“Not Your Average Target at the 2017 NASP®/IBO/3D Challenge!”

By Brittany J Jones

            Louisville, Kentucky, home to the Kentucky Derby and popular for the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, is increasingly becoming known for hosting National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®) national tournaments at the Exposition Center. At this year’s tournament, students not only got to participate in the highly anticipated bulls-eye tournament, but also competed in a “wild” opportunity with the International Bowhunting Organizations 3-Dimensional (NASP®/ IBO 3D) Challenge.

            The NASP®/IBO 3D Challenge was invented for the sixty-five percent of the NASP® student archer population who wanted to take part in a more “realistic” experience with targets that were simulated wild beasts. These simulations include: Turkeys, Coyotes, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Whitetail Deer, and Sheep. There were eighteen identical ranges set up for this challenge, and each range included one of these unique replicas.

            At this year’s IBO 3D Challenge a total of 4,209 youth registered, and 4,122 participated in the challenge; a phenomenal ninety-eight percent show-rate. This established, for the 3^rd year in a row, a new world record for the largest 3D archery tournament in terms of participation.  Thirty-seven states participated in the shoot-off and some of the top archers from the challenge resided from states including: Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio! Another exciting accomplishment at this year’s competition was the ratio of girls and boys participating, which was 46:54. It’s a great day in the world of archery when both boys and girls are enjoying the sport!

            As the tournament commenced, each archer got to shoot five practice arrows. Two hundred and sixteen youth shot in each of the twenty flights, and each flight was seventy-five minutes in length. As students began to shoot, results started rolling in. The top female shooter for the 3D challenge was Dorothy Cobb. Dorothy is an eleventh grader who attends Allen High School in Allen, Texas. She shot a total of 295 out of a possible 300. Right behind her taking runner-up is Tabitha Way with 294 points. Tabitha is a twelfth grader who attended Carolina Warriors Homeschool from Chesney, South Carolina.

            In the male division, the overall male winner went to Cole Luburgh, a twelfth grader who attended Philo High School. Cole is from Duncan Falls, Ohio, and he shot a 298. Taking second place was Henry Thompson, an eighth grader from Anderson County Middle School in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. He also shot a 298. After a close tiebreaker, the overall championship went to Cole!

            Congratulations to all of our youth on their outstanding accomplishments! Of course, just like in the bulls-eye competition, scholarship awards are given to the top individual and team contenders who participated in the 3D challenge. These cash scholarships can be used towards any post-secondary education of the student’s choosing. The following awards went to these students and teams. Dorothy Cobb and Cole Luburgh, the top overall male and female, both received one thousand dollars in cash scholarships. The runner-ups, Tabitha Way and Henry Thompson received seven hundred and fifty dollars. Awards are also given to the overall team and second place high school teams. The overall team scholarship went to Hartland High School located in Hartland, Michigan. Each team member received five hundred dollars. Second place went to Lincoln City High School located in Stanford, Kentucky. Each team member was awarded three hundred and seventy-five dollars. Scholarship funds were generously provided by Whitetails Unlimited, Sportsmen’s Alliance, Rinehart Targets & Academy Sports + Outdoors.  The International Bowhunting Organization would like to thank all of the archers, parents, coaches, schools and volunteers that continue to make this sport grow and make tournaments such as this one a success.

            As the 2017 NASP® tournaments, including the NASP®/ IBO 3D Challenge concluded, students, coaches, and parents began preparing for the world tournament to take place in sunny Orlando, Florida July 21st and 22nd. It will be held at the Orange County Convention Center. In addition to the information provided here, you can find complete national tournament results and other information by visiting http://www.nasptournaments.org/.