Sport Archery for Kids in Michigan

The popularity of movies such as "The Hunger Games" has led to a surging interest in archery, particularly among younger shooters. The Oakland County Sportsman's Club, in Waterford, Michigan, says that the number of annual participants in its Junior Olympic Archery Development program has risen to over 200, with class sizes nearly doubled from what they were just a few years ago. Young archers in Michigan can find opportunities to participate in the sport through clubs, school-sponsored programs and summer camps.

  1. Junior Olympic Archery Development

    • The Junior Olympic Archery Development program was developed by Team USA Archery, and is meant to teach and develop archery skills among young people between the ages of 8 and 20. JOAD makes use of both recurve and compound bows, and recurve archers who excel at the local and regional tournament level may have the opportunity to try out for the US Olympic archery team. Michigan clubs offering the JOAD program include not only the Oakland County Sportsman's Club, but also Rising Phoenix Archery in Washington and Rockford Archery in Rockford.

    Archery in the Schools

    • Michigan's Department of Natural Resources is sponsoring a program called Archery in the Schools Program, which was designed to introduce target archery to students from fourth through 12th grade during their physical education classes. Statewide, over 500 schools in 78 counties are participating in this program, which has three basic components: First, basic archery instructor courses are provided for each participating physical education teacher. Second, archery equipment is provided for each student. Third, a curriculum is supplied that covers the skills necessary to participate in target archery as a sport.

    Archery Camps

    • Summer camps are yet another way Michigan youth are introduced to the sport of archery. Many camps, including the YMCA's Storer Camps in Jackson, Camp Nissokone in Oskoda and Camp Ohiyesa in Holly, offer archery as just one of their many activities. The Detroit Archers Club offers an archery-only summer day camp through the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, which is for ages 6 to 16 and aims to teach archery safety and etiquette, as well as target shooting skills.

    Bowhunting

    • One way many Michigan kids get to know and love archery is by participating in the sport of bowhunting. The state of Michigan recently lowered the minimum age for obtaining a bowhunting license to 10 years old, but the Department of Natural Resources does offer a mentored hunting program that allows kids 9 and under to bow-hunt. The mentor, who does not need to be a parent or guardian, must be at least 21 years old, have a current Michigan hunting license and have prior hunting experience. While carrying a bow, the young hunter must be within arm's length of the mentor at all times. With a mentored youth hunting license, a child may hunt, in season, for small game, turkey and a maximum of two deer.

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