A huge opportunity is “nocking” for Pennsylvania’s student archers. The 2014 National Archery in the Schools Program State Tournament is set to be held March 14 in State College.

It’s shaping up to be the biggest student archery tournament ever in Pennsylvania. And the Game Commission is encouraging all schools participating in the program, commonly referred to as NASP, to register to compete.

There is no fee to register, and the first day for registration is January 31. Registration remains open through February 21.

The NASP state tournament has been growing each year and the March 14 tournament to be held at the Penn State Multi-Sport Facility figures to be the largest tournament to date.

About 1,300 students from more than 30 schools across Pennsylvania are expected to participate. That would be about a 60 percent increase in the number of participants, compared to the 817 who competed last year.

The increase is representative of growth in the program statewide.

NASP, which started in Kentucky in 2002 and has since gained participants around the globe, came to Pennsylvania in 2005. The Game Commission began coordinating the program in 2010 and, to present, the program has expanded to 155 schools.

The tournament should be a sight to see. One hundred fifteen lanes, each with two archers, will be operating at once. About 9,200 arrows will fly each hour. And somewhere near 46,000 arrows will be fired on the day.

Registration can be completed online through the Game Commission’s website. Teams are encouraged to register early this year as space is limited.

NASP helps school districts in Pennsylvania meet physical-education curriculum standards set by the state Department of Education, and at the same time introduces students to the world of competitive archery.

Tournaments are held at the state, national and international levels, and Pennsylvania sent 14 teams and 50 individual competitors to the 2013 national competition, which was held in Louisville, Ky.; and students from four schools attended the World Tournament event held in St. Louis, Mo. in June last year.

To get NASP started in a Pennsylvania school, contact Samantha Pedder, at the Game Commission headquarters, at 717-787-4250 (ext. 3327). Also, “PA NASP” can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennNASP.

1/20/2014