texas-NASP state tournament has awarded a total of $182,500.00 to the top High School student archers since the inaugural state tournament in 2006. In addition, the National Wild Turkey Federation Texas State Board has donated $500.00 for the Top High School boy and girl to receive a $250.00 college scholarship form the NASP/IBO State tournament.

For those competing March 21 & 22, college scholarships will go to the top five male and top five female high school archers, along with trophies, ribbons and t-shirts in all categories. First place male and female archers in each division receive Genesis bows, and the high scoring male and female archer will receive a limited edition Genesis bow. Door prize drawings will take place throughout the day.

Only schools that teach TX-NASP archery as part of the in-school curriculum and shoot a qualifying score in the State Qualifying Tournament are qualified to compete in annual March tournament. The Qualifying Tournament was held the month of January, when more than 3,000 students from 121 Texas schools participated for a chance to move on to state.

First place teams in each division are automatically qualified to attend the national tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. Additional teams may attend with qualifying team scores, and First-10th place male and female individual winners in each division qualify to attend.

NASP® is a non-profit foundation able to operate only by support from a variety of generous donors including medal-level sponsors; Mathews Archery, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Morrell Targets, The Block and Rinehart Targets.

Toyota is the primary sponsor of TX-NASP and the program is part of the state’s hunter and bowhunter education efforts, programs that are supported from the sales of archery equipment through “Federal Assistance in Wildlife Restoration” efforts.

For information about the Texas-National Archery In The Schools program, contact Burnie Kessner with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at burnie.kessner@tpwd.texas.gov or (281) 793-5135.