| If it were up to Doug Wigfield, every middle and high school in the state would be participating in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). But for now, he's pleased to have eight teachers from around the state certified to teach archery as part of their school's physical education curriculum.
Maryland is the 33rd state to adopt NASP, which got its start four years ago in Kentucky. Today, there are about 400 schools in the Blue Grass state participating in the program. Its mission is to promote student education through participation in the sport of archery with the focus being to provide Junior Olympic Archery Development-style target archery training in grades four through 12 in physical education classes.
A few months ago, teachers from schools in eight Maryland counties participated in a pilot program that included eight hours of training and an archery kit for each school. The kit, valued at $5,000, was provided at no cost to the pilot schools, and includes 11 compound bows, five targets, five dozen arrows, arrow stop nets and bow holders.
"That's one of the nice parts of the program," said Mr. Wigfield, of the Department of Natural Resources and coordinator of Maryland's Archery in the Schools Program. "Every child, whether a middle schooler or a 220-pound high schooler, shoots the same bow." Typically compound bows are made so you draw a certain poundage at a certain length, he explained. The bows used in NASP, Genesis, are made by Mathews, who pioneered the technology "so they don't have a draw length" and the same bow can be used by youths of any age or size.
Mr. Wigfield contacted schools across the state for the pilot program. Many were interested, but expressed budget issues as preventing them from participating. Some, he hopes, will include NASP in next year's budgets.
The participating schools are in Montgomery, Howard, Carroll, Somerset, Wicomico, Allegany, Harford and Baltimore counties. Many will be introducing the program to students in the next several weeks and Mr. Wigfield hopes once it gets started it will "take off like wildfire."
"The objective for the program is that it be self-sustaining," said Mr. Wigfield. By that, he means having Level 2 certified instructors in every county of the state. Level 2 instructors, whose certification includes about 2 1/2 days of training, can train school teachers interested in NASP.
"The program has to be taught in a particular way and they are taught safety," said Mr. Wigfield. "That's why teachers have to be certified. It's the same curriculum that Olympic-style coaches use. Every child is learning the same way, whether they are in Arizona, Michigan or Maryland."
It's a cross-curriculum program that incorporates language arts, math, humanities and science through topics such as the history of archery, and the science of arrows and flight. "We have the plans for a woodshop class, so they could take ownership and build a special storage box for the arrows and bows," said Mr. Wigfield.
Archery is a nondiscriminating sport, he said. "You don't have to be 6-foot 2 and be able to dunk a basketball" to participate. Girls can compete with boys, and youngsters with physical disabilities can also participate.
"It's an equal opportunity type of sport," he said. It also helps build muscle endurance and flexibility, develop hand-eye-coordination, and grip and body strength.
"My goal is lofty," said Mr. Wigfield. "I want every middle school and high school in the state to be in NASP" within the next five years.
"I don't think that's realistic," he admits.
Schools can purchase the equipment kit, valued at $5,000, for $2,500.
Mr. Wigfield says that for some schools that could be a major hurdle. DNR has established the Maryland NASP Foundation, which can provide partial or full funding for schools in need. He is working with individuals and organizations throughout the state seeking funding support for the program. Aside from the costs for the pilot program, no state funding is available at this time.
"The Maryland chapter of the Elk Foundation has already committed to three kits, for $7,500, for 2006," said Mr. Wigfield. Other organizations, such as the National Wild Turkey Federation, have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the national program. Individuals can also contribute to the foundation.
Archery became an official Olympic event in 1900, but was eliminated until 1972 because there were no "official" rules or format. In that year, many countries had adopted a set of rules and the sport was readmitted to the Olympic Games. U.S. archers have medaled in every Olympic Games, except for 1980, 1992 and 2004, according to the USA Archery Web site.
Mr. Wigfield says archery is a sport you can't outgrow. The Archery Trade Association and the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association estimate that around 9 million people shoot archery in the U.S., including recreational target archery and bowhunting.
"It's a lifetime sport," he said.
For more information on Maryland's National Archery in the Schools Program, or to make a donation, contact Mr. Wigfield at 410-713-3852 or e-mail to dwigfield2@dnr.state.md.us. | 
