State-of-the-Art Archery Facility Opens at Olympic Training Center

http://timesofsandiego.com/sports/2015/10/22/state-of-the-art-archery-facility-opens-at-olympic-training-center/

Bill Kelly has been selected as 2012 Sunshine State Games Male Athlete of the year by the Florida Sports Foundation.  He is an outstanding archer who shoots both Freestyle and Olympic Recurve (Freestyle Limited Recurve) events.  Bill has been an active competitor since he was 15 years old.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2013

Contact: Nick Gandy (850) 488-1422 or ngandy@flasports.com

 

Sunshine State Games Archer and Artistic Roller-skater selected as Athletes of the Year

 

TALLAHASSEE - The 2012 Sunshine State Games Athletes of the Year come from sports featuring precision and accuracy and style and grace.

 

The precision and accuracy was displayed by archer Bill Kelly and the style and grace was show by artistic roller-skater Jessicah O’Rourke.

 

Lakeland’s Bill Kelly posted two of the highest scores of the 2012 Archery competition at the Easton Newberry Complex.  He shot a record-setting 1389 in the Adult Male Compound Release and an 889 in the Adult Male Freestyle event.  While Kelly topped the second place finisher by 30 points in the Compound Release event, it took a tiebreaker to defeat Robert Turner, of Newberry, by four points in the Freestyle event.

 

Since 2009, Kelly has won seven gold medals in the two events.  His average score in the Compound Release is 1362 over those four years and his Freestyle average score is 886.

 

Earlier this year, Kelly finished first in the Adult Male Olympic Recurve competition at the National Field Archery Association National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.  Prior to competing in the 2013 Sunshine State Games at the Alachua County Festival, June 7-9, Kelly will spend the previous two weekends in Gainesville for archery events.  He is shooting at the Gator Cup, one of five events to select the eight-member USA Archery team.  He is shooting in the event as practice in an effort to earn a spot on the 2014 USA Team

 

When not on the archery range, Kelly works in the accounting department at the Publix corporate offices in Lakeland.  He will be presented the award on Sunday, June 9 at the Easton Newberry Sports Complex at the Sunshine State Games Archery competition.

 

25145 NW 8th Pl, Suite 60 Newberry, FL 32669 352-472-2388 352-472-2375 fax August 13, 2009

The new Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, which will be the home of one of the Easton Archery Centers of Excellence, has completed construction---pending final hook-up to the local utilities and telephone service and inspections. NADA, along with the Newberry Parks and Recreation will be moving in shortly after Labor Day. The resident coach, Bob Romero, (hired recently by Easton Sports Development Foundation) has been busy arranging for the installation of training equipment that will turn this facility into a world-class leader in the training of elite archers and coaches. This training center will be open to serve all archers and coaches. Schedules will soon be posted online, and all archers and coaches are encouraged to request programs and events that interest them. GRAND OPENING The Grand Opening is Friday, October 30, 2009. All archers and instructors and coaches of all archery organizations are invited to attend. We'll have tours of the facility and the outdoor ranges, open shooting, meet-n-greet with Bob and the NADA staff and with leaders of the archery industry. Open shooting will be in the indoor range, the outdoor practice range, and at the wooded field/3D range. A bowhunting training center is being built onsite by the Florida Wildlife Commission and may be open in time for tours by the Grand Opening. COACHES SYMPOSIUM In the morning, will be a 4-hour coaches' symposium for any USAA/NFAA/4-H/NASP/Scout certified instructor or coach to attend (RSVP in advance to NADA). This will be hosted by Doug Engh of NADA, and will feature discussions led by Kisik Lee, the National Coach for USA Archery, Bob Romero and others. The symposium will focus on several topics: Bob and Kisik will discuss the national coaching system of USAA. Bob will review the trainings and events to be available at the facility, and Doug will focus on NADAs role, and on the coaching opportunities for other instructors and coaches to come and host regional/national specialty camps, to teach community archery out of the facility, and to act as "visiting resident coaches" during the times Bob is traveling. Also will be information on how the ESDF Regional Training Centers network will begin to share scheduling and training programs across the country. This will be a first-hand look for coaches wanting to be an early part of the Archery Center of Excellence team. RIBBON CUTTING The Opening Ceremony will be at noon. Jim Easton and other Easton leaders will be attendance for the ribbon cutting, along with City and local representatives. Everyone is invited to come and share in the fun. Open shooting will last until mid-afternoon. GETTING TO EASTON-NEWBERRY SPORTS COMPLEX Newberry is about 14 miles west of Gainesville, Florida, which is served by a regional airport with connections through Atlanta and Charlotte. Interstate I-75 runs north/south a few miles east of Newberry, and is the main location strip for the closest hotels and restaurants. NADA will be working with the Gainesville Sports Commission to create a list of hotels that are offering decent rates and services. Contact NADA if you need help finding one. The Easton-Newberry Sports Complex is located 1 mile north of downtown Newberry. "Google Maps" shows its location and GPS. If you have any questions about the facility or the Grand Opening, please contact NADA. We look forward to seeing you there! Regards, Doug Engh, NADA National Alliance for the Development of Archery (NADA) 25145 NW 8th Place, Suite 60 Newberry, FL 32669 (352) 472-2388 phone (352) 472-2375 fax www.teacharchery.org www.WorldArcheryCenter.com

