MONTGOMERY-Many communities, and more specifically local park and recreation departments, are looking for new and interesting ways to engage citizens in family oriented lifestyle activities. Disc golf, aquatic centers, dog parks, and health centers are fairly new ideas competing for time and space with sports such as football, baseball, basketball and soccer. What these new activities offer that the “ball” sports do not is putting the entire family on the playing field together.
The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries continues to develop archery parks in partnership with local parks and
A bowhunter practices at one of Alabama’s community archery parks.
recreation departments. Locations that currently have community archery parks include Athens, Cullman, Decatur, Demopolis, Dothan, Heflin, Lincoln, Ozark and Tuscaloosa.
Archery parks are places where family and friends can comfortably shoot archery at a variety of targets at variable distances. Additionally, the parks and recreation departments provide programs to enhance the archery shooting experience. Archery is recognized as an activity in which anyone, any age, with any physical capability can participate. Archery is truly a family and lifetime activity.
Archery can be a competitive sport, a form of exercise and relaxation, a means of putting food on your table, or simply a way to get the entire family together into the great outdoors. Archery club activities, including competitive tournaments and “fun days in the park,” revolve around community archery parks.
Teaching archery in our Alabama Parks
Park and recreation departments teach various levels of archery skills to the very young through senior citizens. In addition to what the archery parks offer, schools that teach the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) bring an activity to their students who otherwise may not participate in organized sports. This can lead to positive accomplishments beyond the school gymnasium and the schoolyard. Churches looking for activities may choose to use established archery programs as a wholesome option for their members.
If you are looking for an activity where the entire family can participate together, check with your local park and recreation department to see what archery activities they offer in your area. Join the archery community for a lifetime of fun, friends and entertainment. For further discussion or information about this subject and programs presented by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, contact Stuart R. Goldsby at (256) 737-8732; stuart.goldsby@dcnr.alabama.
MEDIA RELEASE/Stuart Goldsby, Regional Hunter Education Coordinator, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
