Warren Hills features a variety of different sports and clubs for students to participate in. Archery, nonetheless, is one of the most underrated programs the school hosts.

The students who participate in Archery work very hard to make it to nationals in Louisville, Ky., every year, yet they still don’t have the opportunity to earn a varsity jacket. Not just that, but the school doesn’t recognize Archery as a sport. Right now, Archery is categorized as a “club.”

Select Choir, Marching Band, Drama and other extracurricular activities can earn letterman jackets, even though these activities are not categorized directly as sports. If they can earn jackets, then Archery should be eligible for letterman jackets as well.

Warren Hills Archery should receive more recognition in the school. Archery is a sport in the Olympic Games. The Olympics recognize Archery as a sport, so why doesn’t the school?

Archery participants take the sport very seriously. Some students use a glove, called an “Archer Tab,” which is said to prevent hand calluses from forming through contact with the string.

At Warren Hills, Archery practices every Tuesday and Thursday in the Auxiliary Gymnasium during lunch. That means students often sacrifice their lunchtime to practice Archery. This isn’t fair to the students, as other activities practice after school and students have time for lunch.

To be successful, a student needs to know how to use the bow, the right way to “nock” the arrows, and the many complicated terms that go with the sport. For example, “nock” means to put the arrow under the nock point of the bow. The nock point should be located in the middle of the string closest to the archer.

Students in Warren Hills shoot different distances in competitions. They shoot 10 meters, which is closer, and 15 meters, which is farther.

“Archery requires a lot of concentration, as you need to get the exact point to aim for on the target,” said sophomore Sophia DePol, who has been on the team since her freshman year.

Scoring in Archery is one of the easier aspects of the sport. It starts from the outside and works its way to the inside. The middle of the target is where you want to aim. Scoring starts from 1 and goes to 10. The colors on the bull’s-eye target help archers get their numbers right. White means you earned either 1 or 2 points. Black means 3 or 4. blue is 5 or 6, red is 7 or 8, and yellow offers 9 or 10.

Archery features different kinds of competitions. There is the bull’s-eye shoot, which is the regular, everyday target. People mostly use those because that is the most common. There is also the 3D shoot, where students shoot 3D animal targets. The 3D shoot tends to be easier, since the lowest point an archer can earn is 7, unless you miss the target.

Archery is a really difficult sport, and it’s not as easy as the public may think. You need to find the correct spot to aim, and that normally changes from 10 meters to 15 meters.

Archery needs more recognition throughout the school. Students should be encouraged to join and experience the opportunity to participate.