AUSTIN – In the 14th year of offering a state tournament opportunity for Texas schools participating in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®), a record 2,597 students from 111 schools will meet in Belton March 28 & 29 at the Bell County Expo Center to contend for awards and the chance to qualify to move-on to the NASP® national Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky in May.

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 in both the state qualifying tournament and the state tournament.

NASP fits all students regardless of gender, athletic or academic ability, popularity or size. Participating schools also vary greatly in size, 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 student’s abilities, not the gear,” said Burnie Kessner, Archery Coordinator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

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 $183,500.00 to the top high school student archers since the inaugural state tournament in 2006.

For those competing March 28 & 29, college scholarships will go to the top five male and top five female high school archers, along with trophies, medals, and new bows & arrows 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 in January, when more than 3,100 students from 131 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 and the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation are the primary sponsors 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.