Latham Elementary School's archery program has started a new season.
The program was created in 2015.
"My school board had asked me to look into it," Principal Jennifer Fletcher said. "We got a hold of the Department of Conservation, and they invited us to some training. In that very first training, we had five people get trained to become certified trainers, which means you can teach it in P.E. class or you can coach it."
After the training, the school was awarded some grants to buy the equipment necessary for the program. The team practices in the school gym. When the gym was repainted in the summer, the archery lines were added to the floor, alongside the basketball and volleyball lines.
Fletcher said around 30-40 kids combined had signed up for archery in the last two years and that it was around 15 or 20 kids a year.
In order to be a part of the program, students must be in fourth grade or above. They also have to participate in archery for two weeks in their P.E. class, before they can join.
The team meets a few days a week and participates in tournaments on the weekend.
Fletcher said the team goes to both competitive and non-competitive tournaments. Last year, the team had one student qualify for state.
"They do get very competitive; the students have to earn a certain score, based on their grade level, to qualify for state," Fletcher said. "Some tournaments are state qualifiers and some are not. We try to go to the state qualifier ones for sure, so that (the students) have that chance of getting to go."
Fletcher said the community has given positive feedback about the archery program.
"Everyone has been really positive," Fletcher said. "We stress the safety of it. The students know that if at anytime they are unsafe with the archery supplies, that they will not be allowed to remain on the archery team. The parents have been amazingly supportive."
Fletcher said archery can help teach the students discipline, listening skills and following instructions.
"Our program has grown each year," Fletcher said. "We get a little bit better, and we have a few more people certified to coach."