Posted: Jan. 30, 2018 | Source: HerdZone
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Eighth Annual Elkview Middle School Archery Tournament will be held this Friday and Saturday at the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Complex, Marshall Athletics announced Tuesday.
The competition will feature 65 teams consisting of nearly 1,400 archers from all over the state at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
“First of all, I want to thank Athletic Director Mike Hamrick and Marshall University for their generosity in allowing us to hold our annual tournament at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex,” said tournament director and Elkview Middle School Athletic Director (and archery coach) Eddie Gray. “We are unable to host our event at our school this year due to the Herbert Hoover High School portables in our parking lot which limits access to our school for large events. Over the past eight years, our tournament has grown from seven teams the first year to 65 teams this year, with teams coming as far away as Wheeling, Petersburg and Marlinton, West Virginia. We are looking forward to the Inaugural Archery at the Cline and are excited to draw nearly 1,400 students from the state of West Virginia to the Marshall University campus and the city of Huntington.”
The action will get underway Friday at 4:45 p.m. and continue Saturday at 8 a.m. The awards ceremonies for all three levels is scheduled to begin Saturday at 5 p.m.
“The Convention and Visitors Bureau is very excited to see this tournament coming to Huntington and the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Complex at Marshall University,” said Tyson Compton, President of the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The main purpose of our organization is to bring events, whether it’s sporting or small meetings, to Cabell County, so we gave our full support to Mike Hamrick and his team when he brought this prospect to us. Mike has worked diligently to create these excellent facilities on campus and he has worked just as hard to bring out of area sporting events to them.”
“It comes down to economic development,” Compton added. “These kids and their families will be staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, buying gas here. When you play that out with 1400 participants, that results in a lot of dollars infused into the local economy. Another goal of the CVB is to see that they enjoy their visit here because if they have a good time, they are more likely to make a return visit and to share their experiences with friends who in turn opt to visit here as well. This is not just a one-shot deal. Mr. Hamrick and his team are bringing in other sporting events such as track and field and soccer that are using these facilities. When you add them all up, it’s a great boost to our local economy.”
Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students/senior citizens. The tournament will give away a YETI package and will raffle several other items.
“The City of Huntington is thrilled to welcome the hundreds of archers who will travel to our city this week for the tournament, and we applaud Athletic Director Mike Hamrick and Marshall University for bringing this and other youth sporting events to the university’s state-of-the-art facilities,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said. “This is not just about providing an economic boost to the local economy. It’s also about introducing young people and their families from across West Virginia to Marshall University and to the City of Huntington.”
T-shirts will also be on sale for $10.
“It will be great to welcome all of these young people to campus and I am excited about the prospect that they could, one day, be students at Marshall University,” said Hamrick.
No food or drink is allowed inside the building. Those who purchase admission will have their hands stamped and will be allowed to re-enter should they decide to leave. Parking will be available by Dot Hicks Field (across 3rd Avenue) and in the West Lot of Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
