NASP

NASP Program

The National Archery in the Schools Program® (NASP®) is a joint venture between state Departments of Education and Wildlife. Several archery equipment manufacturers and organizations are also partners. The program promotes student education, physical education, and participation in life long sport of Archery. The program’s focus is to provide International style target archery training in physical education classes, grades 4-12. 
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What is NASP®

NASP® is an activity that doesn’t discriminate based on popularity, athletic skill, gender, size, or academic ability. It’s a different kind of team sport. It’s open to any student. Its biggest supporters are professional educators. Teams come together around one thing: Archery.

The National Archery in the Schools Program is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among students in grades 4th – 12th. And through it, students are learning focus, self-control, discipline, patience, and the life lessons required to be successful in the classroom and in life.

Archery Curriculum

Units of Study were written by Education, Conservation, and Target archery experts to meet state and national educational standards. This enabled NASP® to speak the language of educators who are intent on teaching core content throughout the school day. These units were designed for inclusion in a school’s Physical Education curriculum but in a few NASP® schools these archery lessons are presented by history, language, art, and even Spanish teacher.

Teacher Training

Instructor Training was developed so teachers in every participating school could be certified to present NASP® lessons that are safe for students, instructors, bystanders, and the facility. Teachers have a choice of being certified as NASP® Basic Archery Instructors (BAI – 8 hours) or Basic Archery Instructor Trainers (BAIT–24 hours). To date, more than 90,000 people have been certified by NASP®.

Universal Fit

Archery Equipment used in NASP® is highly standardized to be safe, durable, economical, and most importantly, a universal fit for almost every student. In NASP® learning the “process” of shooting is stressed far more than arrow scores. The only bow used in NASP® is a “Genesis®” compound which has no let-off and is adjustable from 10-20 pounds in draw weight at any draw length. And the only arrow is the Easton 1820 aluminum “Genesis” arrow.

To Find Out More

www.nasptournaments.org.
Scoring for the NASP World Championship is based on Olympic-style, target-archery in three divisions — elementary, middle and high school. Competition included team and individual levels. NASP archery is a co-gender sport with every team required to contain boys and girls.

The NASP was founded in Kentucky in 2002 and has since spread around the country. The program was introduced in Alabama in 2003, and approximately 230 Alabama schools participate in the NASP program.

In Alabama, the NASP is a joint venture between the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division and the Alabama Department of Education.

The program promotes participation in the lifelong sport of archery as part of a school’s physical education course and after-school programs. The NASP program can also be included as a unit or activity in the Lifelong Individualized Fitness Education course as part of the Alabama Course of Study.

The program meets the criteria of one credit for physical education required for high school graduation. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management, and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdoor Alabama.com.

How to Bring NASP® to Your School

NASP® (National Archery in the Schools Program) is first and foremost an in-school program.  The first step to starting a NASP® program in your school is to get the school administration to agree to offer the program in the school during the school day (typically as part of a gym class).

Once the school has agreed to offer NASP® style archery, the next step will be to get the instructor(s) trained. NASP® Basic Archery Instructor (BAI) training are offered regularly throughout the year at many locations in each state. You can find a current list of classes on our website at https://naspbai.org/Classsearch.aspx . If you do not see a class that meets your needs, you can contact your state coordinator to request training. You can find a list of NASP® state coordinators at https://naspschools.org/about/coordinators/   If possible, it is always a good idea to train multiple people at a school. In addition to the teacher that will be teaching the archery class in school, you can also train interested parents, coaches (for an afterschool program/team), and other faculty at the school. This training will show you how to safely set up the range, teach the program, and will answer most of your questions. The cost of the training will vary from state to state.  The class listing should provide the cost of the training if a fee is charged. The fee will include the cost of the training packet.

Once you have been trained, the next step is to get your equipment. The equipment can be ordered directly from NASP® http://naspschools.org/gear/ordering/ . A good way to start out is to purchase a standard archery kit. This kit will cost about $3200 depending on the equipment selected. This will allow up to 10 archers to shoot at one time. It is purchased directly from the national NASP® office at substantial savings over retail pricing. The standard kit includes 10 right-handed bows, 2 left-handed bows, 5 targets, 120 arrows, 1 safety curtain, 1 bow rack, and one equipment repair box. The order forms can be found at http://naspschools.org/gear/ordering/

A lot of established NASP® schools are more than willing to assist you in getting started. You can also consider charging an activity fee for your after-school program. At certain times of the year, some states are able to offer discounts for new schools that are starting the NASP® program. You can check with your state coordinator to see if any discounts are currently available.

If you have any questions of need help, please contact info@naspschools.org

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