---

11/30/07

---

NAA Scholarship Information
The Board of Directors have voted to award 3 scholarships for $500 each to youth athletes who will be attending and competing at JOAD Nationals in Chula Vista, CA.

Complete information is available on Clarke's website at www.clarkesinclair.org

Go to the 'Scholarships' page.

The complete applications can be emailed or snail mailed --- but all info must be provided in order to be considered. 

All applications must be RECEIVED by 10 May 2007.

I do not have addresses for many JOAD clubs throughout the country.  Please feel free to pass along this information to others. 

Thank you to all the coaches and JOAD coordinators who teach our youth!

In Honor of Clarke,
Lorretta Sinclair, President CSMAS
www.clarkesinclair.org

---

Article published Mar 13, 2007
Mar 12, 2007
Local bowmaker Bear Archery has hit the business bull's-eye

By ANTHONY CLARK
Sun business editor

The Bear Archery plant just west of Interstate 75 is roaring again.
In 2003, the bow manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold off its beloved museum.
After a few years of reorganizing under the ownership of Escalade Sports, a billiards and table tennis manufacturer based in Evansville, Ind., Bear Archery had a comeback year in 2006.
The bow manufacturer ended 2005 with 36 manufacturing jobs and $12 million in sales. By the end of 2006, the plant was up to 100 manufacturing jobs and $26 million in sales. The company purchased $500,000 in manufacturing equipment, added a line of archery accessories and reopened its pro shop.
The plant added another line of accessories in February and now has 30 more openings.
Neil Byce III, operations manager, said the company struggled through several ownership changes - Escalade being the fifth owner in 10 years - as its customers took a wait-and-see approach.
One of the owners, North American Archery Group, considered moving the operation to its Odessa, Fla., headquarters in 1999, but the Gainesville City Commission approved a 10 percent break in energy costs through Gainesville Regional Utilities for four years in exchange for staying at least 10 years and annexing into the city if the opportunity arose. The facility on Fred Bear Road/SW 41st Boulevard is still in unincorporated Alachua County.
Byce said Bear Archery also took "a big whack" when Kmart, one of its biggest customers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Escalade bought a bankrupt Bear Archery in 2003. Byce credits Escalade for the turnaround.
"Escalade is very disciplined in how we manage our company, how we deal with each little piece, so it's very organized," he said.
Escalade decided to keep the Bear Archery brand and updated the logo to a more modern look.
Larry Whiteley, spokesman for Bass Pro Shops, said the name is important.
"With Bear Archery, there's a brand awareness of a name that's been around for years and years and years. People know it for quality and at a good price," he said.
He said the company has been innovative with its product lines, and he doubted customers noticed the company's struggles.
They key to the turnaround, Byce said, has been efficiency and cost savings in the manufacturing process, allowing Bear to sell bows for $100 less than similar competitors' models.
Composite models - with an aluminum body and up to 60 parts - run from $299 to $499.
"If a customer goes into the store and let's say he's going to spend $500, and he tests this bow and that bow, and the dealer says shoot this bow here and it's $399 and it shoots as good and feels better than $499, why not save that $100, because he's going to buy an arrow rest and all the accessories," Byce said. "They're still going to spend the money, but they're able to get more of a package that they'd like."
Bear's latest high-end model, The Truth, was designed in partnership with Primos Hunting Calls. The partnership gives Bear publicity on Will Primos' hunting television show.
Byce said the company forecast sales of 1,500 of The Truth models from October to December, and ended up selling 2,500.
