By: Gary Fauber, Sports Editor | Posted: Feb. 16, 2018 | Source: Beckley Register-Herald
It’s mid-February in southern West Virginia. That can only mean one thing.
It’s archery season.
Elementary, middle and high schools all over the state have adopted archery programs through the Archery in the Schools program. Some of them will be in Raleigh County today and Saturday.
The annual Shady Spring Invitational will be held at Shady Spring Middle School. A few flights will be contested this evening at 6 p.m., but everything gets going in earnest Saturday at 8 a.m.
Admission is $5.
Over 800 archers are expected to compete. Participating schools are:
High school: Shady Spring, James Monroe, Midland Trail, Pocahontas County, Buckhannon-Upshur, Herbert Hoover, Ravenswood, Riverside, Winfield, Homeschooled Students and Virginia schools Narrows and Pickens;
Middle school: Shady Spring, Park, Peterstown, Marlinton, Mountain View Christian, Summers County, Ansted, Buckhannon-Upshur, Cedar Grove, East Bank, Elkview, Hurricane, Ravenswood, Homeschooled Students and Ripley;
Elementary school: Crescent, Hollywood, Peterstown, Marlinton, Union, Bridge Clendenin, Buckhannon Academy, Cedar Grove, Lakeside, Tennerton, Washington District, West Teays and Homeschooled Students.
The host Tigers and James Monroe/Peterstown have built two of the top programs in West Virginia.
All regular season meets are tuneups for the ultimate goal. The state tournament will be held Saturday, March 24, at the Summersville Arena and Conference Center. The tournament is normally held at the Charleston Civic Center but was moved because of ongoing renovations there.
Team and individual qualifiers from the state tournament will move on to the National Archery in the Schools Program Eastern Nationals May 10-12 in Louisville, Ky.
Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @GaryFauber.
