The interest in archery at Biola has been around long before Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” made its debut in theaters last spring. What was once a class students could take to fulfill their P.E. credits is now a club that participates in national competitions.
The Biola Archery Club was established in 2000 by a group of students who wanted to take the P.E. class to the next level. The club’s first coach was Nikki Haverstock, gave the club a firm foundation that would continue to grow throughout the years.
The hope for continued growth
Biola graduate Trevor Stewart was a part of the club when he was attending Biola and now coaches the Archery team. The club encourages anyone at any skill level to join and meets at Biola’s archery range near the tennis courts.
Junior psychology major and current president Kaitlin Towson hopes to see the club continue to grow.
“I want it to continue on and stay as a fun activity that people can come out and try. Not necessarily be great at, but have something fun that they can come into and learn new things," Towson said.
Biola club competes at national level
The archery’s season begins in the spring, and they will participate in four to five tournaments before ultimately moving on to the United States Intercollegiate Archery Championship, which will be held next year in Cedar City, Utah.
The competitions are made of two different sub teams, men and women’s recurve team and men and women’s compound. The ideal team is made up of 12 people, according to the United States Intercollegiate Archery Championships. Tournaments will normally last for two days and the players will shoot about 120 arrows a day. Biola’s Archery Club competes on a national level, plays against teams from all over the country and attends tournaments that will hold more than 200 archers.
Going beyond Katniss
Towson encourages Biolans to look past Hollywood’s portrayal of Archery.
“Archery is more than Katniss and ‘Brave’ and ‘The Avengers.’ It is a wonderful sport and if you come out and make a good, honest effort you will get more out of archery than imagined," Towson said.
