Santa Fe has a variety of sports available to students including: basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and baseball. Archery, a sport gaining popularity, was recently added to the list of sports available to students.
Lora Nall, an English teacher, introduced Archery to the school, and the sport alone wasn’t the only reason.
“My son participated in archery at his previous school, and when I came to teach I saw that it’s not something we offer,” Nall said. “I saw how students at the school loved it because it was something anybody could participate in. You didn’t have to be a 6’5 foot basketball player, anybody could do it, even with physical handicaps.”
For some students, the attraction of archery came from media such as television shows and movies.
“I think for a lot of students, it’s because they’ve seen the Hunger Games and Brave, for the girls,” Nall said. “For the boys, they’re familiar with Robin Hood or the Lord of the Rings.”
Archery is a diverse sport that requires various types of equipment for students to use. Different divisions are available to students as they graduate.
“We are in the school’s program NASP, which ends in twelfth grade, but if you want to continue archery there are some colleges that have archery teams and we have had some students get scholarships,” Nall said. “There are also programs like JOAD, where you shoot Genesis bows and participate in the program until the age of 20.”
Junior Lilith Derennaux started Archery her freshman year. Since then, she has found love for the sport.
“It’s fun and the team is great, we often go out to eat after tournaments and trips,” said Derennaux. “Everyone is supportive no matter what level you’re on.”
Archery’s first tournament is on Oct. 26th, and their final state tournament is in February.
Students interested in Archery can contact Nall for additional information.
