By Madison Remrey 

The Lincoln Parish 4-H archery team recently competed in a regional competition where over half of the members on their team qualified for state competition.

The regional competition was held March 19-20 at Long Range Alley Gun Club in Grand Cane. There were 22 kids that competed from the Lincoln Parish 4-H archery team, with 12 of them placing high enough to advance to the state competition. 

At the competition, the archers could participate in either the 3D targets event, the paper targets event or both.

The head coach of the team, Pat Johnson, said that the hard work put into practices leading up to the competition was worth it.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it to see the kids smile,” Johnson said.

Unlike other sports, archery doesn’t require as costly of equipment or multiple players to practice. It is a sport that can be done from your own backyard, with friends or by yourself. 

Gabe Hogan, a parent of one of the archers, said that this is an advantage to the sport. 

“I think it gives kids a chance to get outside, and it doesn’t necessarily require having a ballpark to go to or three to four people to have to practice with,” Hogan said. “It is kind of one of those sports where you can just go out and do it.”

The state competition will be held April 26-27 at Bridgeview Gun Club in Port Allen. If archers place at that competition, they will advance to the national competition held in Nebraska. 

For more information, or if you have a child interested in joining the team, contact the Lincoln Parish 4-H Office at (318)251-5134 or Johnson at (318)332-1931.