In just three years of existence, the Frankfort Christian Academy archery team has made quite a name for itself.
The Royals will be competing at the national tournament for the second year in a row when they shoot tonight at 6:30. The tournament, which runs through Saturday, is taking place at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville and is expected to draw about 3,800 archers from 26 states.
Frankfort High's archery team received an invitation to nationals but had to decline because of scheduling conflicts.
Wes Henry has been the TFCA archery coach since the program's inception three years ago.
"It's grown steadily," he said. "The challenge now is to get more girls involved. The way the sport is set up you have to have so many of the opposite sex.
"Five of your 12 shooters have to be of the opposite gender to be a team," Henry added. "Girls seem less apt to come out for the team, but that number is growing."
Credit that to word of mouth, and team members such as fifth-grader Jade Bemis.
Jade is in her second year on the team, and she'll be making her second trip to the national tournament.
"I was really nervous last year since it was my first time being there," she said about the national tournament. "I'm trying to get over my highest score. I've got a 257, and I'm trying to get over that."
Jade became interested in the sport when she started shooting archery with her father, and when TFCA started a team she decided to check it out.
"Now my dad's an assistant coach," she said. "I really like this."
And she says the team is pumped about going to the national tournament.
"We are so excited," Jade said. "When we heard we were going to nationals, we literally started screaming."
The Royals had 22 students come out for this year's team and 18 are registered for nationals.
In tournament competition, archers shoot a total of 30 arrows " three ends (five arrows in each end) from 10 meters and three ends from 15 meters. There are 10 rings on the target, and the closer one gets to the bull's eye the higher the points awarded. A perfect score is 300.
"In archery, you don't have to be the fastest or the tallest," Henry said. "The key to archery is consistency, focus. It's a mind thing."
Several of the team members had experience in archery before joining the squad, and others became familiar with the sport in physical education classes, where it is part of the Archery in Schools Program.
"When they get in with the team it becomes more organized," Henry said. "It starts becoming more focused and competitive."
A team's score consists of 12 individual scores " the top four boys scores, the top four girls scores, and the next top four scores, which can be shot by either boys or girls.
Awards are given to the top three girls and top three boys in each division. TFCA will be competing in the elementary school division this year. Last year, as a middle school team, the Royals placed in the top 10 at nationals.
Next year Henry would like to have enough archers out to field two teams " an elementary team and a middle school squad. This year the Royals had two high school students who competed as individuals in tournaments.
The youngest members of the team are in the fourth grade. Mason Tompkins is one of those fourth-graders on the team for the first time this season.
"When I was young I came here (to the school) for a New Year's Eve party, and I shot a bow for the first time," Mason said. "I actually hit a bull's eye."
At that time he was too young to join the team, but he didn't think twice about joining this year.
"When the opportunity came up, it's a one-time opportunity," he said. "I couldn't pass it up."
Mason, who placed third in the regional tournament, has improved as the season's gone along.
"At the beginning I was hitting 1's and 2's on the target," he said, "and now I'm staying pretty much inside the red circles. Those are good."
Now he's looking for even more improvement at the national tournament.
"I think it's going to be awesome," he said. "One thing about me is I do better at competition. I do better at every tournament. When I went to state my highest score was 241, and there I shot 263.
"I'd like to shoot about 270 or 275," Mason said about nationals, "and have a chance at placing. I want to do that, and hopefully they'll have professional archers like they had at state, and I can meet some of them."
What Henry hopes his athletes learn from archery are things they can use outside of the sport.
"Archery teaches life lessons " consistency, concentration, focus, discipline," he said. "These are all things that can carry over into other parts of their lives. And there's competition. There's nothing wrong with competition."