Why start an ASAP club?
ASAP was designed as a next step program from schools, recreation agencies or camps that offer an introductory program with limited equipment or scoring. It has a flexible curriculum that introduces different equipment and scoring rules to familiarize young archers with different styles of archery. ASAP will help those new archers develop their skills in a longer course setting. Other club formats could be used with success, if the archers or coach know they want to head in that direction....for example, ASAP has JOAD, field, and 3D elements to it to introduce new archers to those forms of shooting before they commit to forming a JOAD, Field, or 3D club. The major archery organizations have banded together to form these elements of ASAP in order to give the new the broadest possible experience before new archers commit.
What kind of space do I need for an ASAP Program?
ASAP programs can be conducted indoors in a gymnasium or outdoors in half a soccer field. The ASAP instructor guide has the actual range layouts and safety perimeters.
Are there age or gender categories for ASAP?
ASAP archery is all conducted with lightweight equipment at short distances where gender or age has little advantage. Your instructor may split up the class if the age groups are wide, but there is no requirement to do so.
What kind of program equipment do I need?
Generally, archery equipment used in ASAP groups needs to be lightweight and easy to use. Recurve bows, or universal-draw compound bows work the best, since they don't require individual sizing. These bows tend to be around 15-20 pounds in draw weight. Arrows are sized by your instructor according to the size of the archer, and targets are generally 32-48 inches across. We don't recommend heavier bows or equipment for ASAP, since at this point we are focusing on learning proper shooting form at short shooting distances.
Can I bring my own equipment to an ASAP program?
That depends on your instructor and on your particular program. Some ASAP programs are for beginners who all start at the same time using the same program equipment for consistency. If you are in one of theses classes, your instructor may require you to use the program equipment at the beginning. However, if you are in an ASAP program that's a little more advanced, your instructor may actually encourage you to begin to use your own equipment. Ask your instructor about your equipment choices, especially if you are leaning towards a particular style of archery.
What kind of archery styles does ASAP teach?
ASAP begins with a neutral style of archery that best teaches the basics of a solid shooting form for recurve or compound bows. The basic ASAP scoring target is unique to the ASAP program. ASAP then goes on to teach the basics of 3-D archery using an inexpensive paper target face for scoring, and teaches the basics of target archery that is used for the Olympics...the same target that is used by USA Archery Junior Olympic Archery Development.
Where can I find a coach to help me with ASAP?
Please click here (http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Archery/Certification.aspx) to find a course schedule or instructor near you.
Where can I find a Pro-shop that might help me with equipment selections?
The Archery Trade Association hosts a website where it displays many of the pro-shops and archery clubs around the country. Please visit www.archerytrade.org.
Are there other tournaments I can go to to get more experience?
ASAP teaches how to begin to compete in tournaments sanctioned by the national archery associations. Please visit: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Archery/Events.aspx for more information.
Can I send in articles or pictures to USA Archery?
You Bet! We'd love to see your photos and learn all about your program to share with other ASAP groups.
Email your photos and articles to info@usarchery.org.