Escalade invested $500,000 on new equipment last year, most for three new computer numeric controlled milling center machines that cut aluminum blocks into risers - the main body of the bows - in addition to an electrostatic paint system.
Byce said with more equipment, Bear Archery could employ 190 manufacturing employees, but it outsources some of the production.
The plant is still hand-crafting traditional wood bows using the same methods and equipment as founder Fred Bear, Byce said. The traditional line grew 15 percent last year, compared to 50 percent for core products, he said.
Bear Archery has 1,400-1,500 retailers and dealers selling its products. Goals for this year are to sell 70,000 adult bows, 100,000 youth bows and 6,000 traditional bows.
Escalade is also growing the archery line through acquisitions of accessory companies now housed in the Gainesville plant.
In May 2006, Escalade bought Carolina Archery Products, known for the Whisker Biscuit Arrow Rest, bringing 20 jobs to Gainesville.
Escalade bought Trophy Ridge with its Rocket arrowheads out of Belgrade, Mont., in February. Byce said they are still setting up operations and haven't started hiring yet for that line of products.
Both accessory companies brought patented products - the Whisker Biscuit, and Trophy Ridge's sights with a vertical instead of side design and the bow rest with a straight-dropaway design.
"We have something nobody else can copy or duplicate out there in the market," Byce said of the patents.
Escalade expects the Trophy Ridge acquisition to add $4 million in revenues this year.
Bear Archery was founded by the legendary Fred Bear in 1939 in Grayland, Mich., and moved to Gainesville with Bear's museum in 1978.
Bass Pro Shops bought the museum in 2003 and moved it to Springfield, Mo.
Byce said bowhunting - the impetus behind archery sales - is growing at a slow but steady pace.
"You may have people that hunted with gun, now they do both gun and bow," he said. "And some people picked up the bow, they won't pick up a gun anymore. It doesn't have the closeness to it. Archers are probably more passionate about the wildlife and just being out there, just taking the time."
Anthony Clark can be reached at 352-374-5094 or anthony.clark@gvillesun.com.

---

10/9/06 - James Madison Unversity to eliminate Archery along with other sports to meet Title IX.

James Madison’s student body of 17,000 is 61 percent female, and one provision for complying with Title IX instructs institutions to have the percentage of participating athletes match the ratio of men to women on campus. At James Madison, the elimination of seven men’s sports (swimming, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, gymnastics, wrestling and archery) and three women’s sports (gymnastics, fencing and archery) will boost the proportion of female athletes to 61 percent from about 50 percent.

When the cuts take effect in July, James Madison will be left with 12 women’s sports and 6 men’s sports, the minimum required to participate in N.C.A.A. Division I competition. Three full-time coaches and eight part-time coaches will lose their jobs, and 144 athletes will be without a varsity team.

Officials conceded that the three women’s sports eliminated might not be termed exclusively Title IX cuts. Rose said that fencing had struggled with a dwindling roster, that archery was a niche sport that might be better suited as a club team, and that gymnastics was not a conference sport and had few nearby rivals for competition.

---

The 2007 National Senior Games (Archery portion) in Louisville, KY will be contested on the following dates:

24 June 07    Practice day
25-26 June    Recurve and Barebow Recurve competition
27 June 07    Practice day
28-29 June    Compound Fingers and Barebow Compound competition
30 June 07    Practice day
1-2 July        Compound Release competition

Archers must pre-qualify at a State Senior Games Championship to be eligible to compete.  The last qualifier in the United States will be the Florida Senior Games State Championship in Ft Myers, Florida on the first Saturday in December.  Out of state archers are welcome.

Tim Austin
Florida Senior Games Archery Chair